2. digital
  3. 1378636154

Best digital converter $5k under

I have gone on a hunt listening to different setups and by far
The most balanced and , Hi tech,parts build is the Auralic Vega dac
It does everything including DSD,since i had the Bryston dac-1 i listened
To the new dac -2 my friends own both dacs Including the Berkeleydac-2
This dac was developed from several Swiss firms and Taiwan,Hong kong.
The clock is the lowest jitter I have ever seen listed under$10k
It is as good or better sounding then anything Under $8k IMO. It has a very natural warm balance, superb imaging and micro dynamics and excellent sound staging.even my vinyl friends were very impressed and for under $3500 it is a no brainer.my friend bought it after seeing a review in Computer Audiophile. I am for sure buying one this fall.do your homework
And build quality is as good or better then Anything out there even in the $10k range,that is saying a lot !!
128x128audioman58
hifial's avatar
hifial
332 posts
 
Audioman58 YOU ARE TOTALLY WRONG. I have the exaSound e20 MK III with .082 Clock and I use it with a Mac Mini with an Apple OS. I also have my HD Boot Camped so I can use Mountain Lion or W8. I then can use ANY Server Software I want. I use Pure Music and A+ on the ML side and J River on the W8 side. I also use a Paul Hynes SR3-12 Power Supply with the E20. Also it is my understanding that the E20 is designed to not benefit from any upgraded USB cables. Other owners that have the E20 and tried an upgraded USB cable have said there is no improvement in sound. I have not tried it yet but plan to in the next few weeks. I will be borrowing a Light Harmonics USB cable. If that makes no difference nothing will.

Please speak to George at exaSound and get all your concerns answered before you make a commitment.
wisnon
700 posts
 
AudioMan,

Sorry, I just saw this. My Lampi DSD was one of the early ones and is a DSD-only Dac. I also have a regular L4.

However, its possible to get the DSD module in a regular L4 (if single ended or without too many options) or in any other higher level. A SE L4 with DSD should be about $4.5K, Duelunds and Vol control extra, of course.

The 2013 Gen 4 Lampis are even better than the ones last year. Its so good now, he has frozen the design from mid year.
mrtennis
3,295 posts
 
subjectively, there is no best anything. objectively, there is.
wisnon
700 posts
 
MrTennis, you are correct BUT its impossible to know the objective best until we have measurements for EVERYTHING, and we are far away from that point. The current best measuring tool is the ear!
tgx78
4 posts
 
I went through many DACs under $4000. Auralic Vega, Lynx Hilo, yulong DA-8, Benchmark DAC2, NAD M51, Schiit Gungnir, and Chord QuteHD.

Finally settled on exaSound e20 mkIII .082ps clock upgrade with TeddyPardo 12/2 power supply. (total cost was about CDN$3500)

Not planning to upgrade my DAC anytime soon.
More to discover