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DAC league table

A little lost in this world of technical audiophilia, I need a bit of help finding my way.

I have a Marantz streamer with (I think...) an ES Sabre 9016 Ultra Dac as its beating heart. Unhappy with the streamer as whole and thinking of separating out the functions of streaming, DAC and pre-amping, which DACs are better than this one? How do I find out, what specs might tell me?

Onward kit: Acoustics Masterpiece valve amp (used as a power amp), Monitor Audio Gold 200 speakers. Listening interest: vocals, instruments, clarity of sound, although a decent bass response never goes amiss. Source, streaming from tidal or Qobuz.

louisesjpp
audphile1's avatar
audphile1
8,064 posts
 

@louisesjpp stretch it out a bit and find a used Lumin D2. Pros - good sound and solid build. Cons - crappy UI. That’s where Roon comes in.
As to whether or not Roon’s worth the subscription cost, they offer a free trial period. If you decide you don’t like it, cancel it. Nothing to loose. You can try it now if the Marantz is Roon ready

leadcrew's avatar
leadcrew
45 posts
 

 

curiousjim's avatar
curiousjim
6,033 posts
 

@louisesjpp 

What’s the rest of your system and what kind of a budget do you have towards new equipment?

All the best.

vthokie83
1,227 posts
 

lousisejpp,

What is your price point? There are great options from $1,000 to $20,000 depending on your equipment and budgest

tcotruvo's avatar
tcotruvo
179 posts
 

I bought a used Bluesound Node 3 and a SMSL M400 DAC with preamp capability and I think they operate and sound great.  I upgraded the Node power supply with a PD Creative board and a linear power supply.  Total cost was just over $1000.

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