Dac: Old vs New

There is so much better technologies in digital advancements over the last 4 years 

depending too on your budget , any of the Denafrips  dacs brings good value,

as well as most Holo springs , Gustards new R26  dac is great value ,

to get imo a truly good reference dac roughly around $5k and up . The best dac I have heard and have heard allthe above and on my buying list is the $7k T+A 200 dac it is as good if not better then any dac at 2x it’s cost .

Depends on the modifications performed. If done correctly, those DACs you mention may not be an improvement at all. There really has not been that much technology advancement over the years.

@audioman58 what DACs have you comp-0ared your DAC to at 2X that you felt were not an improvement?

Happy Listening.

Perhaps go to the used market, for the $500 range you'll have a lot of options.  Personally I preferred the smsl m400 over the denafrips aries. It's still in the second system. The m400 has some warmth and good control on bass. Good sparkle and definition also. Probably the aries would be more like your older dacs. You could move it on with little cost if not to your liking and try something else. Just my thoughts on my experience with those 2 dacs.

Agree Bigkidz

Many older DACs are great sounding but lack certain features or abilities to play some hi-rez files. I see that as more of the issue to upgrade a dac rather than just sound alone.