DAC recommendation in 5 to 10K range

There are a LOT of DACs in this price range.  I will say that based on my testing there is a big difference in performance between between the ~$5k DACs can ~$10k DACs.

you are effectively trading off detail for soundstage.  The higher you go, the less compromise you find.  This is not strictly linear and there are amazing values, particularly in single ended devices.  Also, each has a tonal signature and a level of warmth vs brightness that should be considered.

From your description, there are a ton of products that might meet your needs.  The question is exactly where you are going to draw the line in terms of sweetness, control, etc…   
 

There are a ton of great suggestions here and I would recommend reading up on the brands mentioned and a few others.  Then, you probably need to arrange a demo of one of them that you think will work.  
 

i would definitely look at:

Chord - though this is a brighter sound profile but no one delivers a better image between the speakers in this price range and amazing detail.  Image width is a challenge.  Look at the Dave used or the TT2 and possibly MScaler

Bricasti - dead neutral, good detail but not reference level (Dave and Weiss are more detailed) with amazing staging.  M1 SE is a consumer version of their Studio DAC.  Best with network card.  M3 is also available in the range and is very good.  Most M3 owners move on to M1 eventually.    

weiss 501/502 - Also a pro company that delivers amazing detail with strong imaging and has a killer feature set.  Can be a tough brighter but can be modded with DSPs.  On board renderer is superb. 

Jadis JS2 - I am running JS1 now.  It is neutral yet sweet and musical.  The JS2 is tonally supposed to be similar with a little less in terms of dynamics because of the less sexy power supply

Rockna Wavedream Edition - this is an R2R which is not terribly important. The Wavedream is supremely neutral.  The sound is difficult to describe because it is so neutral.  Best via I2S but USB input is good.  

Meitner MA3 - see the review that just broke in Stereophile.  

T+A - I believe they have like an $8k DAC that is supposed to be stellar and T+ A is optimized for USB.  A lot of these other units perform best via synchronous connections  

Aqua - known for having a warmer sound profile.  Lots of people love this line.

Mola Mola - that Tambaqui used will be in this range.  It is unique.  Not everyone loves it (it can be had used) but lots do.  It is very natural and very resolving.  

I have a LONG thread reviewing DACs elsewhere called DAC Shootout Starts this Weekend.  You will see I am a dealer for Chord, Bricasti, Rockna, Weiss and it seems very likely, Jadis.  I have no affiliation with Aqua, Meitner, Mola Mola or T+A.  

@metaldetektor , Thank you for the suggestion, and I have heard good inputs from many sources about Mola Mola Tambaqui, check into used market is a good idea.

There’s a Mojo Audio Mystique V3 that rarely comes up for sale on USAM now that does everything you’ve said you’re looking for. Read the seller’s comments and reviews as this could potentially save you thousands of $$$ and provide you with exactly what you’re looking for…

https://www.usaudiomart.com/details/649868831-mojo-audio-mystique-v3-balanced-dac/

And if for some reason it doesn’t blow you away you can turn around and sell it for likely little/no loss.  FWIW. 

The Bricasti M1 SE is an awesome sounding DAC for around 9K!  Also, a used Chord Dave would be an excellent choice in your price range!  Check out the reviews for both units!     

+1 on the Meitner MA3

I moved from a PS Directstream Sr which is still Class A in Stereophile

The MA3 is a DAC/Streamer/Pre and a Roon Ready/Roon Endpoint device with full MQA unfolding. It has a great tonal balance and a deep/wide soundstage. Excellent separation of instruments. A very non fatiguing DAC with a smooth top end.

Ed Meitner (also of EMM Labs) is a legend in the industry and this DAC has tons of proprietary technology.

One unforeseen benefit for those who have optimized their network with the Uptone Ether Regen or other switch, Fiber Modules, Clocks etc. The MA3 seems to address the Jitter/Noise issues these devices are attempting to solve. There is very little difference between a direct ethernet connection to the DAC vs my normal Sonore OM>ER>AD Clock path. Adding in the power supplies (Farad) and cabling this is $5k of equipment the MA3 appears to make obsolete.

