MHDT Orchid.
DAC That Punches Above Its Price Point
I’ll make it short. I’ve spent some hours reading the DAC threads on this forum. I am aware quality of digital matters as superior DACs usually the costlier ones will sound better than cheap DACs, making music sound more analog, lifelike, real, believable with all the soundstage and detail etc. All the good things. There are some who thought it’s the music that matters, and although different DACs may sound different it’s the music that makes the most difference. In other words, the differences that exist between DACs are not that important as it's all about the music. I can see the point that people are trying to make.
Back to the topic. I’ve read great things on the Denafrips Ares II and Pontus II, and other costlier high-end DACs. I’ve read about the Chord DAVE. I personally own a Chord QBD76 and have no urge to replace it with anything else since it sounds splendid in my system, for the money. I may be setting up another system and was wondering if there is a DAC in the lower price bracket that punches way above its price point, sounding close to if not better than the costlier designs.
I presume the Audioquest Black, Red or Cobalt are not worthy of consideration and sound noticeably inferior to the costlier options? FWIW I tried the Musical Fidelity M1 DAC and this one really sounded poor to my ears. Very digital sound and I stopped listening to it after a while. The Chord sounds a lot more analog, lifelike and real to my ears.
I would appreciate any advice. Thanks.
Back to the topic. I’ve read great things on the Denafrips Ares II and Pontus II, and other costlier high-end DACs. I’ve read about the Chord DAVE. I personally own a Chord QBD76 and have no urge to replace it with anything else since it sounds splendid in my system, for the money. I may be setting up another system and was wondering if there is a DAC in the lower price bracket that punches way above its price point, sounding close to if not better than the costlier designs.
I presume the Audioquest Black, Red or Cobalt are not worthy of consideration and sound noticeably inferior to the costlier options? FWIW I tried the Musical Fidelity M1 DAC and this one really sounded poor to my ears. Very digital sound and I stopped listening to it after a while. The Chord sounds a lot more analog, lifelike and real to my ears.
I would appreciate any advice. Thanks.
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My point is very simple: excellent sound component manufacturers know how to test all components, including parts used in product’s assembly, and final product test, in production flow to ensure every unit “meets the spec”, and therefore they have in place all needed test procedures, equipped with accurate test equipment and provide training for staff.For this to be true these manufacturers would need specifications that include everything that affects how something sounds. They do know how to make sure their units meet their specifications. They do not know how to specify everything that affects how something sounds so we are therefore left with one and only valid way to determine how something sounds... listen to it. Before you even go there, yes, listening tests have many problems, but that's all we have as a final test. |
herman, I agree on final sound check of any audio component in sound system, to make sure if no hum noise, microphonic effect (rubber hammer tap test), etc. the problem is in using “listener" as sound quality assessment, because all humans are not reliable in terms of repeatable sound grading, if they can’t see which unit is put under test. using human ears and brain is the biggest variable in ranking sound, because “listening” is biased by reviews, optical appearance, friend’s opinion, etc. just ask someone to connect different units, presumably with matched signal level etc., and listen the sound without knowing what is playing. repeat the same after cup of coffee, taking break etc. |
Jolida Glass FX with new production Mullards, coupled with an Iso Regen, an Oyaide USB cable, connected to a dedicated 2015 MacBook Air, Qobuz, Audirvana, and powered by updated/upgraded vintage MFA all-tube electronics, pre and mono amps, into Sonus Faber Guarneri Homage speakers. IC’s mostly by Virtue Audio except for the long Blue Jeans IC’s from preamp to the amps, which are connected to the speakers with Blue Jeans Belden. After umpteen years at this often silly game, I’m finally beyond happy. |
ryder That will most definitely be one of the discrete R2R ladder dac from Soekris Engineering from Denmark in the Audiophile line or the DIY line.. http://www.soekris.dk/products.html US agent. https://soekris.modhouseaudio.com/soekris-audiophile-line Cheers George |
