I actually liked the Bartok. I didn’t find it analytical at all. I just like the Terminator a bit more.
DAC for Aurender N200
For past 2 years I have been running Aurender N200 into Musical Fidelity M6s DAC. The DAC is built like a tank and very versatile, but I must connect via coax since Aurender clock is superior to DAC clock.
Well, I am ready to upgrade DAC for SQ reasons and presently inclining to PSAudio MkII for US mfr, good reviews, good service, current bargain price.
Q1: What DAC (<$8k) would you consider an optimal match for the N200?
Q2: N200 has very few outputs compared with other streamers in its price class.
I know Aurender has always inclined to USB. All else being equal, is USB the best output?
Showing 4 responses by marco1
I find that on the N200 the usb is by far the better of the two connections. I run mine with a Denafrips Terminator Plus, which I also find to be a very good combination. I’ve also tried the Bartok and TA DAC’s but find the Terminator more to my liking. I understand with Vineshine out of the picture Denafrips will still use their Texas service center so if there were to be a problem, service would not be too inconvenient for US residents. If you do decide on Denafrips I would confirm that though. |
@fthompson251 ya, more than $2k difference between the Terminator and DAC 200. It’s certainly the better value and imo sounds better too. |
The Terminator 15th or TPlus and the N200 make a very nice combo as already mentioned a few times. Not a bad value for us crazy’s either 🤪. I run mine with USB (no DDC to take advantage of I2s), but I’m thinking of jumping ship and going with an Innuos Pulsar. The Pulsar has just been released with different output modules, one of which is I2s with a built in reclocker. I’ve compared the Pulsar (with USB) to the N200 and actually like the Pulsar more. I’ve found it to be even quieter with better staging and imaging and by the time you eliminate the need for a DDC and additional cables, cost wise they’re very close. With the I2s module it should hopefully be better yet. |