DAC 'Scam' Vid

@mitch2 I've read great things about the AC line. Interested in your opinion once you've had a chance to hear it. 

@ericrhodes1 - The two DACs I have here now in my main system are Mojo Audio’s Mystique X SE (with AD1862-Z chips and Lundahl’s nano-crystalline chokes)  ($12.5 list) and an Aries Cerat Helene ($19K list).  They both sound good to me but I have owned the Helene for only a few weeks so still working out options to make it sound its best in my system - trying different tubes, cables, and bias settings (it is adjustable).

I have not heard or owned any of the three you listed but I have been reading good things about the new ROCKNA Wavedream Reference Signature ($25K), and the MSB Premier ($27.5K) was on my very short list.  I decided to try the AC Helene first but would be interested to hear the other two, as well as a Totaldac d1-unity $13K) or d1-biunity ($20.7K).  I do not have any interest in SW1X.

This is beyond my comprehension because I am a fool, I have a fuse upgrade collection.

http://forum.audiogon.com/posts/2799450

@mitch2 which two dacs are currently in your system and have you heard the SW1X dac. I'm currently in the considering it, the new Rockna Signature, or MSB equivalent. 

Ok, since you asked,

• In my system I have heard differences in the sound of every DAC I have tried (at least a dozen)
• In most cases, the more expensive DACs have sounded better to me, although the differences are sometimes more subtle than large
• The two DACs currently in my main system are the most expensive I have owned, and also the best sounding
• One of them is about 100 times the cost you referenced, as the maximum necessary for good sound, and it is probably the best sounding DAC that I have heard
• Although the DAC sounds great, I can envision a couple of things that could be improved on, IMO
• Whether I ever chase those improvements with a different DAC becomes a personal value decision
• I will enjoy my system either way
• the best way for you to answer your own question would be for you to purchase the $200 DAC, live with it for a while, and then try a well-regarded DAC at whatever higher price point you choose.

BTW, IMO,  “snake oil”  is a dumb term that is loosely used around here in posts intended to be provocative.  The price of something is a value proposition, if you can’t afford it or don’t believe it provides enough value for the price then don’t buy it.  If the manufacturer misrepresents the performance, irrespective of price, then that is fraud. Unfortunately, in the audio world, there seems to be a grey area called wishful thinking that falls between fact and fraud.

I’ve tried 10 different DACs in my system.  Once I got above about $200 US they all sounded good.  Once I got up near 2K they sounded better.  2K was the top of my budget.  Ended up choosing the Holo Audio Cyan 2.  It was not the most expensive at 1300 but sounded the best to me in my system.  Do DACs that cost thousands more sound better, possibly but I couldn’t afford them so I don’t worry about it.  I’m not going to demo something that I can’t afford.  Need to avoid FOMO with this hobby.  Your experience may differ.  

I think telling folks they can get $10,000 performance for $200 is an easy way to get clicks. Some have built big channels off of selling that idea and it would be nice if it were true. The good news is that there seems to be a lot of quality dacs/streamers that are not terribly expensive, but that's not to say they sound as good as the best.

@roxy54, if I may Total Nonsense!

Isn't this the second thread on the same or similar video? This crowd is getting rather tiring. 

@smodtactical 

Why not use your ears and decide for yourself? 

Youtube videos that a DAC shouldn't be over $150-$200 seem to be the currently very popular...there are some surprisingly good low cost DAC's out there now (currently using a $129 Schiit Modi+ on desktop), but have found more expensive DAC's from Schiit, PS Audio, Denfrips etc that sound much better...

Nonsense.

I don't waste time watching these silly You Tube videos.

Unfortunately some people really can't hear differences in cables, DACs and especially power amplifiers.

If you can good luck to you!

Everything else is clickbait.

Companies like Chord Electronics which use Field Programmable Gate Arrays exclusively that provide up to a million taps which allows Chord to right extremely intricate and extensive code that results in arguably more sophisticated and higher performance processing compared to "off the shelf" chips which only provide about a hundred taps. You could say faster and more accurate interpolation of the data without errors, encoded in a digital source. As to whether it sounds better would be based on individual experiences.