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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
dmance's avatar
dmance
45 posts
 
I have a lowly celeron NUC as my server.  Its inside a 90dB RF-STOP isolation chamber with only optical I/O. This means zero RF noise escapes to impinge on my DAC and sounds, IMO, like endgame quality.  If we are all pragmatic, we know that the SGM Extreme bitstream is the same as my NUC's.  Exactly the same. The SGM is just a very very low RF noise source. All that metal and engineering buries the noise to be highly uncorrelated or at a level below where it matters to the DAC.  Yes, you can go in the $GM direction or be objective and focus on RF reduction with a few simple principles to get essentially the same result.
thyname's avatar
thyname
3,107 posts
 
LOL!!! of course! for every single piece of high end audio gear, there is a much, much, did I say much, much cheaper version that sounds just as good for a fraction of the cost. LOL!!
mahgister's avatar
mahgister
15,050 posts
 
I have a lowly celeron NUC as my server. Its inside a 90dB RF-STOP isolation chamber with only optical I/O. This means zero RF noise escapes to impinge on my DAC and sounds, IMO, like endgame quality
If you put some stones on your breaker panel you will discover that all the electrical grid of the house is only one integral piece, and that isolating one link from R.F. does not lower so much all the noise floor... This fact is underestimated completely.... And many companies sold some "magical" electronic component to solve this with some ready made solution out of the box...But controlling this noise floor is not the same thing than working only on one link as well electrically isolated as it is....
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mikelavigne
2,258 posts
 
@david_ten

Taiko Audio SGM Extreme 6Moons review:

"The Mount Everest of PC-Based Streamers" Blue Moon Award!

https://6moons.com/audioreview_articles/taiko/

nice review! you ought to hear the Extreme with the MSB Select II. pretty awesome.

agree that my local files are better than streaming, but i don’t get any of that streaming edgyness that the review referred to. not sure their network set-up was ideal. i think in a review temporary install you don't quite get the natural sorting out that would otherwise happen.
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