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Advice needed: It's time for a new DAC

Hello People of Audiogon!

I received some help a little while back when I was considering upgrading my speakers so I am looking to the community again for guidance and opinions.  It is time to upgrade my DAC.  

 

My current system is Sasha DAW's driven by a Luxman L-509X.

 

The three DAC's on my short list are:

 

MSB Discrete
Berkeley Alpha V3
Chord DAVE

 

One thing to note is that I am in Canada so many brands are difficult if not impossible to audition.  

My priority is "musicality" or "soul".  What's this?  Well to me, it means feeling.  The Luxman and Sasha's well convey musical emotion and that is important to me.  I don't know how to describe it better beyond that.  They have flow (perhaps PRAT, to use another vague term).  Sounds have meat to them and texture.  The music feels real.  

 

The second priority is three dimensionality.  

 

The third is resolution.

 

My one caveat is no tube DAC's.  Tubes, for me, just don't work well based on my listening style and habits.  I love tubes, I've owned tubes and tubes are wonderful, but as things are now, I just don't want them in a DAC.  Perhaps they will find their way into my system in a pre-amp in the future.

 

I listen primarily to Tidal but MQA is not a priority for me.  I would switch to Qobuz but they were not available in Canada until recently and all my play lists in Roon are with Tidal tracks so I suspect a switch will be a real headache, but I digress. My point is MQA isn't really important and DSD isn't necessary either.  

 

Of the above DAC's, if you have heard them, what are your thoughts/opinion?  

 

Thank you in advance,

-Paul

 

 

bigfatpaulie

Showing 3 responses by yyzsantabarbara

yyzsantabarbara
4,524 posts
 

@bigfatpaulie When I want to evaluate DACs I use my headphones (RAAL SR1a or CA-1a) to really hear my gear. When you had your phones which DAC did you like the best? The DAC I own now is what sounded the best on my phones.

Tidal vs Qubuz. I have both and I do not even think about it. Just enjoy the music with which ever has the tune I want.

I grew up in Toronto and there were a lot of good shops then. I still see some of the same stores around and some new ones with even higher priced gear. 

BTW - how long is your speaker cables?

 

 

yyzsantabarbara
4,524 posts
 

When I was looking to get an integrated amp, I demoed the Luxman 509x and it was rather good. Then I made the mistake of listening to the Luxman c900u + m900u with the Luxman DAC in the then top end Luxman SACD player. The separates are significantly better than the 509x, mainly because of the stronger power supply. I mention this because I see the m900u on the used market at lower and lower prices. The m900u can also be run in mono.

The Luxman DAC is what a lot of people consider musical. Not my taste since I like a bit less warmth but that was a great system.

I think I just motivated myself to call Mitch to see if he can improve on my Livingroom system. It is a Yamaha NS500 speaker + CODA #16 amp. The speakers are a bit too close to the front wall. The sound is great but maybe it could be better. My ceiling is over 20 feet so maybe that is why the sound is good.

yyzsantabarbara
4,524 posts
 

@bigfatpaulie I am using a Schitt Yggi+ LIM DAC that I like a lot. I have a Benchmark DAC3B in my Livingroom system, The plan is to get a PlayBack Designs Dream DAC to supplement the DAC3B. You may want to read up a bit on the PBD. I wanted a DAC that was FPGA based and the PBD designer made the first FPGA based DAC. In fact, he mentored Ted Smith at PS Audio. Nagra DACs are also using his lower end tech.

I already have a lower end PDB streamer, and it is comparable to the Lumin X1 (using fibre) and the Sonore OpticalRendu (fibre again). At the moment I am only using SPDIF on the PBD streamer and it can still compete with the other 2. It has fibre but I need get a PBD DAC to use that feature. I figure if he can make a streamer this good his DACs should be spectacular.

The other FPGA DAC I was considering was a Rockna. I did not consider the DAVE or the PS Audio.

The following thread could be helpful for your DAC ideas:

Audiogon Discussion Forum

If you mostly stream with ROON, JRiver, or a computer you may want to talk with a fellow Canadian Mitch Barnett. The dude is a genius at what he does and is a relatively cheap alternative to resolve speaker placement. The adjustment in the digital signal is done BEFORE the DAC. All work is done remotely.

He is now also making a name for himself in the headphone space. I used his tech when my room was not acoustically nice as it is now. I no longer use his solution (with ROON) but it is genius level stuff and my safety net for speaker room interactions. In my opinion, the most important aspect of good sound.

Digital Room Calibration Services, Convolvers, Headphone Filtersets (accuratesound.ca)

Monoblock amps will solve you speaker cable issue. I use Benchmark XLR for my lengths over 15 feet. Those cables are cheap and do the job well.

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