Cambridge DACmagic 200M vs. SCHIIT Jotunheim 2 DAC test 

Correction: the DACmagic 200M is a fully balanced design, ! misspoke in the video when I said the 200M wasn't balanced, it is!

Got the 560s headphones on your recommendation...couldn’t agree more of its balance, clarity, deep bass! Best of all, your great stories tied to the music, expression of the entire, artful experience. And now must rethink my Dac choice 🤔

Thanks again for this channel. Most of this stuff im never gonna afford, even if i could... but its fun to dream. Ive spent years in the surround sound realm, and have recently rediscovered good stereo. Hearing cds and records ive had forever in a new light, and i love it. Channels like this helped me choose components that are in my budget, and sound fantastic. You saved me money, and entertain and educate me. Cheers

You are so delightful. Your honesty, earnestness, experience, enjoyment and insight come together to bring forth wonderful content for all our benefit and learning. Thanks so much.

Steve, great review - yet most importantly, keep the music recommendations coming! I'm finding so much more great music thanks to you. Loving every video now.

Love the personal memories. I’ve enjoyed many albums, I didn’t know about until I heard you reference them in a gear review. Thanks!

Yes, more music! You are in the right path Steve!

Steve, you are the number one HIFI specialist and reference in the world. Many thanks for your very interesting and passionate daily shows. I don’t miss anyone.

I just ordered a DacMagic 200m. It will be here Friday or Saturday coming from Denver. :-)

I really like your very inspiring music discoveries and the mix with gear reviews. Thank you!

Steve, the 'Theater of Nature' is SURELY a real pipeorgan in a real space. You can actually hear the wind system in the opening measures of the title track! Other electronic voices and ambience were mixed in 'post', or visa versa...AND, the very last seconds of the track you hear what sounds like the organ blower being turned off as the high pitched pipes run out of wind! (from: your resident pipe organ tech)

Steve, nice to hear you mention a recording that features the 21 string West African harp-lute: Kora!

I've got a dacmagic 100 with modified caps and huge linear power supply that sounds so nice, but as soon as I heard about the 200m I have to admit I'm ready to buy...

Great review, Steve. Your review primarily dealt with this unit as a DAC for headphone listening, which, unfortunately, doesn't really interest me. Would you consider giving us your thoughts on how this unit sounds with CDs and outboard computer speakers? If it sounds as good with those formats as it does with headphones then it would seem to represent extraordinary value at $499 USD. Too many of these admittedly great-sounding DACs like Denafrips, for example, are completely out of most people's price range. Hoping to hear your thoughts. Thanks.

Really enjoyed this. The Cambridge looks really interesting.

Well, as a 600ohm DT-880 user, it looks like I’m sticking with my Schiit.

This is great. Im pre Ordering the 200M soon.

@10:25 Steve, your description of David Walters music made think of another great acoustic "afro chamber" album by Vincent Segal and Ballake Sissoko called Musique de Nuit. The opening track was recorded amongst real goats and is a great high-resolution test of your system. Sure enough, Segal and Sissoko are on the David Walters album. I saw Segal and Sissoko play live (sigh) at Wolf Trap Barns years ago and you could hear a pin drop. It was pure magic. While you are in the "afro chamber" groove, check out the Trio AKA - Joy album with the great guitarist Antonio Forcione.

Been waiting for the 200m review :) Out on Monday in the UK and im tempted...........

Great Review. Thank you for sharing your musical selections. Please continue.

Thanks Mr.Mestre for your feedback, my involvement with Mr. Michaelson's productos began when I bought, thirty something years ago, the fabled Michaelson & Austin tube amplifier, reason why I always supposed he was an engineer.

Please keep giving music recommendations they help spotlight things i dont know about

Sounds like this may be the "static" replacement for my Chord Mojo as a DAC and HP amp that I have been looking for.

Fantastic review dear Steve👍 Your style and method of evaluation should be exemplary for some of the so-called “Headphone reviewers” that I follow here on RU-vid who mislead thousands of their followers based on their fetishism with frequency response measurements and Harman Target curves etc.

Hey Steve thanks for this review because I have Cambridge great and one piece is a dac magic 100. Wanting balanced outs when I saw this 200m item was Nirvana! Being that I trust your reviews I’m all in on switching. Thanks and keep listening 🔊

From Anna von H. at Bandcamp, “Sacro Bosco (“Sacred Grove”) is the starting point for Anna von Hausswolff’s new album All Thoughts Fly, incoming on Southern Lord on 25th September. Here in solo instrumental mode, the entire record consists of just one instrument, the pipe organ, and represents absolute liberation of the imagination.” 🙂

Thank you. Anna von Hausswolff's album is exactly what I needed.

