another thread on DACS/players...thoughts please

Mribob,

I have listened to and auditioned everyone of the pieces you mention, with the exception of the Ayon CD-55, and still have not heard a better sounding DAC then the Accustic Arts Tube Hybrid reference DAC.

Now there might be "two monkey wrenchs" for you: 1) the AA Tube Hybrid does not have a volume control, so you will still have to use a preamp. 2) I only care about redbook CD not high res material, and with no doubt the AA DAC is much more musical/natural sounding then the others on your list for me. This DAC can be setup so you can run high res material through it and I still thinks it sounds better then the other DACS, even when the bit rate has been taken down/back to redbook standard. The last piece I auditioned was the Playback Design and reminded very much of Meitner gear, which I still find very transparent/detailed but not as musical as I like.

Finally, you might want to take a look at my thread here on the GON on reference DACS that has a great amuont of information about what your asking about.

Sorry forgot to include this information for you. I recommend you E-mail Gon member Ted Brady, he has just got throught with an amazing six month auditioning process of some of the highest regarded DACS that do red book and high res material and picked as his new reference the Antelope Gold with its upgraded power supply and it has a built in preamp section which he believes sounds better in his system direct then with his very highly regarded preamp. This DAC might be just what you are looking for. Tell Ted I say hi, when you E-mail him.

I am considering two of the DACs on your list and recommend adding the Bel Canto DAC 3.5 with the VBS1 power supply. Computeraudiophile has reviewed both the Weiss and the Berkeley and is also a good resource for user feedback. AVguide reviewed both the Berkeley (Robert Harley) and the Weiss (Steven Stone). The Weiss was also reviewed by Ultraudio. I am leaning towards the Bel Canto based on price, several professional reviews, as well as user experience including one that had the Perfect Wave DAC and bought the Bel Canto. In the Positive Feedback review, Robert Lerner put the Bel Canto ahead of the Berkeley. It also had a glowing review from Stereophile. It has a volume control and can run direct to amp which Bel Canto recommends.

I had a similar objective to use the DAC to eliminate the preamp but did not because I still enjoy multichannel audio from concert DVDs, DVD Audio and SACD. My plan is to run a computer based server, an Oppo player, and Cable TV into the DAC to improve the sound from those sources, and then run the multichannel analog output from the Oppo and the two channel output from the DAC into a multichannel preamp.

All the DACs on your list are top notch. I think your decision may come down to personal preference and synergy with your system components.

Good luck!