DAC for Cal Audio Labs CL-10

I also use a CAL Alpha with a Cal CL-10 with great results.
The CL-10 is very capable on its own, but the Alpha is warmer and throws a huge soundstage. Like zinfan, I even prefer the sound of HDCDs through the Alpha even though they lose the benefits of HDCD decoding.

You might try the California Audio Labs Alpha DAC. I use it with a California Audio Labs Delta transports as well as with a CL-10. It doesn't "do" HDCD CDs, but those CDs still sound better (warmer, deeper), to my ears, through the Alpha DAC than they do through the CL-10 by itself.

What about the EVS Millennium? I see they sell for about $350.

I have a Benchmark (can be had for $850 new) & love it. Incredible detail & great features. You can forgo a pre-amp & run direct into your amp or use the headphone features. I think this piece of "pro-audio" is a killer deal & sounds great in my system.

Well I got excited until I started to rsearch the price of the Classe DAC-1. Looks like it will run $850 to $950. Not too much considering everything else I've bought so let's open this up a little. What is the best DAC under $1000? What is the best under $2000 and what is the best under $4000 and what do you get for more money?

I agree with the suggestion of the Classe' DAC-1. Also may want to consider a Cal Alpha. Although I have not heard the Alpha/CL-10 combination, I have been told that it is a big improvement over a stand-alone CL-10. I am currently using a Theta Pro Gen Va with a CL-10 and the results are outstanding, especially on vocals. However, a used Theta is about $1,500.

Good Luck

The answer is an unqualified yes if you can pony up another $3-400 for a Classe' DAC-1. I used it w/CL-10 with very good success. Another option that might work would be the Muse Model2 which is available for about $500. Look for the 4th order Bessell filter option. I have never heard this, but it it reputed to be right up there w/the Classe'.