Great analysis Steve ! well done again , many Thanks for your comments on the gear :)

Sounds like your rec would be the dacmagic dac w/ Jot amp? Conflating the two is just not very helpful for me.

Thanks for the test and for the discovery of Anna von Hausswolf. Great "new style" of music for the old organ fan that I am ! ;)

Thoroughly enjoyed that--appreciate the music picks especially.

thanks for the music pointers! always welcome, good music is the reason why we have high end products!

steve thank you for your never stoping insight plus your sence of humor and fun great shirt.

Hi Steve, the most recent Jotunheim reviews I’ve seen have compared the DAC option with the Bifrost. The general consensus seems to be that you’re between off with one of Schiit’s external multibit DACs. I’d love to know if you agree

Dear Steve, I got 880's last fall ( got them balanced mod and Zeos pad mod). Love my Jot. Best, D.

Love you Steve de Music Man. Don't let the sun blast your shadow ...

MQA BS that made my day Steve :-)

Tom Waits' Nighthawks at the Diner always gets me.

Thank You for Today came out in 2018 Steve! DCFC's latest album is The Georgia EP. They're all great though ;)

'... in no short order... or in short order...' that made me lol Another good vid, Sir! Thanks again.

Steve, I found that Schitt's DACs and Amps are WAY better when used as a stack instead of integrated. The Jotunheim 2 is a fabulous amp and when paired with the Bifrost 2 (Multibit DAC), the sound is exceptional. The cost is obviously much greater though and due to the comparative nature of this video, that would defeat the strategy of maintaining a level playing field. So I suppose I'd label this comment as more of an aside. I find that Schitt's all-in-one boxes tend to sound mushy and poorly defined. They are allegedly working on creating a delta-sigma DAC from the ground up.

morning Steve. great video as always. is this type of compare two things together format gonna be sticking around? i like it. i want to see you compare amplifiers that aren't always in the same price range. or two amps, one from the bottom of the stack like a n nad 316 bee vs an nad master amplifier

Hi Steve, was wondering how would the Jotunheim 2 & Modius stack compared to the 200M?

Great video as per usual. Good to get a lift from your positivity at the minute. Heard of Blick Bassy album 1958? Very good in mho

Can you say two sentences about the quality as a pure Dac? How was the 200M with the Adams? Same „coloration“ as the headphone output? Thanks for your reviews!

hi. do you ever test these dacs, output to speakers? i'm not a big headphone guy. my t2s are quite sufficient for my headphone/iem needs. the dm200m sounds intriguing, but i would primarily be using it for living room listening.

My 200M was delivered today and I can’t wait to run it with my Crown XLS 2502 and Watt Puppie 5’s!!! BTW - Amazon just started their HD service for no additional cost if you are already a unlimited subscriber.

Hi Steve You were talking of the new Sennheiser HD560S how does this one stand up compare to the Old HD414 you've got hanging there would that one still stand the of time ??

So there. Steve said it. We don't need Hi Res. 16/44.1 is good enough. Perfect sound forever!

I own a DacMagic 200M. It has an upgraded lineair power supply and is hooked up to an Audiolab 6000N network streamer and at the other end an Accuphase poweramp into JBL XPL 160's (which are very strong -a bit harsh- in the higher midrange. In this setting the delayed filter setting works the best and DSD 256 (on USB) is the best playback mode, for my ears that is. MQA is no advantage to PCM 24/192 to me. The DacMagic performs allright in CD - PCM but it gets so good in DSD. Downside to DSD is price and availability of titles. Proper recording makes a joy to listen, the 200M does the job well.

Caution: midway this dac review suddenly turns into a headphone review lol

I love that shirt. My fave of your recent sartorial choices (wonder if the Walter CD "sounds like" that shirt? Or maybe the Grado RS-1s do? Hmmm...)

Steve, what are your thoughts on the DAC in the Bluesound Node 2i vs. the Cambridge? They are relatively similar in price? Thanks for the vids

Great review Steve. I think the Mule variations is wel recorded. Now there's a remastered version by Tom&Kathleen? Read some mixed reviews on the reissue. Did you happen to listen to this one by any chance?

Checked out Anna von Hausswolff based on your description of that song. That album is wild! Definitely a great example for dynamics and testing out equipment!

Liking the vocal rooster in Wait''s album reminds me of the Piedmont master picker Etta Baker's album "RAILROAD BILL". A bird flew into her living room and perched atop her front door and serenaded a wonderful duet with her during her recording session.

