I have the MSB Cascade .. I don't think there's any hype about it and it is fantastic but it does cost a lot of money though.
DAC shopping - Trying to sift through the Hype. Can I trust the reviews these days ??
Hi All,
Well I've been reading a ton of threads about DACs. This is a very complicated endeavor, trying to find a new DAC. My 1st question is: Can I trust all the Youtube reviews these days ?
Seems like everyone is promoting the same DACs. I'm looking into a R2R Dac. Tons of hype for Holo May,Cyan,Laiv Harmony,Denafrips. Are these truly great Dacs or are they just the flavour of the month ?. There is almost zero negativity towards these Dacs. It's kind of like when the Eversolo streamers came out. Seemed like every reviewer was pushing the Eversolo. So searching for a new DAC online almost seems like sponsored ADs everywhere, am I wrong in feeling this way ?
That all being said here is my criteria for a new DAC (Probably searching the used market to get best value)
I believe I want to go with a R2R Dac, but it's not a dealbreaker.
My budget: $1000-$3000
My system: Bryston 3B Cubed, VTL(tube pre),Bel Canto 3.7 Dac(with upgrades), Antipodes Ds-3(player/server).
I really enjoy my Bel Canto 3.7, but it doesn't have USB input and I'm curious how much better a DAC sounds in 2024, compared to an older Bel Canto,. My BC has an upgraded linear supply. Once again this DAC sounds beautiful, but when its not compared to anything......Maybe I'm depriving myself of a better DAC. This is the only DAC I've had with existing equipment.
I know plenty of you will say go audition as many DACs as you can, but that is difficult unless it's hooked up to my gear. Won't help going to a store with a DAC being hooked up to different gear.Plus I want to buy used. I can buy higher end with a bit of a discount.
From my research these are the DACs I'm thinking of pursuing:
Laiv Harmony
Denafrips Pontas ii
Holo Cyan
You can tell from my choices that I've been buying into the hype.
Please add to my list of DACs and please dispel any extra hype over the most talked about models.
Cheers.
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When we compared the Terminator Plus 12th to our Directstream Signature Series PLUS DAC it did quite well however no where as good sounding. It had good detail however it did have some congestion and not as open and real sounding. We even used it's clock out feeding the Hermes DDC however we feel it didn't really help or change the sound much. |
There are soooo many DACs. I’ve been using a Denafrips Pontus 2 for the past couple of years and just picked up a new Holo Audio Cyan 2 on the used market. I wanted a DAC that was R2R, had i2s input, and could take an upsampled DSD signal so I could play with HQPlayer. So far so good. It’s similar in character to the Pontus 2 but with more detail and better imaging. Not a huge upgrade but HQPlayer should take it to a higher level. Good luck in your search. |
Have you tried Jriver Media player/server? HQPlayer is good however it will not accept iso's. Jriver has a great interface and a DLNA server so you can use mconnect to stream Qobuz and other streaming services. Also has an app for ios (Jremote). We run ours on a micro HP computer to our Hermes DDC to several DACS so we can do instant A/B comparisons by selecting different DAC inputs on the preamp. |
@jk_richards I'm pretty happy with my Squeeze LMS. LMS is a total open source. It also plays very well with my Antipodes Streamer. |
- 128 posts total