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DAC RECOMMENDATIONS PLEASE

Hello,

Presently my system is: Qobuz > Lumin U1 Mini Streamer > Electrocompaniet ECD-1 Dac > Herron VTSP-3A (R03) Pre > Odyssey Khartago Extreme Amp > KEF r11 Speakers.

The ECD-1 dac is 20 years old. I've had issues with this dac at times not playing 24/192 music at all even though its rated to handle it. Recently I've had to adjust settings in the Lumin to play 24/192 music at 24/96 in order for it to play. So, I want to replace it with something using a bit more current technology. My budget is 1800.00 for something used.

To my ears, the KEF r11 is a very detailed and revealing speaker. Well recorded music sounds great. Poorly recorded music sounds very poor and again to me, that means edgy and fatiguing highs. I'm looking for a warm and musical presentation. Things I've done to lean in that direction are getting the Herron pre and adjusting the bias of the Khartago towards a warmer sound also.

Dacs I've been studying have been R2R NOS dacs like Border Patrol, Denefrips Pontus II, and others. I also have looked at the Schiit Yggy LIM.  So I'd love to hear from anyone who perhaps has had a similar quest and what was found to fit the warm and musical goal. Thanks for any comments!

JM

jfmerk

Showing 1 response by desktopguy

desktopguy
337 posts
 

My digital journey (which started with CDs ~1984) was troubled. The sound was convenient as hell, but sounded terrible when played above moderate volume on  good audio gear. Digital sound refused to "scale" -- it refused to get better with better downstream gear.

That all changed with my first non-delta/sigma DAC ~6 years ago. It was the non-oversampling Audio GD NOS-19. That led me to Audio GD’s big seller, the R2R, oversampling DAC-19. These 2 were my "gateway DACs" to digital sound that no longer annoyed me, fatigued my ears, and made music sound amusical.

I’ve moved on to better DACs since then. Currently I have 3 good NOS DACs: the MHDT Labs Orchid; the Metrum Onyx; and the Audio GD R2R-11 MK2. Each has its pluses and minuses; they do not sound especially alike. But all three share a freedom from digititis.

So my 2 cents is simple: get yourself a well-reviewed R2R or NOS DAC and see what you think.

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