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Are there any DACs that can go low?

I have a W4S DAC-2 (with Audiophilleo), I have also auditioned an Ayre QB-9, own a Cary Xciter, have owned a Peachtree Nova, and have an Oppo BDP-95. I try to use high definition files from a Mac Mini over Audionirvana.

None of these can approach the lows that my reference source can (a Clearaudio Performance SE turntable with Artist V2 ebony Cartridge and Ayre P-5xe stage). My reference is a Clearaudio Performance SE turntable with Artist V2 ebony Cartridge and Ayre P-5xe stage. The bass is so much richer and deeper with that as my reference and the midrange sounds fuller too. Highs never sound shrill either.

Are there any DACs out there that can approach a more neutral sound, at least as I see it?
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mapman's avatar
mapman
21,860 posts
 
I use an mhdt Constantine SS DAC. ALso a Linn Axis with DEnon DL103R cart.

Both run into an ARC sp16 tube pre-amp with tube phono section.

Amp is Bel Canto Class D running various speakers in various rooms.

Both sources have similar neutral sound to my ears overall. Bass is extended, dynamic and well defined. Achieving similar good sound from both phono and digital was a design goal for my rig up front. It took several years to get everything tuned in just right, but it all worked out in the end.
foster_9
1,638 posts
 
If one source in your system is giving you richer deeper bass than a another source, then it sounds like that involves differences in the impedance of each source.

This results in better synergy of one source over the other.
zd542
5,339 posts
 
One thing to keep in mind is to make sure you have the same recording when you do a comparison. If one recording was a remaster and the other was not, that would explain a lot of the differences.
roxy54's avatar
roxy54
7,694 posts
 
I never heard this one before. The linearity and bandwidth of a DAC should be easy to quantify by manufacturers as well as reviewers. As Foster 9 suggests, maybe it is an impedance mismatch, or something of that sort.
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