@yyzsantabarbara,

One of the reasons I read so many posts here on agon is to discover new items of discovery and I want to thank you for introducing me to the imersiv D-1 Dac. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to purchase one new but used? One day, maybe? This is the only dac I’ve ever read about that explicitly says it should be used without a preamp!?

I also like the way you’ve taken your existing gear and sold it on the used market to upgrade to other pieces of gear. In the last 6 months I’ve also sold some of my gear to buy new, a Power Sound Audio EV1813T Subwoofer, Laiv Harmony µDac and a Vinshine Audio Taihang Power Enhancer all without having to go in my own pocket for any funds. ( As I keep telling myself that. ;-)

And the Laiv Harmony µDac will be put up for sale to purchase the Garlubidor DIVINTY R2R Dac that comes in at $1850 US, well under the $2000 budget the OP has suggested.

My plan is to also purchase (3) StackAudio AUVA equipment isolator pads. And yes they do come in a (3) pack which reduces costs from having to purchase a (4) pack all the time and upgrade the stock power cord to a 聖HIJIRI Nagomi power cord I already have. Fun hobby huh?

Divinity is roughly on par with Holo Cyan 2, with slightly better bass. Both are NOS, but Divinity is $500 more expensive. Reviewers found micro Dac sounds slightly better in OS mode than Cyan 2.  So you’re probably making a sideways move rather than an upgrade.

@lanx0003,

I agree with you that the Holo Audio Cyan 2 is one heck of fantastic sounding dac for the coin but I’ve read of to many issues when it comes to auto input selections design.

As the Holo Audio Cyan 2 can lock an input or require unplugging/replugging sources to switch, especially with multiple active devices, making manual switching control very difficult.

Users often needing external switchers or workarounds to manage multiple sources smoothly. It’s just too many glitches to work around with for me no matter how much less it costs. 

I was not recommending Cyan 2.  I am just saying Divinity Dac might be the sideway move from micro DAC rather than upgrade.

Another sideway move is DR70 but could save you $1500, if you trust that particular rating.  Audalytic is Gustard's OEM and Garlubidor is Denafrips'.

Gustard Audalytic DR70 $400

Sound Stage: 9 Stereo Image: 9 Highs: 8 Midrange: 8 Bass: 9 Build Quality: 9 Features: 10 Noise Control: 7 Design: 9

Garlubidor Divinity $1900

Sound Stage: 10 Stereo Image: 9 Highs: 8 Midrange: 9 Bass: 9 Build Quality: 10 Features: 8 Noise Control: 8 Design: 10 Price: 9

It is true the Divinity is made by Garlubidor which is a Denafrips company but as much as I can glean from the reviews for example from Steve Huff, it is not nor sounds like a Denafrips. And I do like the R2R sound especially without tubes.

The Garlubidor DIVINTY R2R DAC is a BETTER Denafrips - Steve Huff

Spoiler: I know of no other DAC in this price range that can compete with this one. It has that R2R sound which is detailed with killer dynamics along with a balanced top to bottom performance. I’d take this over a (Denafrips) Pontus 15th, easy,

Think a Denafrips Pontus type of DAC but with more detail and more of an open sound. More of that sound, but with improvements such as a bit more air, more impact, and very impressive dynamics. This is not what I would call a “warm” DAC, but it’s not lean or bright. It’s more neutral which is nice as it lets the music come through as intended without excessive color added. Meaning, this DAC doesn’t impose much of a character to the sound as some do. It delivers what is on the recording and does so with depth, layers, height and imaging to die for if your speakers are up to the task.

 And as I wrote earlier I liked the many options of inputs and outputs, the software is better designed, the build quality is off the charts and there’s just a bunch of other accolades that come with this dac for the money

Sometimes, a heck of a lot a times you only have a review when buying audio gear. Whether you get the reviews here or from elsewhere you get a sense that the more you do this, hopefully you luck up and get it right.

The Laiv Harmony µDac, I know what I paid for it, how it sounds, I’m familiar with it’s connectability, it’s voiced at being a bit too warm a dac for me as so many dacs are in it’s price range are voiced. Plus I get to get rid of the wall wart.

Maybe, just maybe I’ve found something that I can upgrade to without spending a lot of coin. I wanna give this one a shot. My gear picks have offered me a lot of synergy over these years.

And one more thing. Garlubidor is also coming out with a stand alone streamer without an internal dac that has tickled my fancy too. And again, I wanted to share something with the OP around his $2000 price range.