@jamsh Can you comment on the differences you heard between the 3?
End Game Dac reccomendations
Hello all! The following is my current audio system, I think my DAC is the weakest link, the rest of it I am fairly confident is reference grade. Would love some opinions on what DACS would voice well with my system, thanks!.
From router: Lumin N1 -> Lumin U2X (clocks synched) -> Denafrips Gaia -> Denafrips Terminator Plus (clocks synched) -> ARC REF 10 -> ARC REF 160S -> Focal Scala Utopia Evo and Rel 31. Power conditioning with Niagara 7000, Furutech NCFR wall outlet, isoacoustics isopucks under all componenets and gaia 1 neo underneath speakers. Thunderbird power cables and bi-wire speaker cables, AQ Diamond USB from U2X to Gaia, Dragon 48 from gaia to terminator plus, thunderbird xlr as interconnects.
My short list of DACs I think would be a great fit are Lampizator poseidon, horizon, or genya, Allnic Audio D10000/D15000, or some variation of an MSB discreet. Please give me your thoughts though. I would love peace of mind knowing my DAC is up to the class of components of the rest of my system.
I would love to upgrade my dac to improve soundstage size and holography without reducing the micro detail and blackness from my current denafrips stack. Would love to hear your opininions! open to trades and offers for sales if you have something that would fit my bill to, cheers!
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@izjjzi I am actually going to audition one soon! can you comment on DACs you have compared it to? Sound characteristics? especially soundstage and holography |
@audphile1 unless I am mistaken ARC does not make any world class DACs, the dac 9 is solid but nothing special from what I have read. |
A different take. The Esoteric N-01 XDSE. To quote "Instead of using off-the-shelf IC chips, they use in-house, FPGA-based designs to bypass chip limits, delivering an organic, highly detailed sound that bridges the gap between digital precision and analog warmth". I have the Esoteric K-01 XDSE which uses the same DAC and Clock technology. It is a micro-detail, black background champ. It is not a component to use with SS amplification (I tried it) but your ARC gear should have great synergy. My amplification is the Cary SLP-98 into a Triode Lab 2A3 GT-C (PP 2A3s) and the sound is gorgeous with a mix of NOS and modern tubes. With the N-01 XDSE you could sell the Lumin X2 and the Denafrips boxes, as it has a built in streamer using I²S internally to connect to the DAC section. (This is what I²S was designed for). Given the rest of your truly superb system the Grandioso D1X SE might even be in the picture. |
- 68 posts total