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
Oh, and I highly doubt your modified switch does anything at all. To prove it does send one to ASR and have an independent test on the thing.
Hahahahahahahaha...Audiogon people are making it personal again. They become like little children again.

When you play bought music from a modified music server the amount of data of the same song is already a lot bigger than the amount of data when you stream the song by Tidal and Qobuz.

People are often amazed by the huge differences. The unknown in audio is so much bigger than people can even imagine. You need to hear it yourself to understand how huge the differences are.

We sell audio by a shootout, so people can always compare it themselves. You don’t need a university degree to hear and understand the differences.



Allow me to remind you, gentle readers, claiming to be a perfectionist is just another logical fallacy. It’s along the same lines as I’m a PhD in EE or I’ve been an audiophile for 40 years. You might as well start quoting Shakespeare and Einstein and posting links to How Electricity Works. I haven’t met too many audiophiles, by that I mean real audiophiles, not the fake ones, who didn’t consider themselves perfectionists. Perfectionism and obsessive compulsive disorder kind of go hand in glove you know.
Yo, what we talkin’ ’bout ’gain? (sorry, stepped away for couple days, eeks)

Those DAC demos can't come soon enough!!!  HURRY!!  We're losin' her, Captain!!
Audio will always be chosen on emotion. This is exactly where you can make a huge difference compared to all others. My clients and the people who know me who work in audio call me an extreme perfectionist. But in my world, it is 100% normal. I've been like this I was a child. I only call myself; different. 

Most people don't like the real truth. My clients accepted that trial&error has no foundation at all and that it is impossible to understand what you do and change. But there are many people who will keep on doing audio by trial&error until they stop.