Looking for my first DAC

I have an EAD DSP 7000 Mk3 on the market right now. This DAC is superb, it can decode HDCD and would match your system well. I think that even though it is an older design, it can compete well against even far more expensive DAC’s today. See my A’gon ad.

Hi whitestix,

 I have two problems with your idea.  The first is that I have the 93 and not the 103. With its age I don’t want to put all my eggs in one basket. The second is if I do the update, I’m stuck with it whether I like it or not. Whereas if I don’t like the Pro-Ject, I can return it to Crutchfield and try something else.  Oh and I have another spinner to play with. It’s a old Sony I’ve used for years.

Thanks for your ideas and I will checkout Stevedaves.com.

JD

All DACs under 4000$ sound simmilar to me. The one has better voices, the other better resolution, but they all lack the essential - emotions. So, take a mortage and buy some expensive tube DAC like EAR Yoshino or simmilar (european) stuff. You'll save your money actually by purchasing expensive gear. That's my humble opinion. Othervise, you'll start with one at 1000$ price tag, sell it for another and loose 500 bucks in transaction, then you'll replace the second one by third one etc. Your Acoustats need good tube dac.  

So does anyone know anything about a Pro-Ject Pre Box DS2 Digital. I ended up with one and there seems to be very little on the web about it. The Pre Box S2 is everywhere, but not the DS2. It’s a few years older but has more inputs and outputs as well as Bluetooth. It costs $900 vs $399.

Also are the AK 4490 d/a chips better or worse than the ESS Sabre 9038 chips.  I know that I won’t be getting MQA decoding, but that’s not important for now.

Thanks in advance.

JD