AudiogoN Forums: Best DAC under 2k US ?

Best DAC under 2k US ?

I'm thinking of a DAC for my nearfield focal monitors (CMS series). I'm looking for a nuetral to warmish sounding DAC without overly harsh or bright tonality and also musical.

I don't know much about DAC's and I can't audition where I am right now.

Calyx DAC, Bel Canto, Peachtree, Ayer, W4S, Weiss Minerva. Anything else?

Which would suit me best.

Thanks
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Aquablu8 (Threads | Answers | This Thread)

01-13-12

Responses (1-62 of 62)

Click title to read one, or click date to read all below it.

01-14-12 A non oversampling dac such as the 47 labs shigaraki could b ... Rbrowne

01-14-12 You should probably consider the eastern electric minimax. ... Jazzerdave

01-14-12 There is a metrum octave on here new for just under $1000. i ... Stanwal

01-14-12 The mhdt labs dac's such as the paradisea and havana are als ... Rbrowne

01-15-12 I would also highly recommend the mhdt paradisea or havana d ... Ejlif

01-15-12 Blue circle 509 Facten

01-15-12 Well you are being given recommendations under 1k and i woul ... Tubegroover

01-15-12 You will need to either 1) make some basic choices (see belo ... Br3098

01-15-12 Neko audio d100 is perfect for your requirements. www.nekoa ... Gfcf424892

01-16-12 I heard the calyx and would say it meets your ask dead on. n ... Loftarasa

01-16-12 The calyx is interesting. gotta try one soon. for me the asy ... Jt_to

01-16-12 I've been most impressed by my channel islands vda-2. for su ... Eagle6014

01-16-12 Where to get the calyx in the usa? also, how does the bel c ... Aquablu8

01-27-12 Http://www.northwoodsav.com which bel canto? i'm assuming ... Eugene81

01-27-12 You thought this was going to be easy? here are some sites t ... Vicdamone

01-28-12 Stanwal, i tried posting a ping to you and another metrum oc ... Vicdamone

01-29-12 I put 2 up today. Stanwal

01-29-12 W4s dac 2 will suit your needs. a bargain at the price, beca ... Nglazer

01-29-12 I wholeheartedly recommend the metrum octave. i've owned th ... Devilboy

01-29-12 I just ordered the metrum octave dac in blanc at the current ... Vicdamone

01-29-12 Vicdamone: i believe you made a wise choice. my octave too ... Devilboy

01-31-12 I posted the wrong price for the metrum octave dac. the cor ... Vicdamone

01-31-12 Can you purchase the metrum octave dac entirely in black inc ... Aaronmadler

01-31-12 If i'm not mistaken the metrum octave can be ordered with a ... Vicdamone

01-31-12 Vicdamone: i'm trying to learn more about the audiophilleo ... Devilboy

02-01-12 Devilboy, i'm just learning about it myself. i found their w ... Vicdamone

02-01-12 Nuforce dac-9. Phusis

02-01-12 I like the new marantz 2800, which also plays cd's and sacd' ... Wildoats

02-01-12 Sorry, marantz sa 8004. Wildoats

02-01-12 Check out https://www.nekoaudio.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4 ... Rockadanny

02-01-12 I like the ps audio dl iii. around $500 used on audiogon or ... Stickman451

02-01-12 Rockadanny, you took the words right out of my mouth! the ne ... Gfcf424892

02-02-12 Why not import the jk32 dac simply stunnig. check out the re ... Johnjc

02-02-12 Musical fidelity m1 dac Alpha3

02-02-12 There is no definitive "best" of anything. there a ... Tpreaves

02-06-12 As a lampizator owner i'm curious about the lamp 2 in that p ... Gopher

02-07-12 From your list, if you want to keep it minimalistic, i would ... Sirotseta

02-08-12 Da-160 under 1k. Rex44

02-08-12 There is a certain level of player you have to get to achiev ... Wildoats

05-25-12 I would take a listen to a rega dac , i have found it to be ... Steam3642

06-06-12 Metrum octave. Devilboy

06-07-12 Haven't heard them yet, but i'm very curious about the nad m ... Larkston_zinazpic

06-08-12 +1 to the octave. paul hynes is also doing mods on them now. ... Jcote

06-09-12 I second the metrum octave. Elberoth2

06-20-12 Metrum octave vs linn magick ds or akurate? Aquablu8

06-22-12 Calling ray charles Lewinskih01

06-22-12 Has anyone heard of the exasound e18dac ? 1999.00 risk -free ... Raytheprinter

06-22-12 What about a used ps audio perfect wave dac? there are a bo ... Mcondon

06-22-12 Boatload? i see only 2 private sales listed. the rest are co ... Grobec

06-24-12 Wow!...not sure where mcondon is coming from with his commen ... Levy03

06-24-12 I also am very pleased with both the pwd i and even more so ... Sgr

06-25-12 There's also hegel's hd20, with the (to my mind) very worthw ... Phusis

06-25-12: Devilboy
"Even with the MK2 upgrade, the DAC doesn't sound that great unless you also own the Transport."-Mcondon.

How exactly are the ones and zeros delivered from the PW Transport so special that other transports fail in making the PW Dac sound good? I'm not saying that the PW Transport is not good, in fact I'm sure it's very nice. But why does the dac sound so-so with other transports and so special with the PW? I'm just not buying it.
Devilboy (System | Threads | Answers | This Thread)

06-25-12 It's the i2s connection and digital lens or whatever it's ca ... Jcote

06-26-12 I know several people who have stopped using the i2s buss vi ... Sgr

06-26-12 X2 on the burson da-160. it does have nice features and is o ... Singleendedsingle

06-30-12 My comments about the perfect wave dac were too negative. if ... Mcondon

06-30-12 Mcondon, i'm interested in your impressions of the zitron wi ... Tonyptony

06-30-12 I own the ps audio pwd and pwt. my experiences differ from ... Mrtennis

07-03-12 Tonyptony, the shunyata python zitron xlr cable between the ... Mcondon

07-03-12 Thanks mcondon. i don't have a pwt - still using my lovingly ... Tonyptony

06-06-13 If anyone is interested, i'm considering parting with my exa ... Gr33nsound