DAC 'Scam' Vid

My best friend and I have the Topping D70s DAC.  In his tube based system (same speaker brand), it sounds marvelous.  In my SOTA and former SOTA system which retails for over $250,000, the Topping is used prior to receiving the new Rockna WaveDream Reference Signature.   Minor bass phase, "Q" and gain adjustments on the speakers yield a truly lovely, musical sound that most audiophiles and musiclovers would enjoy.  However, my prior $25,000 DAC was no slouch and contributed many good qualities beyond the Topping.  It was a mismatch with my neutral, very high resolution solid state system being too analytical and less body to the lower midrange.  No one uses the Topping in a very high end system, the cabling alone is 10X more expensive than this Topping (SPDIF, XLR out and power cables exceeded $13,000 retail).  I’m using the Topping in my second system though.

yyzsantabarbara. What DAC are you buying?

P.S. My listening room was custom built from the ground up.  I took care of the listening environment prior to moving in.  I also did that in my prior home (not as expensive then) in 1993.  

@mitch2 I wonder how comparable the Aries Cerat is to my Rockna Wavedream Reference Signature.  I just know that the Aries products are super parts oriented compared to my Westminster Labs amps and pre-amp.  Rockna indicated a similar design philosophy (but many more parts).  

@fleschler - From an Australian Rockna distributer on SBAF:

“Compared to the old Signature, it has more grip in the low end, better resolution, and a more refined top without softening anything. It’s a touch more dynamic and snappy without losing the natural tone Rockna is known for. I’m also finding that the WDRS is more dynamic at lower volumes.”

One difference is the multiple AD1865 chips in the Aries Cerat DACs vs. the discrete trimmed resister DAC modules driven by a FPGA in the Rockna DACs. Another difference is the tube rectification and tubed output stage in the Aries Cerat. I suspect both DACs have great power supplies.  Neither uses op-amps in the output stage.  The WDRS is on my “would really like to hear” list, although I am not sure where I would go to hear one.

I would also like to hear an Aries Cerat Kassandra Reference II, as I would seriously consider upgrading from the Helene based on how much I appreciate and enjoy the Aries Cerat house sound, although it would be much more convenient to have a great DAC that wasn’t the size and weight of a dinosaur!