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Mola Mola Tambaqui or Denafrips Terminator Plus?

I need to pull the trigger, but there’s no opportunity to audition them. So far my thinking is:

Terminator Plus $6,700
+ Good reviews, lots of them
+ DAC only, no budget wasted on volume control, remote, etc.
+ Buy direct from distributor, no dealer mark-up
+ Tambaqui is 40% more expensive
- Less well-know Chinese manufacturer

Tambaqui $9,500
+ Good reviews, but fewer than Terminator Plus
+ Relatively cheap in my market
+ Very reputable manufacturer
- Sold through dealer network, increased mark-up
- Comes with volume control, pre amp, ethernet, bluetooth and remote which I don’t use

I’ve considered the dCS Bartok, but the Tambaqui seems to beat it while being 30% cheaper.

I listen to Tidal through a Roon Nucleus. Two channel, no headphones.
Amp: Dan D’Agostino Momentum Integrated. Speakers: Focal Stella Utopia Evo.

Anyone heard both? Any help with this decision is much appreciated.

P.S. In the next few years I’ll try to audition a more "end game" DAC to match the rest of the system. For now it’s Tambaqui or Terminator Plus.
robert1976
robert1976 OP
75 posts
 
@jaytor 

Cold out of the box, it wasn't quite as good as the Terminator, but after warming up for 24 hours, I think it probably reached parity and had continues to improve.
You mean the cold-out-of-the-box Terminator Plus is not a clear improvement over the cold-out-of-the-box standard Terminator? You're counting on burn-in for the Plus to show it's advantages over the non-Plus?
jaytor's avatar
jaytor
742 posts
 
No, I meant compared to the well burned in Terminator. 
yyzsantabarbara
4,461 posts
 
@robert1976 The Tambaqui algorithm or design was conceived by Bruno in 2006 (approx). I read an interview he gave on ASR web site on this. The Tambaqui was given a good rating on that site and he participated in the discussion to promote it. The DAC was first released to the market as an add-on module to the Makua preamp. This was a $6K option. This was regarded very well and Mola Mola decided to release the DAC module as a separate DAC called the Tambaqui. Some people preferred an external DAC.

I was initially thinking of getting the Makua since I needed a preamp and DAC. However, the Benchmark HPA4 preamp came into the picture touting the same sound as the Makua. I tried that out first at a much lower cost and it turned out to be a great choice. I was considering the Tambaqui next as the DAC. However, I went another way with the DACs by buying 4 cheaper DAC's which  currently have.
robert1976 OP
75 posts
 
@yyzsantabarbara Yes, that's true of course, their DAC technology existed way before the stand-alone Tambaqui was introduced. Thanks.
joyck88
3 posts
 
for me.. T plus cold start still way better than anything I heard or had that is including the terminator.   Does improve over 10 days period. Imaging and details that contribute to emotional factors are very best.   After hearing Tplus.... audiobyte which I felt it was better over terminator ..hit the road with burning rubber.  I would say Gaia will add good things to any DAC out there.  

Making digital music to get to the level of coherent Cd or analog or better .. not many choices out there.
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