To DDC or not to DDC. That is the question.

I checked out the Merason upgrade to Mk2 and Im not sure if I want to lose the musical analog quality that the Mk1 is known for. If only someone in my area had a Mk2 I could listen to in my system. At $2400 for the upgrade I’m leaning towards testing out a DDC in the $1200 range that I can flip if I decide its not an improvement... or I could buy a bunch of records.... the dilemma of having a monthly audio stipend!! 

I’ll be serious now  

We all go through this period of "I want to upgrade something, but what do I do next?" sometimes it is some major component we lust after, and we blow our expected budget, and sometimes we think about every part of the chain and simply try to swap out the lowest hanging fruit- the bottleneck- which is probably the most efficient and best bang for the buck. If these are not components many call them tweaks. Those little tweaks can compound to a the same effect as a major component change. Things like footers or shelves under components and speakers, cables, acoustic treatments, tube changes, capacitor upgrades, and repositioning of those tweaks. 

One of my latest "tweaks" was a change of ethernet cable from SOtM to Sablon, and for a few hundred dollar outlay, (which was recouped by selling the SOtM, so it essentially cost me nothing), it was a beyond a no-brainer- I’ll say that upgrade combined with the latest version 8 release of PGGB remastering files to DSD 256 and the two of those "tweaks" are essentially on the level of a component upgrade- like going from a 10K to a 15K amplifier. 

Like many experienced audiophiles in this thread have posted already, you don’t know until you try it, but I am going to go out on a limb and say if you are using generic ethernet cables swapping in a $425 Sablon ethernet cable from the switch to the streamer will have a much greater improvement than the $1200 DDC. But yes, I could be wrong. Wait, do you have a switch? 

My DAC, a Schiit Yggy, has USB galvanic isolation (Unison 5 card) and when I tried an entry-level Denafrips Iris, it made a fair enough difference for me to sell it and buy the top dawg Gaia. The Gaia was a revelation. Everything got better; the DAC had the same sonics after the upgrades - it did not change the character of the DAC.

Used a DH Labs AES cable and then an Acoustic Zen MC2, resulting in another audible step up. Both can be found used at a reasonable price. Like others have said here, I thank those here in this forum for such advice!

Considering the quality of the OP's DAC, I would urge him not to bother with any other DDC besides the Gaia. His DAC may have jitter control that equals a Hermes, so it may just be an exercise in futility. If one has a recent 6K DAC, buy the best DDC available. 

And, here me out on this...the OP's DAC weighs 17 lbs. The Denafrips Gaia DDC wieghs 14 lbs. 

Why does that matter?

When you talk about reducing jitter, you are aiming at reducing vibrations. Jitter is mechanical or electronic vibrations. Jitter is internal to the unit that it resides and is passed through to other components. 

I will resort to AI to explain:

Jitter is defined as a small, rapid, and often periodic mechanical vibration or oscillation. While sometimes used interchangeably with vibration in mechanical contexts, in optics and electronics, it specifically refers to high-frequency, involuntary motion or timing irregularities in a signal, causing instability, image blurring, or data errors.

The two most expensive parts that make up a DAC are the chassis and the power supply. So, if your DAC is fairly lightweight, it will inherently have internal vibrations that need to be addressed. 

If you want the best DAC/DDC combo in one package, you will need to spend a lot more and, in some cases, the DAC may come with an external power supply as putting all of it in one chassis can match heavy turntables that are heavy for the same reason that DAC's need to be.

The heaviest DAC's are generally the most expensive. However, I have noticed that the Hegel D50 is only 14lbs -and includes three master clocks!- so maybe jitter can be reduced without using weight (think Rega TT designs), but generally speaking, most reference DAC's range between 40-180 lbs of weight...for a reason!

The two most expensive parts that make up a DAC are the chassis and the power supply. So, if your DAC is fairly lightweight, it will inherently have internal vibrations that need to be addressed. ....

The heaviest DAC’s are generally the most expensive. ..... speaking, most reference DAC’s range between 40-180 lbs of weight...for a reason!

 @goodlistening64 

Additionally, plenty of shielding to reject EMI, both internally and externally, is another contributing factor of the components weight. 

@zlone I know right? It’s always an upgrade…at least we call it that even if it’s for worse. Lol

Here’s a bit of bitter truth…you can throw more money into streaming but you can’t fix bad source material. Depends on what you’re listening to, it is mostly a crapshoot. Most high res isn’t truly high res, it’s a remaster to high res. Padded bits don’t make it sound better. Some of the stuff is good, some of it is pure drek…well most of the remasters are. Convenient AF though.

@audphile1 

 Some of the stuff is good, some of it is pure drek…well most of the remasters are.

Along those same lines, my latest DAC has a built in CD player. I grabbed a bunch of old cd’s (I am very happy I kept them all) and one of them is Van Morrison- Moondance. 

Threw it in and it sounds absolutely perfect, my head is completely absent of upgradeitis- the system needs nothing- no cabling changes for better highs, no better digital cables for less noise or less digititis, bass is perfectly defined- everything is pure and natural. Listened to the whole 39 minute album start to finish, twice in the last few days, and it is glorious in its musicality. Never done that before, typically I would listen to a few of the songs and go on to something else. 

I look at the CD and can’t find a date anywhere on it, but it says "the music on this compact disc was originally recorded on analog equipment.... because of it’s high resolution, the compact disc can reveal limitations of the source tape" 

I hear no limitations at all  Sounds perfect. 

Who needs high res? (Well, that is a bit of a lie, the player does it internally)