What's the best Dac for the money


I've been looking for a Dac , approx to spend $5-7 k here is a list I've tried calyx femto $7000 very good but very sterile , Abington research $4000 but found it had no soul $4500 , then a friend told me about a Dac by audio horizon and a trial program they have with there gear , interested buyers can try it on there systems , so I arranged to get one shipped for trial

This Dac was really something micro detail a lot better than the others soundstage was huge , bottom end better especially for a $3500 price tAg compared to the others , I just want to know if others had the same results , as I forward the money for purchase this Dac this audio horizon Dac is the real deal , it surprises me on every cd
pavpet
Post removed 
Resonessence Mirus is in your price range; has a SD card reader on it which is a superior way to listen to music and also does DSD. Excellent sound. If DSD isn't important, the Berkeley Alpha DAC 2 is another extremely musical DAC with fantastic sound
Lots of diverse and competing product out there, but only a few will dovetail into that mystical synergy with your existing gear.

Highlighting your gear would help with getting some meaningful suggestions.

Otherwise all you are likely going to get is more heavily personally biased and anecdotal self-serving testimonials that will have no bearing on working best in your system other than by BS and blind luck.

(Or worse, it may sound like crap simply because it does not work with your particular gear .... one-size does not fit all))
If this dac is the real deal then why list it for sale now so soon after this ?
If this dac is the real deal then why list it for sale now so soon after this ?
Your question is as subjective as peoples statements- your on a used audio site where people save a ton of bucks by buying well treated and broken in gear. Most times, we buy blind as we do not get the luxury of testing out product in our own audio chain. Sometimes we win and sometimes we don't. When that happens, we flip it.

By spending the time chatting with others and doing some research, you can get pretty close to hitting a winner as you already know the sonic signature of your current gear.

Price is BS in MANY cases. The parts in a well designed $250 box might be very close to the parts in a $2500 box- Yes, that is not the whole story behind the sound, but I am not a fan of paying for hype.

You sound like a smart guy with some $ to spend. You will likely make a good choice.
If this dac is the real deal then why list it for sale now so soon?
Good question, le. Why do you think Pavpet is selling the Audio Horizons DAC? Did he have it listed for sale on 2-3, because I do not see it listed for sale now?

For Pavpet, how about an update on how your Audio Horizons DAC sounds. For some years now, they have offered products that buyers have reported to be a high value for the price. What model did you purchase, the 32/192 Upsampling TD 3.1 Tube DAC? Did you get any extras or upgrades by Audio Horizons? How does it sound now, compared to the others you tried?
Overdrive SE is the DAC to beat. Combine this DAC with the Final Drive transformer buffer and Short-Block USB filter for best results. $9948.00 for all of these with the best options.

http://www.empiricalaudio.com/products/overdrive-dac

You will not want to use a preamp with this DAC. The volume control beats all active preamps. Its not a preamp and its not software digital.

There were dCS Vivaldi stacks in rooms on either side of me at RMAF 2013 and although they were very good, I would pick the Overdrive SE over these.

Steve N.
Empirical Audio
This with 8 stacked Dac modules with all brass harmonically tensioned chassis and outboard power supply mounted to 2 custom terminated Sistrum platforms...Don't use an aluminum chassis it is sonically much inferior than one made of brass. Tom
http://www.dddac.com/
After trying over a dozen DACs, consistently the best sound is always from Weiss equipment, either their entry level stuff or the Medea + is just out of this world.
I'm picking up a Meitner MA-1 this weekend. Can't wait. What did u ultimately decide on?
Have owned everything up to 80k. Wyred Dac 2dsd se with Femto clock is a steal at $2500 retail. I thought it killed PS Direct Stream. Which I had my DCS 80K stack back to compare.
The dac in the Vitus RCD-101 sacd player. The RCD-101 sounds better than the previous Signature Series player (SCD-010) which was awesome! I rate it above MSB and many other dacs like DCS, Emm etc for musicality. I would also easily vote for the RCD-101 as "Best cd player for the money".
You should check out the PS Audio Direct Stream. It is an "ear-opener" for Redbook and has SOTA capabilities for hi-res and DSD. beautiful looking too.

Neal
Has anyone here heard the Aqua Hifi La Scala MKII DAC? The price is at the upper end of the OP's range ($6,800 USD), which puts it below the upper Lampizator and Rowland DACs, and about equal to the Empirical ODSE. It has received several very positive reviews but hardly any comments here.
John Darko review of Aqua HiFi La Scala MKII
I'd suggest the Wyred 4 Sound DAC-2 DSD SE with Femto clock upgrade, all for under 3K.
Mitch, that seems to be about the Price if the L6, so only the L7 would be more expensive.
Yeah, I should have said the "top" Lampizator and Rowland DACs.

The Aqua has some interesting features such as their use of a galvanic and magnetic separation circuit with high-speed opto-couplers, hybrid tube/Mosfet output stage, and modular design. I am curious how those who have heard it would rank the SQ.
I have two mhdt non-oversampling DACs, a Paradisea and A Constantine, and both are extremely good for the low price of admission. I auditioned various "reference level" setups when I was looking, and I feel no need to change.

Have not heard the more recent mhdt models though, so cannot speak for those, but I have never read anything except praise about any mhdt DAC, which is why I decided to give them a go originally.
Wisnon, I auditioned an L4G4 and I thought it sounded good in some respects, like midrange tonality, musicality, dimensionality and decay, but not so good at the extremes and specifically in the bass, which I thought had body but lacked impact.

Like Mapman, I have been content to stay with my non-oversampling R2R DAC, a Metrum Hex. So far, I have found the Hex to keep up with source upgrades I have done to my Mac mini server and USB delivery. A recent inquiry about updating to their latest/new USB board that works with OS X Mavericks was answered promptly and reasonably by Cees himself at Metrum, indicating good client service, which is important to me.

Because I am curious about how a higher level (aka more expensive) DAC might sound in my system, and because of my preference for solid state, I am planning on trying the ODSE when the opportunity permits. Even though the Aqua has two tubes (a tube/MOSFET hybrid output stage), Darko's comments about the unit sparked my interest in learning more.

I have not considered the L7 because of the price. If I decide to extend to that price level, the CAD 1543 and the Total DAC would be on my “must hear” list.
I dont know the CAD, but i have heard the TodalDac dor an hour and a half at a show. I much prefer the L7.

If you can get to hear one, do so...my 2 cents.
I am using the Mirus and find it amazing with it's 8 Sabre chips per channel combined.

We also use Amara through it's cache and it plays lossless files close to 24 bit.
Unless I am listening to DVDAs or SACDs through a 5.2 system then that puts a whole new spin on things.