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DAC recommendation in 5 to 10K range

I recently get to the point that I want to try a new DAC in $5 to $10K range and would like to know if there are recommendations I should try and audition.

 

My current DAC is a Denafrips Terminator, to me, Terminator is an overall fun DAC that provide good clarity, energy, and scale. It has strong macrodynamic focus with good impact and punch, as well as solid resolving power and texture, but I feel drawback is lacking micro dynamic capability, tonality is not organic, neither is presentation, treble is not that refined, and can sometimes get too hot and gritty. What I hope in my next DAC is a balanced DAC that lean a bit more toward the relaxed and slightly sweeter smoother side of things, great organicness, great placement accuracy and depth in overall stage, great coherency and liquidity, as well as having great impact and punch.

elan120
jomonhifi's avatar
jomonhifi
138 posts
 

Used DCS Bartok…? I had one and..well…kinda gorgeous! Might be at the top of your budget but I loved it….! DCS just released an firmware upgrade that I could hear. Lovely piece.

izjjzi's avatar
izjjzi
102 posts
 

++Holo May. I have auditioned many DACs and is why I own a May. This includes offerings five times its price point. It is the best bargain in my journey thus far. The only knock is that is gets hot, class A hot. 

eugene81
263 posts
 

MSB Discrete.  I did not care too much for the tone of the Lumin X1, though soundstage was humongous.  MSB is so fluid and musical but very resolving.  Very easy to get lost in the music, as they say.

shkong78's avatar
shkong78
1,463 posts
 

Another option you can consider is to add Gaia DCC to your Dac.

 

It will make focus sharp and treble more clean.

 

Thomas

havocman
350 posts
 

don't listen to audio Troy they're just a bunch of product pushers of their own.

Try the Wyred4sound 10th anniversary dac, one of the most analog sounding dacs on the market at any price. one of the reviewers put it up against his VPI turntable with a $5,000 Japanese cartridge and he said it was every bit as analog sounding it's not cheap though it's $4,500 US and I bought one and I can totally agree with the reviewer it's the most analog sounding dac that I've heard in my system, I put it up against the $15,000 Sim audio DAC and the 10th anniversary dac was far superior, I have no doubt that this will be as good or better than the DCS as well.

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