Luxman DA -06 Dac


Thinking of purchasing a Luxman DA-06 Dac. Going to hook a PS Audio Memory player to it and then analogue xlr to a Cary preamp. My question: anyone have knowledge of this Dac?
pennsy

Showing 2 responses by pdreher

I owned the DA-06 for a few years and loved it!  Detailed presentation, but very smooth, never fatiguing and always musical.  Operated flawlessly.

However, I recommend against buying/using the PS Audio Memory Player as I found it to be highly over-rated and the SQ was poor.   I wanted to like their transport, but was very disappointed. 

You would be better off pairing the Luxman DA-06 with a reputable music server.   The Bluesound Vault 2 is a good value and provides a lot of flexibility.

I only sold my DA-06 DAC because of a unique opportunity to acquire a new old stock Audio Aero Reference CDP + DAC at a good price.  If/when I buy another DAC down the road, the DA-06 will be on my short list.  I feel like it flies under the radar compared to many of the flavor of the month DAC's that come and go.
I initially used a Sound Science Diamond Music Vault server with my DA-06 and had excellent sound... but when my server starting having hard-drive problems (age related), I tried replacing it with the PS Perfectwave Transport (in large part because of the good reviews on Audiogon), but came away feeling the music was flat and lifeless.  I also tried an older CEC transport, and while it bettered the PS Memory player, it still fell short of the sound quality from my Sound Science computer server.  The Bluesound Vault 2 I have now is not as good as the Sound Science Server, but It's better sounding than the CEC and PS audio transports by a fair margin and provides greater flexibility at a great price.  My best digital source is a Audio 
Aero Reference CDP, but it's very pricey and the company sadly went belly-up in 2012.

If you do want to try a PS Audio Memory player, make sure you get one from a reseller with a good return policy (The Music Room / TMR) in case you don't like it.  

While I have not tried the Jays Audio Transport recommended by Twoleftears, I have heard great things about it and would give it a try if the dealer has a return policy.

BTW, I greatly respect the opinions of Charles1dad and Grannyring, as they are both generous, long time, reputable contributors to Audiogon.