Looking for my first DAC

leemaze,

The OPPO 93 has Toslink and RCA digital outputs, and it’s currently my only digital source, so for now I only need one input.  

JD

millercarbon,

Please tell me more about modding.  Who, what, where and of course, how much. 

Thanks.

JD

sfar,

Great idea. I have a subscription and will have to find the review.

My bad for not doing my homework.

Thanks!

JD

mzkmxcv,

Thanks for the suggestions.  I'll be sure to look at them tonight.

JD

david_ten &  sfar,

I agree, the DAC in the 93, was never as good as the 95.  I also agree that using the 93 as a spinner is best way to go. But I am no closer to knowing what to buy yet. The Bifrost is $599 new gets good reviews and I can plug it right into the 93 and out to the preamp. 

Any other suggestions would be great.

Thanks.

JD

Here is a PDF of the back of the OPPO BDP 93.  It shows the inputs and the outputs I have.

http://download.oppodigital.com/BDP93/BDP-93%20English%20Manual%20v2.21.pdf

JD

Hey MrD,

The Acoustat model X's have their own proprietary servo amps. they are hybrid opamp - tube. 

I look for your post with great interest.

Thanks.

JD

serancien,

I never gave a thought to a volume control.  Why would I need one? And I am only CD's at present and don't have any immediate plans to stream.

Thanks.

JD

david_ten,

I have read many of the forum posts but there are very few about "starter DAC's"   In the past I have been able to listen to things and let my ears make the choice.  Today, that's very hard to do. In the last year I have only been to one store where I listened to some VERY high end products.  I drooled all over everthing!  When the sales guy asked me if I wanted to listen to a $67.000 DAC, It was time for me to go and pick up my wife, so I sadly said no.
Anyway, I like my system, but it's a be a bit flat.  So I'm looking for something to brighten it up.  

Thank you.

JD

mahler123,
Thanks, the Liberty looks great!  
I looked at a used Wyred4sound dac2 as well. It has many upgrades as well.
I still need a trial period so I can listen before I buy, so the Bifrost Multibit is still very much on the list.

So the search continues.

JD

sfar,
I looked at the 2019 list and saw your Pro-ject Pre Box S2 DAC. Seeing as I’m just starting down the path, what can tell me about how the sound changed in your system?  With Crutchfields 60 day trial, I can add it to my list.

JD

markcdaniel, sfar, big_greg, and all,

So far my list is the Liberty, The Wyred4sound D2, The Bifrost and the Pro-ject Box DAC. I’m probably going to start with the Pro-ject Box became it comes from Crutchfield and has the 60 day trial and the Bifrost with its 15 day trial.  That way I can A/B them.  I have to find if any of the Liberty dealers will let me try one out.

JD

I’ve also been looking on HiFiShark and EBay and while there are hundreds of DAC’s listed, there are no Bifrost MultiBit. And almost no Shiit at all. 
I guess everyone keeps them.

JD

Wouldn’t you know it, an hour and a half after my rant, I got a reply from Schiit telling me either would be good choices. Still want to A/B them but I hate how impersonal their whole setup is.

Maybe the walls have ears!

LOL

JD

So I called Shiit. The answering system says say your name and they would connect you to the proper place. Scratching my head I said Jim and the went it a multi level answering service that led me to email address after email address. Never did talk to a live person!
So I left an email asking about purchasing the Bifrost Multibit or the  Gungnir Multibit.
That was Tuesday and I’m still waiting for a response! 
So his afternoon I called Crutchfield and after thirty seconds I was talking with someone.  We talked about my needs and the Pro-Ject Pre Box S2 and some other products.  When all was said and done I bought the Pro-Ject. With 60 days to listen, I’ll have plenty of time to make up my mind.  I really wanted to do an A/B with a Schiit product, but I guess it will have to wait until they answer my email.  So far I am not impressed with their customer service.

JD

Hi 213runnin,
you are right that I don’t want to go over $1000. For my first DAC, but there is a Gungnir Multibit on eBay for $900 that I have an eye on, but are you saying it’s quality is subpar? Or am I misunderstanding you? 

Thanks.

JD

Hi whitestix,

 I have two problems with your idea.  The first is that I have the 93 and not the 103. With its age I don’t want to put all my eggs in one basket. The second is if I do the update, I’m stuck with it whether I like it or not. Whereas if I don’t like the Pro-Ject, I can return it to Crutchfield and try something else.  Oh and I have another spinner to play with. It’s a old Sony I’ve used for years.

Thanks for your ideas and I will checkout Stevedaves.com.

JD

So does anyone know anything about a Pro-Ject Pre Box DS2 Digital. I ended up with one and there seems to be very little on the web about it. The Pre Box S2 is everywhere, but not the DS2. It’s a few years older but has more inputs and outputs as well as Bluetooth. It costs $900 vs $399.

Also are the AK 4490 d/a chips better or worse than the ESS Sabre 9038 chips.  I know that I won’t be getting MQA decoding, but that’s not important for now.

Thanks in advance.

JD