DAC suggestions for home and office


Hi...I'm looking to upgrade my home and office outboard DAC system. Looking for any suggestions.

Office:
PC workstation
Rega Brio-r
Ascend Acoustics Sierra-2 bookshelves, on stands, in almost a nearfield setup.
Crimson speaker cables and interconnects.
USB DAC to replace a Cambridge Audio DACMagic Plus.

I'm leaning heavily towards the Rega DAC for anticipated synergy and its reputation for being a warm/analog sounding DAC. Whatever I get needs to non-fatiguing, as I listen to music in the office 8-10 hours a day. Looking to spend no more than $1,000 here.

Home:
For home I'm looking for a DAC that throws a big, clear soundstage and isn't overly warm, as I'm all tubed up with a Lector ZOE preamp and a Joule Electra VZN-80 power amp driving a pair of Dali Mentor 6's. I am currently trying out the ZERO autoformers with the Dalis and really like what they can do.
I currently have here a CA Stream Magic 6, which is basically the DACMagic Plus with better power supply and network features. Compared to my vinyl playback it is lifeless.

I was thinking of the Bryston BDA-1 (I don't need USB) or perhaps the Schiit Gungnir. Max spend on this would be $1,500.

Any other suggestions would be appreciated. Also, I'm not interested in multi-function DAC/headphone/preamps like the Benchmark as I won't use those features.
tortilladc

Showing 1 response by akg_ca

Go REGA for two reasons:

(1) Big time synergy with what already comprises your current system, and
(2) Invariably, everything is built to its price point .... the REGA DAC is a Goliath killer that punches way above its weight class BUT... it also still matches well with the price strata of your existing system.