With the Direcstream this equipment made a huge difference

MA3 can be bought in the $7-8K range

When you consider the feature set in addition to the superb sound quality, the Weiss DAC501 is tough to beat.

My choice won't be neutral as I am canadian but definitely 

+1 for the Meitner MA3 !

Lampizator out of Poland.

Baltic 3 or Atlantic TRP.

A used Big 7 which is the first in the lineup of DHT triode will be in your budget also.

I am not Canadian though I love Canada and I do have a Moon 680D and love it.

the progression was 280D to the 390 to the 680D. When my investments recover one day the 780D v2 may find it's way into my system if not okay I am smitten with what I have. 

T+A Dac 200

Really happy with my PS Audio Direct Stream DAC.  Regardless, I would get something that had an FPGA so that it is upgradable.  

Wow...lots of good suggestions.  I don't think I can audition them all, but certainly will check into them further.

@gkr7007 , I do have a limitation in shelf height, the maximum height I can arrange is around 22cm or 8.5 inches, in talking to Lukasz, he suggest I look into an Amber 4 with "hot-rodded" tube section, that will perform very close to a Baltic 3, and this will likely be the one I will try if I end up heading this direction.

Meanwhile, T+A is very high on my list also.

@Bigby

Completely agree! I was auditioning multiple new DACs to replace my PSAudio Directstream when I decided to go with both the Edcor transformer upgrade and the JKRichards Analog Board replacement. 
Unbelievable! The DSD sound quality with Sunlight was better than the $10K+ DACs I was evaluating. Clarity, low noise floor and enhanced spacial queues. 
Sent the others back. 
N.B. I completely replaced the PSaudio ‘Bridge’ with a Musica Pristina A Capella III. 

My system has the PS Audio DirectStream DAC which is great, although they have made it clear that there are no more software upgrades in the pipe. It didn’t really wow me until I paired it with their preamp BHK signature which I probably wouldn’t have bought except for the the pre-pro bypassing, which it handles remarkably well. My system came to life after I bought the BHK preamp, honestly. 

@vthokie83 

I too just made the switch over from coax to USB on my Terminator. I can concur with your findings, I’m temporarily using a cheapo $10 Amazon USB cable and it’s besting a very good Cardas Clear digital coax. It’s a bit of an eye opener for me as I’m extremely skeptical when it comes to cables.

@elan120 You’re on a great track to consider T+A. In full disclosure, I am a new authorized dealer for T+A, but I do have experience with dozens of DACs over the years before I became a dealer a few months ago.

Most recently in the last year, I compared a number of DACs, including a fully modded DirectStream (upgraded transformers, linear power supply, etc), a Lampizator Baltic 3, Mola Mola Tambaqui, and the $38,500 T+A SDV-3100HV amongst a few just this last year. I would pick the T+A DAC 200 over the DirectStream, Lampizator, and Mola Mola. The DAC 200 will has more body and musicality than the DirectStream or Mola Mola. It also has an incredible noise floor and is not rounded at the frequency extremes like the Lampizator (and that was after putting $1000 of tubes in the Baltic 3 to try to get the best out of it). For its price range, I can think of no better DAC. The Mola Mola is very good, albeit out of your price range unless you find it used, but it is a much more analytical DAC, so it will depend on your system synergy and listening preferences. 

Join this community, it’s for me the most dedicated and professional forum you can find on this topic.

Also checkout this great DAC comparison by a well-known forum member: Short High End DAC Comparison, PT.2 – Sonvs Apparatvs (sonusapparatus.com)

You will get a lot of detailed help, from people seriously testing & most important OWNING DAC’s (not just referring to Youtubers) for a wide range (every DAC/DSP above €25k makes technically no sense besides owning certain brand...).

I was on the DAC race the last 10 months and than joined them, lot’s of very useful insights!

jl1ny,

Funny how small changes can cause some sweet sound, just a little money and time to find a better solution. If you want to upgrade that USB cable, there are some very good "reasonably" priced cables that will improve your sound even further.

