DAC suggestions?

Eversolo FW and support are pretty bad in my experience.   Lot of money to spend for decent hardware and non existent support.   

I've been waiting over a year for them to correct an issue caused by FW .    USB won't recognize a DAC it worked perfectly with for a year.   The last FW recognized DAC but no sound.  Fortunately there is a coax output as well.   Thats not a fix though.  

The worst company I've ever dealt with in 45 years of this hobby.  

How about a Streamer-DAC and then the PC is out of the equation?  What exactly is your budget?  I am very happy with Cambridge Audio, or the Wiim line might be interesting 

Budget?  Are you open to used?  What improvements and wha5 sound characteristics are most important to you?

Open to new or used, ideally want to be in the $3-4k range.  

Two other options I’m curious about:

HiFi Rose RS151

Cambridge Audio EXN100

I find the Auralic Altair (I have a 2.1 and a 1.1 in a vacation home) sound great, are solid on wifi or wired and have an easy to use software package.  I run Roon at home but not at the vaca house.  Also easy to use by remote app or with on screen display.  This is streamer + DAC.

You’ll be using your streamer as a roon end point anyway, correct?

Here’s an alternative….Meitner MA3. Has a a built in network renderer and it’s a roon end point. You don’t need a separate streamer.
Based on the ad the seller is flexible on the price. If you can grab this for mid $4k it’s a great option. Gets rid of your usb cable as well. Has an upgrade path. 
 

https://www.usaudiomart.com/details/650225089-silver-meitner-ma3-dac/I’m

Nice gear in setup 2.  Consider iMac USB to a Denafrips DDC then I2S to a Denafrips DAC.  Depending on budget, IRIS to Pontus or Hermes to Venus.  GAIA to Terminator would likely be overkill relative to other gear in your rig.  I’m using IRIS/Pontus with a silent fanless mini PC running Qobuz Connect into Klipsch Fortes and Focal Arias powered by 300b/845 integrated tube amp. Sounds superb, runs flawlessly.

Yeah you really wanna get that iMac outta there.  You can pick up a used Innuos Zen Mk3 for around $2k and here’s a nice Denafrips Pontus 15th DAC for $1695 that would make for a really nice combo within your budget…

https://www.usaudiomart.com/details/650227829-denafrips-pontus-15th/
 

Personally i’m not at all a fan of combo DAC/streamers and certainly wouldn’t touch Eversolo as they have no customer service to speak of.  Hope this helps, and best of luck. 

I agree with cutting the computer cord, getting a Roon endpoint and separate dac. Just try to find a streamer and dac with i2S ports, that way you can ignore those who try to get you to buy an unnecessary ddc. 

I suggest not going with Eversolo. Their customer service is terrible. I would recommend Innuos or Aurender for the streamer. Keeping the DAC separate from the streamer gives you options. I like Bricasti for a DAC, although there are several excellent options.

I suggest an Innuos streamer and the DAC of your choice based on your sound preferences. 

Happy Eversolo A8 user here. It sounds great, very user friendly and I’ve never experienced any bugs with the unit or app. I listen to more music then ever.

g2 , Im happy you are bug free.  My suggestion to any Eversolo user is to turn Auto Update Off and visit their site when there is a FW release. Let the community vet the new firmware before updating.   You are literally on your own , you and the other members of the Eversolo forum.  Its the only place for help which is sad because the hardware is pretty good.   

OP. I would look at Innuos at your price point.  

To OP. .listen to a few DACs , so many good ones out there.   You can buy a nice pair at your budget. 

Wait until August for the new Schitt Byggi. It is supposed to be their best ever DAC, and I owned the LIM, MIB, and the latest OG. Still have the MIB and OG. I am going to convert the MIB to the Byggi. 

These guys sell direct to consumer so a big savings there. The DAC designer is one of the original gangsters for DACs. See the thread about the Byggi.

Maybe have a look at LAIV. Awesome products. Cool looking as well

https://www.laiv.audio/harmony-dac  

Another vote for losing the MAC. Lot’s on these fora as to why. This will do very nicely. 

First off, I am a thrilled Eversolo owner. I have had my DMP-A6 Master for over a year and LOVE it! Fortunately, I have had no need to contact their Customer Service so I can’t comment there…I have the Eversolo connected to a Denafrips Pontus II 12th DAC. I then added the DENAFRIPS Hermes DDC which took the sound to another level I had no idea could even exist. There were many on this forum who endorsed adding a DDC and they were 100% correct. Probably one of the biggest improvements in my entire audio journey! 

Maybe take a look at PS Audio Directstream DAC DSD Mk 1 from APS Audio Transformers. The PS Audio DS was a 6000 unit. Prices substantially reduced when they brought out the Stellar Series. APS upgrades the unit with several different levels of performance. The top of the line runs about $3600 on sale now. I purchased one about a year ago and recently upgraded it to this Limited Edition Signature Series PLUS. WOW. Amazing sound and build quality. I have an Arik Audio tube pre and amp is either Radu Tarta 45 Set or Atmasphere Class D (I switch them out, depending on need) and it sounds great with both. An analog smoothness. I pair mine with an Innuos Zen and could not be happier. 

Very happy with my Eversolo DMP-A6 Master - Schiit Bifrost DAC combo. However, like many...have not had to deal with Eversolo support, thankfully.  

If you are using a Roon Nucleus, consider using a Kitsune Holo May as the Dac.  You could eliminate the Mac and go directly into the Dac from the Nucleus.  This will eliminate the computer noise.

