@mdalton 👍
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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I purchased an M3 back in 2020 (with MDx) and liked it, but personally found it didn't sound much different than the much smaller/lighter (and cheaper) RME DAC I also owned and sold it after a few months. I then purchased a 2x in weight Mojo Audio MystiqueV3 which sounded much different and I kept it for years. I then replaced it with a much lighter (and mostly empty box) Meitner MA3, and really liked that change, and kept it for a few years. Now I have a shoe box size Weiss 204 (with a show box size LPS) and don't really miss the Meitner. I guess the summary of my rambling is both price and size has not really made much difference for me personally with regards to DACs. The one common piece used for all of these DACs is a Bricasti M5 streamer which sounds excellent using AES or SPDIF with any DAC I've tried it with... Cheers
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@handymann I'm still waiting for them to send it out @rog5878 posted yesterday about his Auro. I'll probably get mine after the holidays.. |
You should hear the Aero with GEC/Osram/Marconi B36 (12SN7) tubes in it. The B36 is the 12.6v version of the 6.3v B65, of which pairs are listing on eBay now for over $4k/pair. The B65/B36 is often the benchmark standard for what a 12SN7/6SN7 should sound like. You can snap up pairs of B36 which sound identical for 15-20% of what the B65 would cost you. As a full-time seller of rare audio tubes I have owned and sold both I can also tell you that the B36 is one of the best values out there. Your LTA Aero DAC can easily toggle between 6.3/12.6 volts which, in my opinion, is a huge selling point because the 12SN7 tubes sound every bit as good as the 6SN7 at a fraction of the price. The tube I most commonly put in an LTA DAC is the Tung Sol Black Glass Round Plate Black 12SN7GT tough every once in awhile someone insists on 6SN7GT. Another world class tube. Sold two pairs of Tung Sols yesterday that were desinted to go into an Aero DAC. Roll easy, friend. |
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