Best DAC you ever heard list. 1.Budget under 1k 2. Mid Under 5k 3. Cost no Object.

Under 1K- Ayre Codex

Under 5K- Ayre QB9 Twenty

Cost no object- Brinkmann Nyquist II

Bob

1. ??

2. Aqua Voce

3. Aqua Formula Mk2

This  is a good topic. But why is it under Misc audio?

I haven’t heard enough to make a meaningful contribution.

1. Topping D90 III $1K

2. Weiss 204 with LPS $3K

3. Denafrips Terminator II $5K

4. Lampizator Baltic 4 $7K

5. Berkeley Audio Design Alpha Series 3 $10K

6. Lumin X1 $15K

7. Linn Klimax DSM $40K

I own or have previously owned all these DACs except the Linn, which I have only heard at the main dealer I’ve used to source most of my gear.

BTW the Linn makes my current reference DAC, the X1, sound almost pedestrian. IME with digital sources, you really do only get what you pay for 90% of the time.

Lumin D2 - $2k

Lumin T3 - $4k

Nagra Tube Dac with separate Power Supply $48K