Another great review. !!! Thanks

Amazing what quality audio one can get these days for not a ton of money (not just referencing the DACmagic 200M, those Sennheiser 560s headphones are only a couple hundred dollars). Nice tip on Anna von Hausswolf, I'm really getting into her stuff, thanks! (interestingly enough, she signed to the label of my favorite drone metal band, Sunn O))), in 2019). Also, David Walters, that's a really nice sounding recording (and music)

Steven Wilson is my all time favorite artist

Love Tom Waits! Steve your music selections are always interesting.

Steve Guttenberg, may I suggest that you post your Dac Magic “ balanced design” correction as a text in your video instead of the less visible comments section ? I was surprised to even hear you say that the DacMagic was not a balanced design even though it has balanced outputs . I respectfully ask you: What would be the point in that ?

I appreciate the info and presentation. I’m listening to the music suggestions now. I love Tom Waits. I just bought that Schiit product for my office set up with headphones with XLR connection and a Mc MC275 with Tekton speakers. The Multi DAC sounds great. I think better than the Mytek Bridge that it replaced. I’m using the Bridge at home. I love that machine although it is pricy for my frugality. The Schiit DAC is also modular and replaceable. The unit has a really nice feel and look and doesn’t include a lot that I don’t need. Bluetooth? I thought that was dead. Ha. Anyway, I’ll keep thinking about this DAC Magic choice. I am still in the return period for the Schiit unit.

I think Steve's comments about all the manipulation and what exactly MQA is trying to accomplish is pretty interesting and exactly why there appears ( to me) to be too much bs in the digital streaming agenda. Stating he wouldn't use as reference listening is pretty telling. I am by no means against streaming music however the sales tactics don't fly with me.

Hi Steve! I've been waiting for this product for a while and it's due to be released beginning of March in the UK and I'm really happy you have done a review of this, can I ask how does it sound? Warm? Neutral? Bright? Thanks for the cool videos by the way 👍👍👍

I appreciate, dear Mr. Gutenberg, that in the background of your room, appears a Musical Fidelity Nuvista Preamp, congrats! Michaelson was a great engineer. .

The Cambridge appears to be a quality product. I have to agree with another comment about power. My Fiio Q3 has roughly the same output @ 32 ohms. I am liking the music references.

Perhaps a Chesky recording would be a good candidate for a headphone/DAC evaluation. Binaural recordings generally sound exceptional on headphones.

I bought the DAC Magic 200M to take the coax output of my Sony UBP x800M2 (using it for music CDs as well as DVD) to my NAD 325BEE analog integrated amp. KEF LS50 speakers.

Here is the video I shot. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-uxfzSxRmq7Q.html And the most ridiculously thing is Cambridge replied back to me saying the delay is normal WTF? Look at their reply I just received. ibb.co/Tmcj7zn Hello Cedric, Please see the following reply from our engineers. "DM200M can decode MQA from all inputs excluding BT only. A delay up to 1-2 seconds can be normal, and it’s due to the fact the MQA decoder requires a certain amount of audio samples to actually detect the MQA watermark. You’ll notice that if you scroll a song, or press pause then play, MQA light will take a bit to come back on." One of our engineers also suggested connecting a computer or laptop directly to the DacMagic 200M to see if experience the same delay.Thank you and we hope this helps.

You said you listened with the Sundara. Which unit sounded the best with them ?

Heard Neil Young pulled all his stuff from Tidal due to MQA... that actually pissed me off a bit towards Neil but I get what he's trying to do.

Thanks Steve, love the music recs. Would you recommend the 200m for the sundaras?

Thanks for the review Steve. Do you happen to know if it accepts and processes MQA on the coaxial inputs (e.g. from a Node 2i)? Or is it via USB only? I can't find any information on this. Keep up the good work. Cheers.

I’m looking for a headphone amp and dac for my newly purchased LCD-2 Classic cans. Any recommendations?

3 Years and I haven't been able to find a single 32bit 384 khz song.

Please continue to emphasise those music choices! Along with your very valued opinion on the equipment I love finding new stuff to listen to, this adds so much value for me it’s hard to overstate. I have just placed an order for the 200m as a desktop solution and also external dac for my CXA81, an smsl M500 had been performing that duty but I’m finding more and more problems with this chifi gear, yes it measures well and I’m all for that, but there’s more to consider

How can we evaluate a review when by adding a different component into the chain can change which one was the better? And, why only evaluate with headphones? Well.. thanks for the headphone amps review. Not trying to be trouble, Just wanted to know how they sounded driving speakers into a room.

What happened to the Sundara? I am looking for a better amp for my pair and was hoping for some insight. I am currently using the Ray Samuels Predator DAC/Amp and it cannot drive them at higher volumes, I need some balls to control the bass.

