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Most organic / real / analogue sounding DAC (ideally with Volume Control) for $1500??????

I’d say I’m completely jaded with digital Hifi.   All sounds so thin & clinical.

I people raving about Benchmark DACs & Chord Mojos etc. They sound like hell to me.   Nothing at all like real live voices & instruments.

I’ve been reading about R2R Ladders & NOS.   The descriptions match what I’m looking for.   I want natural sound that makes me forget about Hifi & just listen to the music.
like Reel to Reel without the faff.

Lifelike is my aim, but I certainly prefer a warm, dark sound over clinical.

Don't need a load of inputs.  Only need 2 or 3.
I don’t have any analog sources, so prefer the DAC to have Volume Control to eliminate the need for a Pre Amp.   However, if the best sounding DACs don’t have Volume Control & there are clear sonic benefits to having a Preamp, then I could be persuaded.

I’m in UK btw, so need brands that ship to UK.


Suggestions please?


Thanks

singintheblues

Showing 2 responses by kennyc

kennyc
1,188 posts
 
If you want an “analog” sounding DAC, I don’t think you can for $1500. The Prima Luna EVO 100 Tube DAC Is $3k. The Halo Audio May DAC starts at $4k. You may like the Halo Audio Spring DAC which starts at $1.7k. The other DACs suggested sound great for the money, but I don’t believe it’ll meet your “analog” requirement.

For $1.5k, you may try a tube type DAC (maybe used) which may have a fuller midrange and be less digital sounding, but you may be sacrificing transparency, detail, and increasing your noise floor.

People in search of “real”, the type that can fool you into thinking you’re listening to a live event including the venue’s unique sonics, differences in piano brand, dropping the noise floor to black (Super low/unperceivable), etc., can easily spend into the 5 figures per component.  
kennyc
1,188 posts
 
While most seem to say that vinyl sounds better than digital, digital also can sound great. Digital also offers the following advantages:
- cheaper price of admission
- cheaper media
- more available media
- much more available songs, albums
- purchase songs and not whole albums
- creating playlists
- portable devices
- can be easily copied to a variety of storage devices
- the audio performance/technology is growing at an incredible rate
- the convenience of streaming
- the ability to access vast libraries of songs through subscription services including high res files
- the ability to attach metadata to the album/songs, like asking which albums did this artist perform on, biographies, full credits, etc
- the convenience to choosing songs through my iPad while sitting down and not having to battle gravity by getting my lazy ass up except for snack reloads and bathroom breaks (two highly motivated activities)

Why choose? I have both audio chains.

However, there are some aspects of lowering the noise floor in digital that drives me little crazy thinking about:
fiber optic filtering interconnect and Ethernet, linear power supplies, signal re-generators, master clocks, audiophile Ethernet cards, stacking audiophile Ethernet cards, vibration control surfaces, additional cabling, cost

Sometimes it seems like:
Obsessive Me
           vs
my bank account, WAF, family, friends, the rest of the world MINUS like minded audiophiles
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