DAC UPGRADE QUESTION

It looks to me like Moors Law is in operation in the DAC/Streamer world. It appears that every 6 months or so the quality doubles and the process halve. 

My research led me to conclude that the best route is to get a DAC/Streamer/CD all-in-one. Like the Playback Designs MPS-8.  The entire world of recorded music is at your fingertips with exceedingly high quality sound. 

I think that very soon- in the next 3-5 years the best HiFi source will be an all-in-one DAC/CD/Streamer/Preamp and the power amps will remain separate. 

FWIW I'm an old man who loves multi chassis gear "separates" as they were called back in the 70s when cheaper integrated stereo receivers were taking over the market. However I am capable of recognizing trends and IMO what I'm describing here is the future- just as online retail made box stores obsolete so will the digital revolution make "separates" obsolete. 

I’d suggest taking a look at the Musician Aquarius R2R DAC. I have their Pegasus, which is the next lower model, and unlike many R2R DACs it is very detailed and transparent up top while maintaining the other beneficial qualities of an R2R design. Thinking an R2R DAC would make for a very interesting comparison to your Chord, and if it doesn’t work out I believe you can just return it — thank you Amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/Musician-Aquarius-Mid-Range-Decoder-Balanced/dp/B096ZLDG36/ref=sr_1_3?crid=2SBFCCGKDUXMH&keywords=musician+aquarius+r2r+dac&qid=1689695748&sprefix=Musician+aqu%2Caps%2C244&sr=8-3

Here’s a good and thorough review FYI…

https://soundnews.net/sources/dacs/musician-aquarius-r-2r-dac-review/

Just another option to ponder, and best of luck.

 I had the Qutest and changed it for the Denafrips Pontus II to get a more natural and relaxed sound in my system, but you might prefer what you already got. Tryto listen to other dacs without selling the Qutest, and that is my advice :)

https://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/orchard-audio-pecanpi-streamer-dac-preamp-headphone-amp-tour.1175470/page-4

You can try out Pecanpi+ by being in tour.

I found it very nice for the money.

It  match closely to Dave and Mscaler.

Thomas

@kjl1065 

You might also look into getting a Denifrips Venus ll or a used Denifrips Terminator ll.  Both are well made ladder DAC’s. The Venus ll new, is under your limit and Terminator ll used, might be a little bit more.

You can’t go wrong with either.

All the best.