Still looking for a DAC I can demo at home. . .


I'm looking to spend up to $4500 on a DAC. Must be able to demo at home!  Yes-- I know-- this eliminates  many possibilities but I don't actually enjoy buying/selling gear, so buying gear on A'gon to try, and then having to re-sell it, holds 0 appeal for me. I think of myself as a music lover rather than an audiophile. Perhaps, for those of you reading this, other, less flattering adjectives come to mind ;o), but nevertheless, the search goes on. I have:  Wells Majestic integrated, Silverline SR 17.5 Monitors. I plan to keep my Jolida JD100 cdp as a transport. Emotional involvement, "musicality" (lots of arguments about what that means, I know) are more important to me than hyper detail. Borrowing John Darko's analogy, I'm more interested in "tasting cake" than knowing whether the butter is organic, the eggs are laid by Rhode Island Red hens or Sea Turtles, the flour is winter or spring wheat, etc. Sea Turtles? OK- I'm starting to experience the particular flavor of insanity that comes from spending far too much time reading threads and reviews.  I've held off  trying Schiit Yggy due to conflicting reports re: whether its resolution is too "digital/analytical" sounding. PS Audio Directstream JR. has its fans and critics. Anything else in this price range I can demo at home ???
stuartk

Showing 1 response by shadorne

Benchmark DAC 3 - no taste - a neutral DAC that may sound a little more forward in the mids than most "smile" EQd DACs - as resolving as it gets but sounds like vinyl (absolutely no harshness) - "SOTA performance" Stereophile Class A+ - 30 day return/trial.

https://www.stereophile.com/content/benchmark-dac3-hgc-da-preamplifier-headphone-amplifier

No brainer to try this and return it if doesnt work for your setup. As far as emotional, it will extact every ounce of passion and PRAT from your music without sounding clinical or like the music has been dissected. It sounds warm or euphonic if the track was recorded that way but won’t add extra warmth.