DAC question, help!

If it were me, and I was happy of the sound coming from my CDP using it's internal DAC I would look for a integrated that does not contain a DAC. Greater choices out there.  

If it were me, and I was happy of the sound coming from my CDP using it's internal DAC I would look for a integrated that does not contain a DAC. Greater choices out there.  

@bluorion,
I think Parasound is great gear! It is built well and sounds very good!
Peachtree is great as well!  You might want to look at a Nova 300.  
Hegel is another one to take a look at.  Built well and sounds great!  Similar to Parasound in build quality with just a different flavor in sound.

If you could find a good deal,  in addition to stretching your budget a little, a used Anthem STR would be nice.

Look at “Kinki Studio EX-M1” too.  Check reviews on it!  You can pick these up for $2K used...


Maybe a integrated tube amp from Prima Luna?  Tubes are sexy (the glow at night is cool) and they have a unique flavor.  “Rolling Tubes” is fun and allows you to easily change up the sound of your rig and you could have 3 different sets, each with their own strengths.  
There’s a PrimaLuna Dialogue One for $2200...  it has auto biasing and you can use 5-6 different types of tubes.  You can switch between triode and ultra linear as well 👍.  Pair this with a nice outboard dac and a pair of Tektons and you’ll be happy!

@b_limo LOL Great points!!! I was just wondering because I had seen other posts about DAC updates etc. Whatever int amp I end up getting, I would like to hold onto it for 10 years or so. My old Denon lasted over 2 decades. Just trying to get as much info as I can before i make a big purchase. I looked at Cary Audio's SS amp which looks nice but no phono stage or headphone jack. Bummer.

What do you think is going to change in DAC technology?

MQA isn’t "all that" and I can’t see someone trying to come out with a competing technology. It’s unlikely that "hi-res" bit rates are going to go up for any other reason than marketing.

You can use the DAC in your Marantz CD player if you like or the one in the Hint.  If you like the Hint, I wouldn’t let your purchasing decision rest on that one thing. I’d consider it a positive, not a negative.

I have a Peachtree Nova 300 that I bought a few years ago and its DAC hasn’t become obsolete, nor is it in any danger of becoming obsolete that I’m aware of.

When I bought my Focal Electra 1008 BE speakers a while back they were attached to the Hint and I thought it sounded really good. I didn’t do extensive listening, but on first blush it sounded quite nice.

Thanks guys! I just worry that if I get an amp with a DAC, it will be obsolete in a year or two and not sure if want to go through the trouble for updating all the time. Some folks say stick with an all analog int amp but then I've seen so many good reviews for the HINT. Hopefully, I can do some auditioning when we can leave the house. :)

Depends how you hook them up.

If you use the digital out of your CDP to the Hint, then the Hint. If you use the analog (dual RCA or dual XLR) outputs, then the CDP.
You can hook both up at the same time, by the way, so you can do back and forth comparisons.

I would choose base on convenience, and cost and sound quality. I wouldn’t avoid the Hint because it has a DAC. :)

I haven't heard the Hint, but the ZDAC was a pretty sweet sounding DAC for peanuts.

The 8006 has digital outputs so you can use those to allow your amp do the conversion or you can use the analogue out to your amp and let the 8006 handle the conversion.  Having 2 choices allows you to compare the two with different genres of music or speaker pairings in the future. Your ears should tell you which way works best. It makes sense to have options and different DACs using even the same chip can sound different depending on the power supply, architecture and output stage. Cheers!