DAC 'Scam' Vid

@ericrhodes1 - The two DACs I have here now in my main system are Mojo Audio’s Mystique X SE (with AD1862-Z chips and Lundahl’s nano-crystalline chokes)  ($12.5 list) and an Aries Cerat Helene ($19K list).  They both sound good to me but I have owned the Helene for only a few weeks so still working out options to make it sound its best in my system - trying different tubes, cables, and bias settings (it is adjustable).

I have not heard or owned any of the three you listed but I have been reading good things about the new ROCKNA Wavedream Reference Signature ($25K), and the MSB Premier ($27.5K) was on my very short list.  I decided to try the AC Helene first but would be interested to hear the other two, as well as a Totaldac d1-unity $13K) or d1-biunity ($20.7K).  I do not have any interest in SW1X.

@mitch2 I've read great things about the AC line. Interested in your opinion once you've had a chance to hear it. 

I went from a $15K DAC to a $2800 DAC and that was a huge conic improvement. I am trying to buy the same $2800 DAC for another system.

The authors of these videos seem to forget that a DAC is more than just the DA conversion, it is also the first pre-pre-amp in your analogue chain. Similar to a photo stage. The other thing is isolation to noise. Better designed DACs are immune to upstream (and even internal) noise. Beyond this there are finer points like the clock… anyway, it’s always more than it looks like at first glance. 

Seems to me the benefits of higher dollar DACs are found in the analog conversion side and the power supply circuit.