One more dealer recommendation, this one much closer than Winston-Salem: Hifinotes in Durham. Unlike Ember, I’ve never been there, but they carry some very cool brands, like Cinnamon and Wolf Von Langa (speakers). Re small format DACs, they carry Cyrus, Ferrum and Gold Note. Would be easy to take your Qutest in and do some comparing. And it beats the hell out of Chatgpt, lol!
DAC recommendations under $7K
OK, my R11’s were destroyed by FedEx on the way to their new owners, and the check is OTW from FedEx in payment, so I am ready to buy a new DAC.
My digital equipment:
Simaudio Moon 330A
PSaudio BHK pre with Tele Medical tubes (also have Brimar & Sieman’s NOS tubes)
KEF Reference 3’s
Aurender N150
Chord Qutest with Sbooster + Ultra LPS
Transparent + Gen 5 speaker cables
Cardas Clear USB
Mogami 2549 interconnects
I am looking to spend less than $7K new or used. Size of the DAC is important, as I don’t have room for a standard width (17’) DAC and height is also a potential issue, so the PSaudio, Holo May, etc are out. I ’thought’ I wanted warmer, but after reading the excellent "If warmth is distortion... " post, I think I want a W2W DAC, front row or conductor seat sound.
Perhaps best described as my Qutest, only better. Better imaging, soundstage, no digital haze, no digital etching... clearer, cleaner. BTW, I never experience fatigue with my Qutest, filter set on incisive with HF rolloff. I wear very good hearing aids, but as a result, my HF hearing above 9khz is non existent.
My N150 is USB output only & I listen exclusively to Qobuz PCM, so I need a DAC with excellent USB capability & DSD, Roon etc is not important. I want it to be only a DAC as I plan to keep my N150 & BHK. I don’t want a tube DAC.
My next upgrade is probably my interconnects with OCC copper.
My current #1 contender is the Bricasti M3, perfect size, nice industrial design, great USB implementation, W2W sound, great reviews, everything I think I need, very little I don’t.
ChatGPT describes the M3 as follows...
What the M3 sounds like vs your Qutest:
Imagine your Qutest but—
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cleaner
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smoother
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more open
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less grain
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more precise
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more neutral
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more “grown-up” sounding
Not warmer. Not colder. Not more aggressive. Just… higher-end execution of the same overall philosophy.
I know several of you don’t like chatGPT, but keep your replies to disputing it’s findings, not it’s use. For me, it is a part of a 3 leg stool, together with other research & input from this forum.
Other DAC’s that were/are in contention are the Holo Spring 3 KTE, Mystique X, Weiss 501, Chord Dave & Chord TT2. As I said, the PSaudio, Holo May etc are too large. I am sure there are more DAC’s to consider.
Before I pull the trigger on the M3, please provide your thoughts & recommendations. I want to make a very well informed purchase. Thank you!
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@signaforce go with DAVE if you find a good deal on it. Keep in mind this model has been in production for quiet some time. I would buy used and make sure it’s 2-3 years old max. |
I will add that the M3 is a better DAC than the Qutest and it’s very unlikely that you would be disappointed. But DAVE can be had for around $5,000 - $6,000 now in great condition on a used market. Which makes it 1) a good deal and 2) you wanted the DAVE to begin with. So I would satisfy that curiosity if I were you. |
@signaforce I'm using the Ayre QB9 Twenty stand alone DAC with a Bryston BDP 3 transport. I added a Synergistic Research Blue fuse to the Ayre and an XLR Akiko Audio tuning stick to the back of the Ayre. Anyway, it sounds lifelike, absolutely no complaints. |
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