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budget DACs

I am going to add a wadia itrans and need a good budget dac for it since my digital player does not have a digi in. Ideally it would be small and run cool since I don’t have any space on the rack for it and it is going to sit on the floor next to my rack. I am thinking about the mf v-dac ($300 new) or the bel canto dac2 (~$500+ used). Anybody listen to both and have any thoughts to share? Are there other dacs in the <$500 category used I should be looking at MDHT, etc? Thanks for your input.
wrtickle

Showing 1 response by mingles

mingles
791 posts
 
If you're looking for a smooth natural sound, the Paradisea can't be beat for the price. There haven't been any significant changes to the circuit since the first model. Some people like the sound of the op-amp in the original model better than + and 3 version, so you can save a few bucks if you don't need USB. Many folks "upgrade" to the older op-amp (Burr Brown OPA2604).

These comments from a side-by-side comparison with a Havana should be worth something:
The Paradisea+, though not "technically" as fine sounding as the Havana DAC is still ... VERY VERY close in character and sound quality.
You'll find 39 pages of glowing comments at this lengthy thread:

http://www.audiocircle.com/circles/index.php?topic=33534.0
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