Dac selections

Flyby?  Where r u OP?

i echo the Chord Qutest is very nice 

I currently use the Bryston BDA3 and just sold off the Mytek Manhatten I.  I don’t think that you can go wrong with either the Brooklyn or the Bryston, both are very detailed, the Bryston is a bit less clinical sounding, but the Brooklyn has a lot of filter options that might ameliorate that if you find it objectionable.  Features differ—the Mytek does MQA, and I believe an optional phono stage can be added and it can be used as a Preamp.  The Bryston offers HDMI which is important for me

Heard the exogal which is half the price of the direct stream
of course not even close.

Find a used PS audio direct stream and u will have a dac for a long time!!!!

I would say I would without question I would buy the DAC DAC II. I had a 3k$ Exogal Comet and it blew it out of the water. The comet is comparable to the DACs you sited. This is the best sounding DAC available for any where near the cost.

It is complimented with 3 pairs of speakers in stereo.A total of 14 drivers all overlapping the audio spectrum...no sub required.I took the missions off as they were a bit heavy on the mid-range.Sound is life!

I made my choice many years back and enjoy every beat from digital as well as analog, Rotel RDP980.Pity I cant show you a pic of the logic...a pcb full of top end caps and i/c's.Blows the mind...beautiful audio.

The Lab12SE has some good reviews, Chord Qutest, Denafrips Pontus.

Get a Lampi :) 

Whats your Budget?

I would take the ps audio DS or DS jr dac over any of those mentioned. Btw, I did. If a dac isn’t fpga nor does it not have a network interface, and it’s not a Roon endpoint, it’s a no show for

+1 @nekoaudio -- What DAC are you using now and what aspects are you looking to improve upon with the new DAC?

The Prism Sound Callia, (check out their web page)  As a side note, when i was going through the process of choosing a DAC i looked into Mytek as well and was close to making it a final choice.  About that time, i read about a buyer who had tried numerous times to contact Mytek about his DAC malfunctioning and wanting to return it or get it fixed. Even after 2-3 months he still had not had a response from Mytek.  My thought then was no customer service equals a no buy..  Some said they worked out of a small building and were overwhelmed, either way it was a no brainer for me. So i bought the Callia. Now, since then, and only recently i came across a review for the Lab 12 Dac1. Dont get me wrong, the Callia is a fine DAC and one that i am happy with and even though the review says the Lab 12 is an outstanding DAC i still hesitate to let this puppy go. Having said that, I still believe the Lab 12 Dac is going to be my next target.   

All are excellent choices.

Alternative to these could be RMI ADI 2 Pro or Teac 501.

Lots of great DACs out there.

Mytek is bit further back from the front row seating presentation of the other two but not much in it.

Benchmark is robust and will handle everything you can throw at it without flinching, any input, any PCM sample rate, and any cable will convert perfectly with their punchy front row sound - as long as the source file is the same it will sound the same (as the upsampling in Benchmark’s FPGA is as audibly equivalently as good as you can do in software like Roon. Only thing you could do externally is a heavier slow filter to roll the treble.)

Mytek does MQA. Personally I don’t like the distortion that MQA adds and don’t use MQA even on my fully MQA devices but that might be a feature you would consider.

Have you narrowed it down to those three choices based on listening to them? As that would provide some indication of the type of sound you are looking for. Or is it simply those are representative of your budget?

Benchmark or Bryston is you simply want a clean conversion from digital to analog.

Border Patrol