Nobody has suggested this one. The Rakk Dac. It is a DIY dac, but they will build one for you. For that price you could have them build it with an active tubed output. I had compared a friends Rakk Dac to my EastSound E5 cd player, which is suppose to be as good as some $2000 players and my old Jolida. The Rakk Dac has the warmest sound and most nuanced. Brass had tremendous goose bump factor. My Eastsound was a little more dynamic and slightly brighter. The Rakk Dac that I listened to was the base version with transformer outputs. Very musical. (The active output probably would be as dynamic as my Eastsound) I have read it out did a Musical Fidelity Tri-Vista tubed Dac, which is one of the better dacs on the market. I would get in touch with this company. They can tell you which version would best suit your system. And no, they aren't paying me anything to say this. I just think this company puts out such an excellent product, (at a resonable price) that it need to be made known! Happy listening! http://www.kandkaudio.com/digitalaudio.html
DAC for $1800 or less?
TAX TIME ....
For you rich guys it's time to put away the check book but for us poor guys it means TAX RETURN MONEY! I have most of my system in place and I'm ready to go after the source. I'm a Redbook CD lover and I have a few HDCD's as well.
So here it is :
I'm running an old(er) Rotel RCD-1070 with no outboard DAC. My plan is to spend now on a solid DAC and run the Rotel as a transport. I'll tell you ... the 1070 is built like a tank, it's media friendly and even takes a standard aftermarket power cable. I like the transport. In the long run I might step up and upgrade transport but that’s a ways off.
I need some suggestions on a used DAC - my top price is $1800 and I have been looking at Levinson 36s or 360. I might need to add a few more hundred to make it happen but I wanted to get some of your thoughts before I throw that much money around. Anyone out there love the Levinson DACs? Anyone hate them? Remember - it's mostly Redbook and the occasional HDCD. I'm going to play with SACD and DVD-A later but not with this system. Any preference between the 36s and 360? I have picked through some reviews but it's like reading reviews on Microsoft software ... it's a little glossy. I have yet to get a detailed list of the differences. The 360s is out of my ballpark. If you have other DACs in this price range ... lets hear it. I really love my system as it sits but I think the analog out of the source needs some love.
My current setup is a Modwright SWL 9.0SE Linestage, Mark Levinson 23.5, Paradigm Signature S4's ... cables are mostly Signal Cable Silver Resolution and the speaker cables are Signal Cable Ultra double runs. I am considering bi-amping the Paradigms with a second Mark Levinson amp - ML 27.5 for the upper end. I am waiting on a couple of cables from Frank - I will eventually replace ALL IC's with Silver Resolution and maybe even try out a set of Silver Resolution speaker cables. It's about the best cables that I can afford.
Let me hear your thoughts ... you all have been a lot of help in the past.
For you rich guys it's time to put away the check book but for us poor guys it means TAX RETURN MONEY! I have most of my system in place and I'm ready to go after the source. I'm a Redbook CD lover and I have a few HDCD's as well.
So here it is :
I'm running an old(er) Rotel RCD-1070 with no outboard DAC. My plan is to spend now on a solid DAC and run the Rotel as a transport. I'll tell you ... the 1070 is built like a tank, it's media friendly and even takes a standard aftermarket power cable. I like the transport. In the long run I might step up and upgrade transport but that’s a ways off.
I need some suggestions on a used DAC - my top price is $1800 and I have been looking at Levinson 36s or 360. I might need to add a few more hundred to make it happen but I wanted to get some of your thoughts before I throw that much money around. Anyone out there love the Levinson DACs? Anyone hate them? Remember - it's mostly Redbook and the occasional HDCD. I'm going to play with SACD and DVD-A later but not with this system. Any preference between the 36s and 360? I have picked through some reviews but it's like reading reviews on Microsoft software ... it's a little glossy. I have yet to get a detailed list of the differences. The 360s is out of my ballpark. If you have other DACs in this price range ... lets hear it. I really love my system as it sits but I think the analog out of the source needs some love.
My current setup is a Modwright SWL 9.0SE Linestage, Mark Levinson 23.5, Paradigm Signature S4's ... cables are mostly Signal Cable Silver Resolution and the speaker cables are Signal Cable Ultra double runs. I am considering bi-amping the Paradigms with a second Mark Levinson amp - ML 27.5 for the upper end. I am waiting on a couple of cables from Frank - I will eventually replace ALL IC's with Silver Resolution and maybe even try out a set of Silver Resolution speaker cables. It's about the best cables that I can afford.
Let me hear your thoughts ... you all have been a lot of help in the past.