DAC’s

Is the sound quality differential really worth the extra $3-5k ?

@cakyol I would assume that:

• Asking people with 5-7 $k DACs should get an answer of  “yes”.
• Asking people with 100-2k DACs should get the answer of “no”, or “maybe”.

$7k is a fair chunk of change.

I cannot hear much of a difference between the iPad coming out of an apple dongle and the same iPad feeding Spotify into an RME DAC… so I would be more tempted to shift the 5-6k extra into something else where it might be more noticeable.

Maybe your equipment and ears are better, but unless there are some features with that DAC then personally I would require some careful listening to sway me towards it.

Those who say DACs don’t matter, zeroes and ones, I want to smoke what you are smoking. Or have tin ears. Or never listened to music. I would have saved myself a lot of money.

I do admit to liking vinyl, and with digital needing all the cords, power conditioners, etc. which the “everything makes a difference” crowd spruiks… that is one reason I prefer vinyl. It is a TT, Cart, phono stage and preamp.

I do not generally find streaming more than just easy listening.

 

It’s like those guys with a Chromecast Audio as a “DAC” who bitch about Analog sounding so much better than their Digital. Well… no shit.

OK…
We have suggestions of:

• $100 dongle 
• $1-2k DAC
• $7k DAC
• $20k + DACS

I do not think it is dishonourable for the OP to try and listen to that DAC before jumping in.

 

The MSRP of my DAC is $20,000. Esoteric N-01XD. Or it was when I bought it a couple of years ago.

 

Is this too bad? Can I be “saved”? 

You probably cannot be saved, but let’s assume that the OP got to listen to the DAC they are considering, and also your $20K one.

If there was a difference, then the $7k would also probably not be a good deal, if it is a temporary thing, and they could be better off just getting the $20k DAC.

I doubt that whatever amount it is, then one can argue that they should have spent more or less.. and especially so if they cannot hear a difference.

 

@richardmathes 

While I find it hard to judge much of a difference between a $10k DAC, $2k DAC or a $100 dongle… I am not sure I am going to be any better at judging people’s motivations and what they should be optimally doing with their money.

 

$10,000 for a DAC? Someone's priorities, i.e., the important ones, the social ones, are out of whack.

i suppose ”good for you to point out that there are options,” but:

• Which social issues in particular?
• And can $10k solve these social issues?
• And is it the OP’s responsibility to solve them?

 

 

richardmathes it was a genuine question. That is part of what this site is for, is it not ? It’s like minded people who are into the same hobby. I bet you are the kind of guy who has an $800 a month truck payment and is always complaining he doesn’t have any money

Yeah - I am not much of streaming guy, but I think that It is good to get some listening in on whichever of the units you are considering.

While an in home demo is good, just finding where to do hear some of the units can often be a challenge at this level.

 

Hello, curious on everyone’s thoughts. I’m still building my system. I came across a really good deal on a Meitner MA3 dac. It’s from an authorized dealer and they offered to sell me one NIB for 7k

If they know you are interested, then can you try and convince them to let you do a demo?
(Even better if you had some other DAC to compare it to available.)

Even if that costed you some forfeitable fee, it could be worthwhile to know for sure before jumping in head first.

Believe me, you will never hear the difference, especially not worth a price differential of 5k, even if you have better hearing than the creature in the movie "A Quiet Place".

@cakyol while I agree, I worked it a bit different earlier…

I doubt I would be able to hear the difference, and I think it would be wise for the OP to try and get a good listen of it.
So for me a 2k $DAC is enough for the easy listening of what I use streaming for.

 

@shtr74sims Did you try and see if the dealer would allow you to try it, say over the weekend?

holmz no not yet, been a busy week. To many options haha

@shtr74sims there is no dishonour in moving slowing, nor being busy. 😎
Nor looking at many other options.

While I do not personally hear a great difference between DACS, the options/controls/interface can be pretty important and a deal maker/breaker.

@shtr74sims to add more to the plate… @gdnrbob just put in “Innuos Zen Mini for the office, and the Innuos Zenith for the living room ”.

My AVR/AVP allegedly has a good Roon player built into it, and I am haunching over the bench to get the cables working for it this weekend.

 

Some of these Streamer/DAC combos are probably better options for people like me.

@ghasley 

Digital:
iPad / Spotify —> RME ADI 2 DAC  —> Nagra Jazz —> PrimaLuna Dialogue Premium HP —> Vandersteen 2C and 2W.

 

When I play an LP and stream the same thing via Spotify, it largely sounds the same between LP, dongle, and RME.
They all sound pretty good to me. The few people that I know are into HiFi and come over are impressed or lying politely… or we are all 0.5 deaf.

Even though personally I do not notice much of a difference between a <$100 iPad dongle and a 2$k DAC I find it all pretty interesting.

What does one listen for to hear the difference?
Is it cymbals, or woodwinds, or what??

Or is it the Spotify stream coming through the iPad to begin with that is the issue making it sound largely the same?

 

Good. Nirvana. Then why are you in these audio forums 24/7?

@thyname It was raining off and on most of the last couple of weeks, but I am doing some upgrades, so there is also that.
I went on a drive earlier and took the dog for a walk.

 

holmz I must say you got an unusual combination of components there. I’d recommend you start a separate discussion, asking for some feedback based on your current set up rather than hijacking this thread

OK @audphile1 - I was thinking that knowing “what to listen for” might also help the OP figure out if the DACS they are considering are markedly different or not.

@ghdprentice

There is nothing strange about holmz lackluster attitude towards streaming, here is one of his earlier replies in the thread,

“Yeah - I am not much of streaming guy”

@lalitk the context was that I usually stream to either find new LPs, or have easy listening stuff playing in the background.
I usually preface an opinion where I am perhaps conflicted with a disclaimer like that.

But as @tomic601 mentioned, the lockdowns were an opportunity to take another pass through the system. So when the old CD player barfed, it seemed like streaming was worth a look. As well as playing out CDs that I have previously loaded into the computer (iTunes library). And I got a few CDs that overlap with LPs as I can listen to those in a car or airplane easier than an LP.

 

holmz

You shouldn’t have to listen to any particular instrument to detect the difference between an iPad dongle and a $2K DAC. It should be obvious and overwhelming. Definitely, Spotify is not a high quality source. But even then… very unusual

@ghdprentice Well the iPad was streaming the Spotify, and the dongle was going into RCAs into the back of the system next to the DAC inputs.
If it is Spotify as the limiter, then it makes sense as to why a dongle and a DAC are not too different.
Thanks!

To give some more context, the PrimaLuna is a bit warm, but switching between UltraLinear (UL) and Triode is much more obvious.

@milpai OK I’ll have a futz around with some of the other streaming options like Tidal and Qobuz.

 

Watching @shtr74sims go through the process may give me some insights.

@tomic601 yeah Jim… Got it.

I might get a fishing tonearm and see if I can get past the surf for the Whiting.
 

 

~Holmz, the last of the Mohicans.