Hey Steve. What are you using for recording video/audio with for your channel? Thanks!

Due to my finances (and as a proud owner of the original DACMagic!) I am listening to your words. But truth is, really I am riveted to the component on the stand behind your shoulder... Is that a Gato Audio integrated?

What about using jotunheim 2 with a external dac streamer. I think to some degree what your hearing is the optional multibit dac in the jotunheim. Hmmmm. I have the orchard audio dac steamer with balanced outputs and looking for a amp, so I'm considering the jotunheim 2. Will be using sundara headphones.

I have a question. I mostly listen to digital Berlin Phil as a member. For that, my audio setting is: Ipad ->(ADI FS2 DAC) -> Cambridge Audio Edge W Power Amp -> KEF LS 50 Meta Speaker. Could you recommend me a better combination? Specifically about DAC Source, i.e., Ipad. Is it better to use a kind of network audio such as Aurender? I do not know if it supports Digital Berlin Phil.

Does it come with a remote? Doesn't look it does. Looking to get new DAC for my speaker set up. Wish you'd elaborate more on this use case.

The jot 2 I have coming is just the amp, no dac, I will be using my modius dac with it. Will a different dac pair make a difference, I have heard that dac after certain point don't make to much of difference. Is there a different dac that would open up jot 2, or add more punch or anything?

Wow, didn't know about the 200M. I had the MagicDAC 2, which I liked but no MQA. And the unit I had, must have been flawed, heard some distortion and had to send it back. Ended up with the SMSL M500 which I do enjoy BUT it's not the MagicDAC. There was a texture difference in the two. I'm going to investigate this one.

I didn't know Bill Nye had an older Audiophile brother!

I have mixed feelings about this review. The Jot is primarily a headphone amp with the option to add a DAC, whereas the DAC Magic is primarily a... DAC, with headphone capacity. You would mainly use the DAC Magic to move loudspeakers and occasionally headphones but you cannot use the Jot to move loudspeakers. Now, at 32 ohms comparing the performance of the Jot's 6 W max output vs the max 300mW of the DAC Magic to move a 600 ohm headphone is just not fair. Interesting however is that with more efficient headphones the DAC Magic sounds better, which I'm pretty sure it is because the DAC in the Jot is not as good as the DAC Magic, which is no mystery, the DAC in the Jot is well known to be a decent add on but not fantastic, therefore comparing it to a great DAC was not fair either! Nice try though! Now, would be nice hear your thoughts about the performance of the DAC Magic moving loudspeakers! Ohh almost forgot the Jot has balanced output for headphones, its main purpose, whereas the DAC Magic has balanced output only for loudspeakers, its main purpose, but not for headphones!

Hey my headphones are near 500 ohms, so thanks for the academic comparison.

Hello my friend! Do you know how this dac compare to the RME-ADI-2 Fs Dac, and matrix mini i pro 3 ? Soundwise which is better,? Cheers!

I like your shows but in this case you focused on Tom Waits and I learned almost nothing about the DAC and why I might want to consider it. Also while this DAC certainly has a head phone port at this price its more of a system component in my eyes and there was zero info on that capability. Give it another go and focus the episode at least 66% on the actual product your reviewing.

I too have been loving the track recommendations too I have really been into tok tok tok o my lord are they fantastic

I know DSD has to go thru a USB cable from my device to the 200M dac, but how would I stream Spotify and Tidal/MQA to this DAC wirelessly ? What is a good quality inexpensive Wifi receiver to use with the 200M. This is where the Bluesound has it over the 200M I believe !

Would the 200M be a good choice to connect Elac Navis to for a nearfield setup?

Tom Waits! Thank you for that. He’s the best.

Hi guys I have the Hifiman Ananda and Dac SMSL VMV D1SE with the SP200 which the XLR inputs are defective but looking at a different amp looking at this Singxer-SA1 or Jotunheim 2. What would you think be a good match i would like more bass out of my Anandas and not as harsh highs?

Dt1990 paired with Jotunheim 2 true multibit dac is a go or no?

Why do you have so much hardware powered up (background of video)?

MQA supposedly means that mastering engineer authenticate the sound. That certainly does not mean better recording... if the recording is bad, master engineer can only work with a stuff that he got. Many bands do not care, know or can afford the good recording...

we talking dacs, headphones, or albums?

Hi Steve! I may have missed it somewhere along but did you use the power source that came with the Cambridge DAC or another more expensive source? The former DACmagic seemed to perform better on hi-audio power source but that would up the price with at least 280 euro.