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Help in choosing first higher ended dac?

I'm on the verge of pulling the trigger on the new Bricasti M3 dac. I know this is all subjective to ones own ear's! But since this is my first dac and after months of research I'm ready! I'm curious to what your thoughts and choices would be at this price point. The M3 goes for 5k or 6k with the network card.

My current gear is rather modest. Have an Anthem mrx720 pushing PS audio m700 monoblocks. An Oppo 203 for streaming Roon from laptop which includes Tidal and Qobuz. And to play CDs of course. 

The plan is to connect the dac directly to the amps. Sell the Anthem and maybe add a preamp in the same price point or add it to the kitty to upgrade speakers down the road. And if I went without the network card I would need a network player/streamer.

Your thoughts will be much appreciated! Hopefully I didn't leave anything out! This is my first post, so be gentle lol!!
✌️
jimfinn2112
tomcarr
1,468 posts
 
That's a lot of money for a DAC, IMO. What speakers? Also, don't forget the room and setup. Any room treatments? If you haven't already, order Jim Smith's book Get Better Sound. It is invaluable. Remember, your setup and the room will give you 50% of the sound quality you will hear.

Tom
jimfinn2112 OP
25 posts
 
The speakers are Ascend Acoustics towers with the raal ribbon tweeters. The room is not treated with panels or traps, but is kind of naturally treated with rugs and bookshelves and so forth. I've used arc to measure till I can't measure anymore lol. It's been a really cool learning experience! I've been moving away from ht towards a 2 channel system. I decided I wanted to hear the music the best that I could afford! 
thecarpathian
4,152 posts
 
What is your opinion of the Ascend towers?
jimfinn2112 OP
25 posts
 
I like them a lot! They were hard to get setup in my room. I measured and moved for months! I have them running full range these days and the more bits they get the better they sound. I got to hear a pair of Spendor D9s and while they may have been better it wasn't by much!
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