this thread may have some useful info, even if a bit dated now
https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/dacs-that-i-have-had-in-my-system-a-listing
A new dac?
Guys, help me out here.
My dac which I've been using for a number of years now is a Mytek Stereo192 DSD.
Came out in 2013, I think and was $1600 retail.
Still think it sounds good, but I've nothing to compare it to.
My question: If you are familiar with this dac or similar, what would I have to spend minimum to better it, and what do you think will better it?
I enthusiastically await the responses of the cognoscenti. (Wanted to use that word in a sentence since I read it in Calvin and Hobbes!)
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thecarpathian , when will the new home be ready? If it’s not very soon, maybe take the time to winnow the list from these excellent suggestions down to a small handful and maybe you can test them out in your current system or at a dealer; and then only pull the trigger when your willing and able to increase the DAC budget? (If it’s very soon, then even easier to wait, but you’ll have less time to sort and sample.) FWIW, I am besotted with the Linear Tube Aero DAC. (I’ve tried a few different tubes in it. The stock ones (GE) don’t sound at all bad, but I’ve found that NOS TungSol black plates (normal) are a touch more “complete” sounding, without being overly warm or fuzzy or anything like that. I have not tried the rare black oval plates or the Ray Reserves that maybe report are even better.) I like it so much in my main system, that i just ordered a new one from LTA for a secondary system. The ladder R2R, no over-sampling, plus the tube MicroZOTL output give a whole different and superior level of resolution and musicality than the various Delta-Sigma DACS I’ve heard, but admittedly those have been more “mid-fi” like BlueSound Node X and PowerNode, NAD C399 and M10, or high mid-if/low Hi-Fi like the original version NAD M33, which does have use one (very well regarded) ESS Sabre ES9028 DAC chip per channel. Anyway, good luck, i suspect there are quite a few good answers here, and no single “best” one. |
Simplicity is beauty. A Grimm MU2 might be even simplier because of the build-in Roon Core. Curious how MA3i stacks up with MU2? |
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