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Finally the Soekris DAC has been mentioned. But it cannot be compared to all the rest because the owner can set/chose/compare its digital filters. This adjustment can change SQ far beyond any cable, speakers, amps, DAC changes and its still very subtle. It's kind of comparable to the filters which can be set in HQPlayer (with upsampling) but that would need a relatively powerful PC at the beginning of the chain. Over the years CD players and DACs have offered these kind of different selectable filters but the SQ improvement was rather questionable IMO. There must be almost hundred different filters, in the meantime written by DIY audio members which can be downloaded from DIYaudio. The DAC itself comes with 4 different filters. For people who really want to tweak their DAC with some understanding of the details of what they are doing there is also a long thread which explains how to do it. So IMO this DAC has an incredible potential which no other DAC can offer. |
If you are enjoying the Chord ($5,000 give or take?), my personal opinion is that you may not be content with any $500 DAC. I worked my way through all sorts of delta sigmas, and until I heard an R2R, I was not happy with my system. My first R2R was a Theta DS ProBasic III and I loved it. The sterile and analytical sound was mostly gone.Cost me like $500 a couple of years ago and retailed for about $2500 when new. I decided to explore R2R a bit more and bought a Sorekris single ended just to try it. In my system, it is more detailed and analytical, while the Theta is more full and organic. My most recent DAC purchase was a Mojo Audio EVO 3 ($3000 used) and it is a definite large step above both the Theta and Soekris. A general comment would be that it provides the detail of the Soekris and the body of the EVO. I can hear emotion in vocals better than before and no treble sterility. I am waiting on a new Mojo Audio Mystique B4B and am counting on the higher quality parts and stronger power supply to get me closer to my version of nirvana. While I am waiting on the new DAC, guess what I am listening to in the meantime? The Theta. FWIW and YMMV Thanks for listening, Dsper
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I'm currently using the Naim NDAC. Refreshed by AV Options. It retailed for $4,000. at debut and uses the same chipset as their $20,000 CD 555. There is one currently listed here on Audiogon. 24/192, FLAC, WAV and Apple Losses. 2 usbs, 4 optical inputs, 2 BNC Inputs, 2 RCA inputs. Charges your IPhone too. N |
@larsman this is indeed very high praise for the Holo May. I was planning to buy a new dac next year, and you've definitely piqued my interest. Can you describe the differences between these two setups? |
@arafiq - yes, I was thinking that this was one of the most hyped up things I'd ever seen a few months ago, both on vids and in forums and articles, but I had to check it out. It all depends on what kind of sound one likes. Somebody who is very into super detailed and uncolored sound would be very, very well served by DAVE, with or without M Scaler, though that thing is amazing. I like a more colored, tubey sound so I've been using tube headphone amps and tube 2-channel preamp; currently it's an Audis Nirvana for the headphones. With Utopia headphones, it puts out a very deep, spacious soundstage that is a delightful listen, and while it's got plenty of detail, that's not it's strong point. Same with 2-channel - just got more of the kind of qualities that I like with the Holo May, but the Chord gear is great too, but a tad 'dry/clinical' for my taste.... |
@larsman -- thank you for sharing your impressions. It looks like our preferences when it comes to particular ’flavors’ of DACs are quite alike. I’ve never tried the higher priced DACs like DAVE, but based on what I have heard I too prefer a slightly round, warm and meaty sound even if it comes at a slight expense of ultimate detail retrieval. Last year I tried a number of DACs including RME, Chord Qutest, PS Audio Directstream Jr, Cambridge Audio Azur 851D ... in the end, the one I ended up keeping was a 6-7 year old design - Luxman DA-06. Despite its age and a reputation of somewhat overly romantic or warm sound, this DAC still sounds better (to my ears, of course) anything that I tried under $2K. Next year, I plan to move the Luxman to my study and try something in the $4-6K range for the main system. I’ve added Holo May to the list of contenders. Thanks for sharing. |
Everybody says that the HD 6xx is one of the best "bang for your buck" headphones out there. And yeah it is justified since it is selling for $ 200, for a headphone that is supposed to be an exact copy of a $ 350 dollar one that also sounds better than its price point. So my question is this, is there a headphone like this that punches more to its price point in the next tier? Like maybe a $ 500 headphones that sound like a $ 1000 dollar one? |
@jasonduke2 I don't think there's a lot of anything that really "punches above its price point", but if you want to get to the next level past the Senn HD 6XX, this is a good place to start.
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@larsman Which version of the May DAC do you own? Thanks. |
@kingbarbuda - hey there, King - I've got the KTE version.... |
