I've been away from big living room systems for quite awhile (ie, tube preamps, amps, subs/speakers). It has been all desktop audio for me over the past decade.
I've owned 4 DACs for the desktop. Never heard any big-bucks audiophile approved models so can't comment. However, I can tell you that I have not found all DACs to sound alike (not even close).
My appreciation of digital audio was revolutionized 1 year ago when I took the plunge & bought an Audio GD NOS 19 (the non-oversampling version of their popular DAC-19 R2 R design). What a difference! Most of the differences come in tonality/rendition of audio frequencies, rather than soundstaging (w/o a big, bad L.R. audio system, it's harder for me to evaluate soundstaging).
The NOS 19 is by far the least digital DAC I've ever heard. While not sounding exactly like analog (T.T. or tape), it also sounds nothing like any delta-sigma DAC I've heard. No more tizzy/anxiety-producing glare in upper midrange & treble; no more dry-as-a-bone bass (deep, hitting hard, but dry).
The NOS 19 sounds organic, relaxed, spacious, tonally rich. Either through quality headphones or my powered desktop monitors (modded Yamaha HS7s + SVS SB1000 sub), I cannot detect any frequency emphasis at all. Some say it's rolled off in the upper treble. I'm not sure about that.
Beyond having a non-tizzy treble, the NOS 19 has a very pleasing fullness to notes (all frequencies). The bass is very nice, indeed; it has been called "wet" (opposite of dry), and I would agree with that. More to the point, cellos or a jazz string bass sound totally like real instruments. Bass notes launch, then decay in a most natural way.
The NOS 19 so impressed me that I purchased on of the last of the non-oversampling DAC-19s (it has been superceded by a different Audio GD R2 R model). The DAC-19 is also quite impressive IMO, again, sounding little like any delta-sigma DAC. I find it lacks that last bit of fullness & organic sound, but had I not heard the NOS 19, the DAC-19 would be far and away my favorite DAC.
You can find a used DAC-19 online for ~$600. You should look for one from 2016 onward. I used HiFiShark.com for these searches. Here is their result from a DAC-19 search:
https://www.hifishark.com/search?q=Audio+GD+DAC-19
(the audiocircle listing looks pretty decent to me)
It's unusual to find a NOS 19 F.S., though they do come up every now and then.
I've owned 4 DACs for the desktop. Never heard any big-bucks audiophile approved models so can't comment. However, I can tell you that I have not found all DACs to sound alike (not even close).
My appreciation of digital audio was revolutionized 1 year ago when I took the plunge & bought an Audio GD NOS 19 (the non-oversampling version of their popular DAC-19 R2 R design). What a difference! Most of the differences come in tonality/rendition of audio frequencies, rather than soundstaging (w/o a big, bad L.R. audio system, it's harder for me to evaluate soundstaging).
The NOS 19 is by far the least digital DAC I've ever heard. While not sounding exactly like analog (T.T. or tape), it also sounds nothing like any delta-sigma DAC I've heard. No more tizzy/anxiety-producing glare in upper midrange & treble; no more dry-as-a-bone bass (deep, hitting hard, but dry).
The NOS 19 sounds organic, relaxed, spacious, tonally rich. Either through quality headphones or my powered desktop monitors (modded Yamaha HS7s + SVS SB1000 sub), I cannot detect any frequency emphasis at all. Some say it's rolled off in the upper treble. I'm not sure about that.
Beyond having a non-tizzy treble, the NOS 19 has a very pleasing fullness to notes (all frequencies). The bass is very nice, indeed; it has been called "wet" (opposite of dry), and I would agree with that. More to the point, cellos or a jazz string bass sound totally like real instruments. Bass notes launch, then decay in a most natural way.
The NOS 19 so impressed me that I purchased on of the last of the non-oversampling DAC-19s (it has been superceded by a different Audio GD R2 R model). The DAC-19 is also quite impressive IMO, again, sounding little like any delta-sigma DAC. I find it lacks that last bit of fullness & organic sound, but had I not heard the NOS 19, the DAC-19 would be far and away my favorite DAC.
You can find a used DAC-19 online for ~$600. You should look for one from 2016 onward. I used HiFiShark.com for these searches. Here is their result from a DAC-19 search:
https://www.hifishark.com/search?q=Audio+GD+DAC-19
(the audiocircle listing looks pretty decent to me)
It's unusual to find a NOS 19 F.S., though they do come up every now and then.