Pretty happy with the Ares II and had the Topping D90 and that was good as well, would pull the trigger on a Pontus if it was cheaper, in that vague justification that I might possibly be missing something.
Looking for a DAC under 2k
I'm using a Small Green Computer Optical Rendu to bring usb to a DAC.
Looking for a new DAC around 2k new or used.
Recently, I had a Border Patrol Se-i which sounded beautiful with a great soundstage and a relaxed sound. Unfortunately, dynamics and bass definition were weak.
Next up, I tried the ifi Pro iDSD. Detailed and clean, but lots and lots of settings to play with. Became noisy after a couple hours and eventually stopped putting out sound and went silent. Can't deal with that kind of poor quality, but really would have prefer a little warmer sound.
I borrowed my Chord Qutest from my headphone system. Very good with my tube headphone system, and not bad on the speaker system, but would like something a bit more analog sounding, like a Border Patrol with dynamic punch and clearly defined, not muddy bass.
TIA, for suggestions.
Looking for a new DAC around 2k new or used.
Recently, I had a Border Patrol Se-i which sounded beautiful with a great soundstage and a relaxed sound. Unfortunately, dynamics and bass definition were weak.
Next up, I tried the ifi Pro iDSD. Detailed and clean, but lots and lots of settings to play with. Became noisy after a couple hours and eventually stopped putting out sound and went silent. Can't deal with that kind of poor quality, but really would have prefer a little warmer sound.
I borrowed my Chord Qutest from my headphone system. Very good with my tube headphone system, and not bad on the speaker system, but would like something a bit more analog sounding, like a Border Patrol with dynamic punch and clearly defined, not muddy bass.
TIA, for suggestions.
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- 69 posts total
BLACK ICE GLASS FX TUBE DAC DSD WI-FI https://hometheaterhifi.com/reviews/dac/black-ice-glass-fx-tube-dac-dsd-wi-fi-review/ Heck of a lot cheaper than 2k and one of the best bargains in a dac out there period. Black ice is the old Jolida. For a whole bunch less, the musical fidelity v90 dac @ $299... yup, I said it $299. I mention these two dacs for good reason, they are both excellent and prove you do not need to spend thousands on a dac to get great sound. I own both the v90 dac as well as the older Jolida glass fx tube dac. |
Since Wadia has been shelved by the McIntosh Lab their 321 DAC can be had for a song and 3rd party support is available. https://www.audioexcellence.ca/blog/2018/4/4/wadia-di322-introduction321-specials |
D100 is proly out there in the wild as well and is very similar I think, Same ESS Sabre implementation with digital volume control. https://www.avforums.com/reviews/mcintosh-d100-digital-preamp-review.590 |
- 69 posts total