Which DAC: Benchmark, Mytek, Audio Mirror, Holo Audio, Mojo Audio?


Looking to upgrade my current Rega DAC-R and have been doing some internet searching and these DACs look interesting and fit within my price range:
BENCHMARK - DAC3 B - $1700
MYTEK DIGITAL Mytek - Liberty DAC - $1000

Audio Mirror - TUBADOUR III DAC - $1200
Holo Audio – Spring DAC 2/3 - $1900-2700
Mojo Audio - Mystique v2 SE DAC - $2500
The other option is to just stick with the Rega DAC-R
I play CDs only and would like to maximize that format. Anyone have experience with these DACs? I have no opportunity to audition them where I live.

Which DAC would provide the most significant upgrade from the Rega? The Rega frames the music well and sounds good with almost every disc I throw at it. I’m not shooting for different and I don’t want something that will limit what's  enjoyable (CDs or types of music).
128x128musichead

Showing 4 responses by musichead

I am willing to pay up to $2,500 but question whether that amount really is required. Nothing wrong with the Rega DAC, if I had the $ I would just buy the Rega Isis CDP. To put it into perspective my TT setup is a TW Acoustic TT / DV Xv1s / Tron 7 phono. My TT setup is better of course but musically the Rega DAC frames the music the same but lacks slightly in every parameter: dynamics, transparency, etc. How the Rega excells is it makes almost every CD enjoyable.

Had an Apollo R in my system for a while, tried it as a transport and compared them. The Rega DAC R is much better, the Apollo was good but the DAC is much better. With the Apollo about 10% of my CDs went from enjoyable to not engaging. The true test for me is whether it can draw me into the music when I'm not actively listening or does it just become a wall of sound.
The Chord Qutest was actually on top of my list until I started digging deeper into some of the discussions. Some people were making claims that it was sterile and analytical. I don't believe everything I read but there seems to be a lot of spamming with the Chord and Schiit DACs on the net. The sterile and analytical complaints of modern DACs lead me down the R2R path which sounds more interesting but they seem to be coming from overseas companies and some have had issues with measurements.
Problem with detailed focus digital:

I did the CDP climb about 15 years ago, each step up more details were revealed in recording. At the time I thought I was moving into better but what I learned and became aware of later was the number of CDs in my collection that were enjoyable was reduced and the types of music I enjoyed got more narrow. There is a reason artists and music like Diana Krall became so popular over this time period. Loved Led Zep as a kid, thought maybe I grew out of them when I listened to them on CD, spinning them on vinyl was a point of awareness of what improving digital did to the recordings. I learned at demos to bring my worst sounding CD that I enjoyed to not just the nice sounding CDs.

I moved deeper into vinyl, sold off my expensive CDP and invested in a better TT setup. As I upgraded all vinyl recording improved each step. 
Settled on the Rega DAC R for digital and was impressed how well it framed every kind of music and I was back to buying CDs again. Now I'm itching to improve my digital hoping there is a better DAC that frames the music in a way that doesn't reduce what I enjoy or narrows the type of music I listen to. Digital has changed so much, the R2R design looks interesting and in general how it's marketed seems to be in line with my focus. My concerns are how some of them measure and most come out of China which could be an issue for service or repair in the future.
Please post your impressions on each. Add the Holo Springs to your list if possible it's on top of my list. The Mojo Mystique V2 SE is very interesting but not much information on the net about it.