IMO, the ps audio DS with bridge ii is hard to beat. If you aren’t using some kind of bridge, you are using old technology and sacrificing SQ. Ditch the troublesome usb connection. Also, FPGA dacs are the future and the ps audio DS uses that technology today. If you aren’t using a FPGA dac, you will either be unable to upgrade when new technology comes out or you will have to pay a good sum of $$$$ the upgrade the dac. A case in point, to add MQA support to my ps audio DS dac, I had to update both the DS software and the bridge software, at no cost. My buddy had to pay $1500 to get a new card for his out of date msb analog dac, which still makes his outdated dac outdated.
DAC/Streamers Under 10k - Mytek, PS Audio...
Let's imagine you only listen to streaming music (Tidal, Qubuz, Apple Music, Youtube, etc). Roon is a pretty good way to stream higher quality to a Roon core (though the interface is horrendous) and for everything else you want to use AirPlay (which is lossless). What's the best option for a DAC-Streamer out there? I have a Mytek Brooklyn DAC+, which sounds excellent, but I don't love that I need to attach a USB cable to a computer to get the music to play (using a MacBook Pro currently).
There is the
- Mytek Manhattan II w/ Network Card - $7k
- PS Audio DirectStream - $6k
- Lumin X1 - $14k (well over budget)
- Ayre QX-5 Twenty - $9k (might not support AirPlay)
- something from NAIM?
- ???
I've seen very few comparisons in the space so I just don't even know what's out there.
(For reference, the system is currently MBP > Mytek Brooklyn > Mc C47 > Mc MC452 > B&W 802 D3 with all Audioquest cabling)
There is the
- Mytek Manhattan II w/ Network Card - $7k
- PS Audio DirectStream - $6k
- Lumin X1 - $14k (well over budget)
- Ayre QX-5 Twenty - $9k (might not support AirPlay)
- something from NAIM?
- ???
I've seen very few comparisons in the space so I just don't even know what's out there.
(For reference, the system is currently MBP > Mytek Brooklyn > Mc C47 > Mc MC452 > B&W 802 D3 with all Audioquest cabling)