DAC upgrade

The best DAC I ever heard in my house (for 4 days) is the brand new (for 2025) Allnic D-15000 Signature OTL/OCL DAC. Initially this thing had 2 things going against it from my own prejudices. It is a tube DAC, and it also uses the top end Delta-Sigma ESS chip. I heard this with my RAAL SR1a phones, Yamaha NS5000 speakers, and the Magnepan Mini speakers.

Now this DAC upended all my thinking because it is both the most detailed DAC I ever heard and it also incredibly holographic. Now I do not attribute the level of detail to the ESS chip but to the OTL/OCL design. This got me thinking what if someone like PlayBack designs with their FPGA based design also used an OTL/OCL design.

I never used to think that a $25k was going to be that much better than my Schitt Yggi+ OG DAC.
Schiit Audio Yggdrasil+ OG DAC; D/A Converter; Unison USB - The Music Room

The Allnic was. If someone gave me $25k and said I could not buy the Allnic. I would easily get the Yggi+ OG DAC I listed above. Other DACs are somewhat better but nothing close to 10x. The Allnic is another matter.

I also heard the new Allnic $33k Signature OTL/OCL preamp in my house. I listened with both the Yggi+ and the Allnic DACs. Wow, that was an experience. The all Allnic setup was better, but the Yggi+ and Allnic was amazing too. My current and long-term preamp is the Benchmark HPA4. The Allnic was more detailed than the uber detailed HPA4 preamp, however it was also holographic.

BTW - Schitt Audo has the new Delta Sigma Byggi DAC (via FPGA I think) being sent out to the wild now. I am in the queue to convert my Schitt Yggi+ MIB to the Byggi ($1500)i. I hope to get this done in a few weeks.

My friend who sells the Allnic gear will get a visit from me with the Byggi DAC to do a head-to-head with the Allnic. We will use the best headphone in the world the RAAL 1995 Immanis (+ new silver RAAL cable) with the new Woo amp which has direct RAAL connectivity. Easiest way to hear DAC differences,

Actually, I remembered that the new Allnic headphone amp also has direct RAAL connectivity like the Woo. I will hear both.

I am pretty familiar with the gear in your system and your criticism of the Chord is just how Chord DACs sound.  It's not bad, just fits in certain systems and not others.  

There are a million choices on the market and in your price range with that gear I would look at Playback Designs MPD8 which is a lovely DAC for the money and rivals units that are quite a bit more expensive, especially for DSD.  

Linn, a Dual Mono Organik Selekt DSM in the Edition Hub format (this is a very customizable DAC with 120 combinations that can be made) but it is a stellar DAC/streamer that I find is an unusually good value and sonically will be an excellent match for your system.  

For a more obscure option, Orpheus makes a stunningly good SACD Player/DAC that would sound great in that system.  Model is the A Zero PS.  I believe this uses four FPGA chips per channel and is very good sounding.  

Weiss and dCS will not be materially warmer than your Chord.  MSB would be an excellent choice and one I would definitely consider.  Lampizator DACs are wonderful sounding but tube rolling can be costly.  The new Rockna Wavedream Reference Signature would likely work but it is not likely you will get one used as it just launched an it is a hair above your budget.

Have a Chord DAVE DAC. It sounds good. Still a little clinical and sterile.

I couldn't agree more.

A DSD DAC like the Directstream posted above is the closest sounding DAC to analog as I have heard.  Unfortunately in stock form it is just not good enough to keep up with the big boys.  With the upgrade modifications it's a whole different story.   Also you might consider the newer Directstream MK2 with upgraded audio transformers and AC input upgrade as you already have a good streamer.

I currently have both the modified MK1 and newer MK2 and love them both so much I find I do not get the urge to even break out the vinyl. 

Sometimes I think we forget it’s a "system". No one can predict how a DAC or any component will sound in a particular system. I’ve owned and/or listened to the following DACs in my system... Jeff Rowland Aeris, PS Audio Directstream, Rockna Signature, DCS Bartok APEX, DCS Rossini APEX, Mola Mola Tambaqui, and several more. I currently use a Chord Dave DAC and would love to replace it for under $20K. I’ve tried the M-scaler and I don’t like it in my system. To my ears the M-scaler makes the music sound unnatural. With the exception of the DCS Rossini, the Dave portrays the best soundstage and details(without brightness in my system).

@ricred1 

I agree... But if you are familiar with the components, one can usualy have a good idea of the effect and if it is likely to be a good match. So, if you’ve got a very precise sounding system and add... say a very analytical DAC... it’s likely to push the system too far. Or if you have a very warm organic system that very analytical DAC it is likely to sound good... adding needed detail.

I’ve seen some folks here with a complete mixture of components... and though, great combination of warm and cold... and they loved them. Also, some folks with a string of highly detailed (far more often) analytical sounding components that they complain about... fatiguing, or causing sibilance, or they just get tired of listening. 

So, I definitely agree... but one can often predict the likely outcome if you know the components.