Look at eBay for Supra USB cables, just make sure that you are buying from "Zendada" who is an official distributor.....Wireworld USB cables are also excellent. Both options can be had for under $100 depending on the length you require.

Based on your description, I would check out the Merason DAC1.  It's not going to do anything above 24 192, but it's the most organic sounding DAC I've heard at $6K, throws a huge soundstage and has excellent bass.  Detail without sterility.

+1 @chcook Weiss DAC501 (or Weiss DAC502 if you need balanced headphone jack)

I have not heard the Terminator yet, but I have heard its clone Musician Aquarius (they are basically the same company), and the sound was what you have described.

I have just concluded a one month search for a new DAC and tried the following:

- Musician Aquarius
- Aqua La Scala MKII
- Rockna Wavelight
- Rockna Wavedream
- Audiobyte Hydravox
- Teac UD-701N
- Esoteric N-05XD
- Sonnet Morpheus
- Lab12 Reference Dac1

And I settled on Lab12 Reference Dac1 in the end. The sound you are looking for was exactly what I was searching for and I found it in the Lab12. Close contenders were La Scala MKII and Teac UD-701N. Listening to it now while I was typing this reply. 

That Lab12 dac is a sleeper. I had it for a month and I thought it was better than the Weiss Dac502, in my room. I just sold the Lab12 to TMR because I got caught up in not being able to upsample it to DSD and not having volume control. I think I made a mistake by not keeping it.

@phastm3 

Well, it's less than one third the price of the Weiss, why not just get another one for a secondary setup?

I had the pleasure of doing an A/B comparison of Sonnet Morpheus and the Lab12 DAC1 because they were carried by the same dealer, and it was not even funny how the DAC1 was superior to Morpheus in every way. I also don't understand how that reviewer from Alpha Audio came to the conclusion these two sounded similar, because the Morpheus was clearly a lot brighter and more intense to listen to, whereas the DAC1 was simply just so much more easier to listen at louder volume but without sacrificing speed and liveliness. The soundstage for DAC1 was also clearly wider and the bass quality was significantly better. I think I have reached my end-game DAC. Maybe if I strike lottery I might consider listening to DCS Vivaldi or MSB Reference, but I struggle to think how other DAC could get much better than the Lab12. 

I added a Denafrips Gaia DDC to my Terminator (original with DSP upgrade) and used an i2S connection between the Gaia and DAC. I was very surprised by the improvement. More dynamic, smoother sounding, and improved sound stage. 

I've since upgraded to a Terminator Plus which I'm very happy with, but just adding the Gaia to the original Terminator was a very noticeable improvement. 

@auroravengeance im thinking about trying the Teac 701n because it has the analog preamp. I’m using an Aries G2 now, but I plan on selling it. I think the Teac with the Teac external clock might be worth a try

@phastm3 The Teac 701N is pretty good, though at this price point you might want to give Rockna Wavelight a listen too because it has an analog preamp too. I've heard good things too about SPL Director MK2 which is also at this price point. I plan to drop by the showroom sometimes next week to audition SPL stuff, will report my finding on the DAC as well. 

@auroravengeance I tried the wavelight last year. The preamp section is hard to use since you have to use a phone or tablet app to control the volume. The SPL looks interesting.

The just released Lumin T3 should be in this mix, it uses Lumin’s latest processing, uses the X-1 analog output stage, and incorporates Leedh volume control so it can be effectively used without a preamp. The Lumin P-1 also fits into this category perhaps equalling the X-1 performance and adding ST Optical input, HDMI, and just receiving a stellar review in TAS.

Recommend you demo the Waversa DAC3c. Build quality is great and I it has a built in streamer. I listened to it and it sounded really good in my system. However, I ultimately went with a Emm Labs DAC2X V2 which I found second hand for a good price. Emm Labs sounds better to me but it is also much more expensive (new).