Denafrips Venus 15th, brand new $3,495 sold by Audioman58 right here on Agon. With release of the 15th series, the Venus 15th is basically a Terminator 12th from last year.

In that price range, the best DAC I’ve auditioned is the Teac UD-701N - fantastic open sound, lovely build quality and built-in streamer. It also works well with HQPlayer, if you want to go down that route. (It uses the same main board as the $15k Esoteric).

On the source side, I remain very happy with using a Mac Mini as Roon server. I’ve done custom PC builds, and listened to multiple intermediate streamers, but haven’t found anything that makes a significant difference to the sound, in what is a very revealing system.

I have an EverSolo A8. It’s a solid piece of equipment. I e had mine for over a year and it’s been very reliable. The DAC in the A8 is very good, IMO. I listen to similar music as OP and the A8 has been a great digital front end. I use Qobuz and Roon and have  about 2TB of FLAC on my Roon server (Mac Mini). 

I like my Shiit Byfrost. It is 5 years old, and does a great job. It delivers low solid bass, velvet voices, and nice top end. I listen for hours, no fatigue.

HiFi Rose RS151 if you can find one slightly used or an open box to fit your budget. G/L

@wisemenofgotham 

+1, Schiit Yggy LIM DAC.  "Yggdrasil+’s unique True Multi bit™ architecture combines integrated multi bit D/A converters with a proprietary time- and frequency-domain optimized digital filter. Together with the convenience of remote control, switchable NOS mode, and a fully modular platform, Yggdrasil+ gives you the best performance now—and in the future.  Both Yggdrasil+ versions use our True Multi bit architecture, a unique combination of our proprietary time- and frequency-domain optimized digits".

Click here for link to Mfg product info

OR, As posted above, the new Schiit GYGGY DAC to be available soon.

New product Schiit BYGGY DAC info Audiogon post

I would suggest getting a dac independent from the streamer simply due to how much the tech can change. That being said I recently acquired a Grimm MU2 which is an all-in-1 dac/streamer/preamp. The front end I was going to replace was an Auralic S1 streamer w/ external psu to a Laiv DDC to Laiv Harmony to Holo Serene preamp. I wanted to try a top end dac and when I figured I could get the Grimm and replace my whole front end I went for it. I’ve had it about a month. It does sound great. However I recently hooked up the Laiv Harmony to the Grimm’s analog inputs. Using Roon I can stream to the Grimm and Auralic simultaneously and toggle back and forth instantly. I have to say that while I hear an improvement with the Grimm is images being a deeper and more dynamic it is very minor. So minor that I really have to listen for it. I mostly listen to music and medium to lower volumes and in that case I can’t hear a difference. Or at least a meaningful difference. Is the Grimm better? Yes. Is it more enjoyable? If I’m being honest, probably not. Considering once I sell my existing equipment the Grimm will likely end up costing about $6k more. For that I’m leaning towards selling the Grimm and keeping the Auralic/Laiv setup. Now in this comparison everything is coming into the Grimms preamp section. I still need to do a comparison using the full Grimm vs full Laiv including the serene preamp. But, I’ve loved that serene preamp and I doubt the Grimm will sound $6k better. 
 

So my advice is Laiv Harmony + Laiv DDC + good streamer (holo red, araulic, etc.) and you should be able to put that together on the second hand market for under your budget. 
 

for reference, I’ve also had the Holo May, Denafrips Terminator, PS Audio, SW1X, and some other higher end dacs. The May was my favorite but this Laiv combo may be just as good for less. 

Get a Chord TT2 and be done with it.

As others have suggested, I would remove the Mac from the system and go for separates for the DAC and streamer.  Some have suggested an Innuos streamer, and I have a Stream 1 with Phoenix USB output on order, although your budget says go with one of the older used Innuous models.  For the DAC, last year I upgraded my Schiit Bifrost 2/64 (now in my office at home where I do use my Mac Mini M4Pro) to the Gungnir 2,  and I am exceptionally pleased with the sound quality I am getting from my system—Rogue RP-7 preamp, Odyssey monobloc amps, Fyne F702 speakers with two Rythmik Subs, with 4’ Silversmith Fidelium speaker cables and a mix of AudioQuest and Morrow interconnects and Ice Age Audio power cables.

2.3 Doge 7 MkII tube DAC              

2.6 Ferrum Wandla - HR competes w 10k DACs 

     +1.2 HYPSOS power supply 

2.7 LAiV Harmony DAC

3.0 Musician Aquarius - sounds like a $5k DAC

4.0 Linear Tube Audio Aero DAC

4.3   Denafrips Terminator  [BNC in, 

     XLR out](But USB in best per AudioBacon)                                                                                      

The NuPrime Evolution DAC-2 - that hardly anybody around seem to know (or care?) about/have experience with - is an excellent D/A-converter/preamp. When fully run-in (and it easily needs 200-300 hours to settle in, sounding closed-in and "woolen" between ~75-135 hours in particular) I found it to be the better DAC compared to a fully updated 2018 Bricasti M1 and comparing overall equally to a Weiss DAC-1 MkIII. It's that good (and for the price, ~$3.5k, it's close to a downright steal). 

"Better" to some is different to others, but the resolving capabilities, transparency, analogue imprinting and dynamic prowess of the NuPrime are unquestionably better than the Bricasti, and the former by no means is a details-first presenter. The Weiss in particular has a midrange to die for, but arguably it's also ever so slightly too pronounced compared to the NuPrime (system/speaker dependent?), that to my ears has a more balanced, getting-out-of-the-way approach and better low end to boot. Make no mistake though, the Weiss is a great DAC.