@ricevs
You need to take it easy man. I am now starting to suspect if you have an agenda. Maybe not. But same thing again and again over an amp sounds suspicious. At the same time, I wonder if you are even take a breath while creating a post!
Best DACs under $7,000.00
I'm tentatively beginning the search for a DAC upgrade. Currently, I have Innuos Zen MK3 as a streamer connected via USB to a Denafrips Iris DDC that is connected via I2S to a Denafrips Pontus II DAC. The Pontus II is excellent but I feel it's the one point where I could gain incremental improvement toward that illusive natural, layered, analog end-of-the-rainbow. I simply can't / won't spend above $5,000.00 - $7,000.00 on the DAC. The rest of my system: top-of-line Prima Luna Evo 400 Integrated Amp and a set of Harbeth speakers. Right now, I'm looking at Denafrips Terminator II or Holo Audio May DAC. I've never seen an a/b comparison of these two, but both stand out and have a following. Of course, the unsettling thing is DACs have evolved so much and are still in a blooming state technologically, making it a given that whatever we have today will probably be surpassed by better for less later, like electric vehicles. But that's the nature of the beast. Does anyone have alternative suggestions in this current climate?
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I do have an agenda. I want everyone to be happy and have the best stereo they can at the cheapest price. I have enthusiasm......comes for the greek....meaning: "be inspired or possessed by a god" God animates us.....wants us to live our life with joy and love and serve one another......with PASSION. Digital amplification plus digital crossovers plus off the grid power plus plus make your own speakers are the new paradigm....believe it or not. I am writing the webpage on all this right this minute.....stay tuned. I will be sharing this with the whole world......this is a game changer.......incredible sound for very little money....bye bye expensive high end.....welcome to the new world.....Dealers and most manufacturers and most people will find this very, very unsettling.....How can a dealer sell you a 200lb. $100K amplifier if you can do better for a few thousand dollars? I will be sending my webpage to manufacturers all over the world.....the revolution has begun....but it will take at least 5 years for most of the people to catch on as most are other directed and not creative and most are addicted to whatever they think is best or just bought........most people are slow to change. However, those who can see what is really going on will adopt this pretty quickly as they know this "new stuff" will give the most goosebumps. NO BREATHING ALLOWED HERE!!!!!!! What if you removed the xover from your Proac speakers and biamped using two GaN 1 amps with the $600 minidsp digital xover?!?.....OMG.....it would blow your mind!!! |
About 8-10k USD is the limit for what I could spend on a single component so this thread is much more useful than those talking about 3 box DCS setups. I already have a very good amp (Steve Keiser Luminance KST-150) and don’t want another pre amp box, so the choices get narrower for a DAC with decent volume control. So far the Weiss DAC501 and Rockna Wavedream SE looks like good options, and there is a dealer here in OZ that has both of them. And this T&A DAC 200 looks very good as well. As someone else here said, had never considered that brand before. |
@agisthos I hear good things about T+A. Supposed to be a first rate unit. The fact you have a dealer who has both will make it easier. One thing I will say, you need to get a signal to the DAC. T+A is supposed to be best with USB. Weiss, the onboard renderer is amazing and I would recommend connecting to it via ethernet. Rockna is best via I2S. So depending on your source...could indicate which is the best solution. |
Apparently you are new to Rics musings. Believe me, he knows his audio!!! I have his EVS 1200 and love it even more now that I have completely replaced all my really good($$$$) cables with mostly Ali-Express Odin 2 coax, XLR, and speaker cables (incredible bargains at entry level cable prices) and, took all my kit out of a vertical Solid Steel rack, even though each shelf had maple shelves. My Audiolab 6000CDT and Audio Alchemy DDP-1 (dac/pre) + PS 5 outboard power supply now resting on a DIY maple table top that I scored locally < $200. Dimensions 5 x 2 x 2"! hth |
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