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DAC finalist please help

Hi all,
hope everyone is doing well this holiday season.
I’m back on the DAC hunt and I have narrowed down to these different but compelling DAC’s.
Unlike a lot of you guys on Audiogon I’m not a millionaire : (  My budget is only 1,500 bucks but I think there are some good choices in that range.
If any of you folks have experience with any of these pieces I would greatly appreciate your thoughts.

I’m replacing a McCormack DAC-1 that I have owned since new.
I still listen and continue to buy Redbook CD’s so something that would be kind to those is important.
I’m trying to make the determination on overall what would work and sound the best.
NOS with tubes is intriguing as is R2R as is just a good chip set.
I’m looking at a Aragon D2A used $600 for redbook playback and maybe teaming it up with a Xiangsheng 05B to handle modern formats DSD etc, less than 500 bucks the two together would be just north of a grand.
On the NOS front the Audio Mirror Tubadour III NOS w/tubes, new $1,500.

The Denafrips Ares II R2R used about 800 bucks, or the Musician - Pegasus, new around $1,100.
And then there is the Line Magnetic 502CA tube, used 700-800 dollars.
I love the look of the LM and it's got a great tube stage, I definitely have a bit of a crush on this one.

I realize I’m a little bit all over the Map here, but again if anyone has thoughts or has /had one of these DAC’s I’m all ears...Many thanks and Happy Holidays!HG
grossman616
jjss49's avatar
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jjss49
6,610 posts
 
@grossman616

you can remove the mini tube tube adapter to run 6922 tubes in the tubador - this doubles your gain at the dac output... you can then tube roll and that is fun and good to manage tonality to your preference

Tubes used in the DAC are 5977 subminiature tubes. They are mounted on a special tube adaptor, which is plugged into a regular 9 pin tube socket. You can just unplug the adaptor and use regular 9pin tubes, which can be any of the following tubes: 6N1P, 6DJ8, ECC88, 6922 and 6H23P. After experimenting with many tubes we found that 5977 is the best sounding tube for this application. Second best sounding tube is 6N1P. After all it’s a matter of taste. All the 9pin tubes mentioned above have almost twice the gain of 5977, therefore you will have twice higher output level from the DAC - around 2V. Expected tube life for 5977 subminiature tubes is  >5000 hrs.

good luck
pastorbob's avatar
pastorbob
74 posts
 
Hi,
I heartily second the AM T III
@cal3713's post is spot on.
I have the base model. Paid under 1500.00 from Vlad.
He is a pleasure to deal with.
There is always the option to upgrade to the SE, but at this point I'm extremely happy with the base.
Good luck.

Kind regards,
PB
morningstaraudio's avatar
morningstaraudio
154 posts
 
Soekris 1541 sounds superb.
glennewdick's avatar
glennewdick
1,503 posts
 
in your price range you should also consider Schiit Audio, they made their name on bang for buck DAC’s not to mention they have one of the all time hero’s in DAC designers designing them, Mike Moffett. I tired a few in your price range a year ago and settled for the Schiit Audio Gungnir Multi Bit ( R2R is multi bit) $1299. but I’d look at YGGDRASIL GS $1599. its Schiit’s top model at $2499 with their older analogue card 1 they are selling for a dam  good deal IMO. 

Schiit Audio: Audio Products Designed and Built in California


mitch2
3,691 posts
 
I have a Metrum Jade in my second system and it sounds good. I can also say I just this week purchased a McCormack DAC-1 that is on its way to Steve McCormack so he can perform his magic. SMc is currently way backed up and the cost will probably be north of $2K and, as you know, the end result will only be an 18 bit DAC that doesn’t do any sort of high res, but some people with pretty good ears like how those upgraded DAC-1s sound, so I am going to find out. In the meantime, I am enjoying a Mojo Mystique V3, which sounds really good but is more than what you want to spend. The Schitt DACs should be a good fit for you and a nice balance between price and performance at the price you are looking to spend.  Maybe also consider DACs from MHDT Labs.
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