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Higher End DACs

I am looking for a DAC (potentially streamer&DAC) to be paired in a mcintosh system (c1100/611). Its my first foray into digital streaming and I have no need for a CD player.

I see a lot of love for Esoteric, however, most seems to be around their transports? Are they not as renowned for pure digital streaming and/or standalone DACs? I see DCS (for instance) often referenced for standalone DACs - how does Esoteric compare?
ufguy73
rego
378 posts
 
Contact Crescendo Fine Audio for DCS Products, located in Wheatridge,
CO.
Some customers doing business are located out of State so do check into
what accommodations may be possible.
Also DCS does offer a Network Bridge as described at darko.audio.
https://darko.audio/2019/08/dcs-network-bridge-is-affordable-excellence/
mikelavigne
2,141 posts
 
i have a dac at the tip top of the dac food chain, the MSB Select II with mono powerbases. it has amazing performance and price to match.

but if i was wanting to get streaming at the top of the heap i would focus more on getting the tip top server; which is what i have.....the SGM Extreme server. you can match the Extreme with a number of great dacs not as spendy as my MSB and still get really fine streaming performance. i love how Quboz and Tidal sound on my system.

the Extreme is clearly the best performing server, and has excellent support and is very future proof.

not much on Audiogon on this server; but here is a link to a thread on another forum, and a link to the Extreme home page.

http://www.whatsbestforum.com/threads/taiko-audio-sgm-extreme-the-cr%C3%A8me-de-la-cr%C3%A8me.27433/

http://taikoaudio.com/product/sgm-extreme/

it’s awesome and has taken the top level server market by storm.
zprr
306 posts
 
+1 @mikelavigne re: Extreme
ufguy73 OP
51 posts
 
@mikelavigne thanks for weighing in, here!

so, that is interesting. I was under the impression that if one were to prioritize one component over another (recognizing the ’chain’ dependencies in play) it would be the DAC over the streamer.

But your direct experience suggests otherwise?
m1k3
23 posts
 
DCS Bartok maybe. DAC, streamer, and you can even get a headphone amp add-on. For around $15k you can get an integrated all-in-one system better for less than the sum of its parts.

I wish I could say I own one, but I have listened to the headphone amp out of one at a dealer and I was impressed with the all-around quality of the product.

This review really got me excited: 

https://audiophilestyle.com/ca/reviews/dcs-bartok-review-r849/

I bought a Lumin U1 Mini to tide me over (feeding an RME ADI-2 DAC which also acts as my headphone amp) while I save my pennies for a Bartok.

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