Aurender N10

@latik, never heard of that one, will have a look and thanks for the links!

If you are looking at R-2R DACS, the Audio-GD products are also excellent.

The Denafrips Terminator is excellent I'm sure.  It is voiced just slightly laid back (due to the Elna Silmic capacitors used in power supply). 

The Audio-GD is not going to be quite as laid back and more neutral / high resolution I think:

http://www.audio-gd.com/Products-EN.htm

The R-7HE is the most expensive offering, but not as expensive as the Terminator.

Audio-GD also uses discrete analot output stage.  The Terminator uses op amps I believe.

@welcher, I cannot answer your question if you should purchase the Bricasti M21 DAC or the Bricasti M3 DAC. The answer depends on your budget, audio goals, what you are trying to accomplish, your existing equipment, your listening room and many other complex factors.

For me, I visited my local retailer who made several suggestions. I sold my Sonus Faber Olympica II speakers and purchased the PNC Twenty5.26 speakers. He also demoed the SimAudio 700i V2 integrated amp (and also had me listen to the SimAudio 600i V2 amp) and I eventually purchased the 700i V2 amplifier. Based on my previous positive experience with Bricasti, I called them to discuss buying one of their DAC’s. They strongly recommended the Bricasti M21 DAC. From the THE Show in Southern California, I called Sheri (a friend) and asked her opinion. She recently replaced her Bricasti M1SE DAC with the M21 model. She said “the M21 was outstanding and she loved it”. This DAC has both a signal delta DAC and a laddered DAC, so you have listening options.

I called my retailer to discuss the M21 and also spoke to Brian (their President) and Damon (Bricasti Sales Manager) to further discuss the M21 DAC. I know both of them from THE Show when I visited their booth. To make a long story short, I purchased the Bricasti M21 DAC and it is truly excellent. I use the laddered DAC option and use an AES/EBU cable from my Aurender N10 to the DAC. The sound quality of the SimAudio 700i amp and M21 DAC was exactly what I was looking for. Of course, the PNC Twenty5.26 speakers are outstanding. Power cords are the Clarity Vortex Power Cord. I use the Kubala-Sosna Emotion AES/EBU cable (N10 to M21) and the Kubala-Sosna Expression Interconnect XLR Cable (DAC to amp). I am very satisfied with the sound quality of this system and so are my friends that have heard it.

Okay, back to my home theatre system and YOUR original question. My Ayre Codex DAC was excellent, but I wanted to try something else. At that time Bricasti, just announced the M3 DAC. After several phone calls with my retailer, and Bricasti, I purchased the M3 DAC in January 2020. It took some time for the M3 to break in BUT it was light years BETTER THAN the Ayre Codex DAC. Please NOTE this is a 2-channel home theatre and my LG OLED TV connects to the M3 DAC and then balanced cables to my integrated amp. I like this system very much and highly recommend you consider the Bricasti M3 DAC. The addition of the Bricasti M3 DAC “substantially improved” the sound quality of this system. I recently replaced my Ayre AX-7e amplifier with the SimAudio 340i Integrated amplifier. My SimAudio 340i amplifier amp is beginning to sound great. The bass of this system is excellent. I am impressed since the mids and highs are much better than my Ayre AX-7e amp was. My sense is the music is clearer, more open and has more details. Of course, I am sure my PMC Twenty5.21 speakers are helping everything sound great AND so is my Bricasti M3 DAC. I was told that SimAudio amps require about 300 hours of play time to hit their stride. This means my amplifier needs more break-in time.

In summary, the Bricasti M21 DAC is outstanding, and I highly recommend it IF you have the budget, supporting high quality equipment and you want state of the art sound quality. The addition of the M21 substantially improved the sound quality of this system. To my ears, everything sounds truly outstanding. The M21’s “advanced architecture means you can select, evaluate and enjoy three independent digital to analog converter signal paths: 24-bit delta sigma, 20-bit ladder DAC and true 1-bit DSD for DSD content. Engineering autonomous conversion paths creates an efficient platform for you to enjoy your music and explore the advantages of each”. The M21 is a world class DAC and is highly recommended.

On the other hand, if you have budget is around $5,000 and you are looking for a very good sounding DAC, I strongly recommend the Bricasti M3. The M3 “offers an incredible array of performance in a more affordable price class. It includes two fully differential conversion channels, separate conversion for PCM and native DSD, and a balanced analog level control circuit, making the M3 suitable for all applications”.

I also looked at the MSB Discrete DAC but everything thing was an extra cost option (USB, AES/EBU, power supply, etc.,). The dCS Bartok was also interesting but, based on my research, I kept coming back to Bricasti. The Chord DAVE was on my list, but I decided to pass (my Chord retailer was very pushy and not helpful). I considered the Denafrips Terminator and decided to pass. I hope this helps.

What a system, what an experience, what a passion, what expertise. What a deep and informative read!

@hickamore, Thank you very much for your very kind words. I appreciate what you said and hope that my experience helps you make the right decision on purchasing your audio equipment.