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Best Bang for your Buck DAC ?

I just realized I’m in the market for a DAC , I don’t want to spend a fortune on a DAC either . I picked up a drangonfly cobalt a while back and am unimpressed  so I moved it to my CPU and sounds really good on my system there which when I bought it figured I would do anyway since it was my first DAC purchase . There are so many DACs I have no clue , how high up on the returns chart can I go at say $1,000 before I run into heavy Diminished returns resistance. I’m open to buying used . I was thinking about a Schitt made in the states ? Anyone’s take on best bang for buck DACs? 
ngiordano

Showing 2 responses by calvinandhobbes

calvinandhobbes
312 posts
 
@jiss49 Thank you. 100% on the mark.

Regardless of possible biases, your suggestion that the OP just go and listen to DAC is right. Either someone actually likes what they hear OR they convince themselves that they like what they hear. Either way they are happy with their choice. Being happy with your choice is basically all that matters in audio.
calvinandhobbes
312 posts
 
@in_shore 100%. Just to change up my day and take a break, I just tested this out again. I have a Pro-ject streamer that's been connected to a Denafrips Pontus II DAC for the last two weeks. I unplugged the USB cable attached to an Audioquest Jitterbug noise filter and plugged both into an Apple iPhone via an Apple  Lightning to USB 3 Camera Adapter. The iPhone as a source sounded good, BUT the Pro-ject sounded hands down better in the following ways:
  • The iPhone as a source sounded "fuller", but the Pro-ject as a source sounded bigger with a broader soundstage.
  • Better resolution of complex musical passages: Electric bass in Blue Moon Revisited on Trinity Sessions, Cowboy Junkies & Waltz for Debby, Bill Evans Trio
  • Tonal colors are more evident
  • Notes seem to hang in the air longer. Reverberations continue instead of being cut off.
  • More presence around voices and instruments.
  • Complex rhythms are easier to follow via the Pro-ject. Not so much via the iPhone as a source.
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