A warm DAC?


Help me pair a DAC with my Prima Luna integrated, Focal 1038 be and PS Audio Perfect Wave transport...Speakers are quite detailed. Looking to level out the high end. Prefer analog warmth. No interest in streaming, expect to use for CD play only...budget $2500.
larseand

Showing 2 responses by fleschler

I don't know what warm sound is unless you want 2nd order distortion versus odd order distortion which sounds brighter.  As to a neutral but very full sounding DAC, I can recommend the COS Engineering D1.  Their H-1 is more open but much less full sounding.  I own the D-2 which is in-between, quite full sounding but not quite as open.  The price differences are significant with the D1 at $10K and the D2 at $5k, H-1 at $2.5K(?).  I'm coming from an EAR Acute, my former "warm" sounding tube CD player.  The greatly improved micro details, more open soundstage made the D-2 my choice over my 15 year old CD player.  All three models are not too far forward or too far back from the speaker sounding, just right in the middle, permitting the recording soundstage to reproduce more accurately.
bo1972  Patricia Barber, Diana Krall recordings-YUK!  I heard that Lumin makes very fine DAC streamers but if it were based on those recordings, I couldn't trust it.  Try some 50's-60's jazz or classical (or even pop that was well recorded and mastered).  Then I have a basis for comparison.  When I bring great music to stereo shows, people stop and listen.  Great sounding systems mesmerize listeners.