Forgot to mention the new LTA Aero DAC that also offers a 14-day a trial period and is made in the US. I don’t wanna put words in @teajay mouth, but inferring from his review of the Aero and what he’s said of his experience with the Tubadour (can’t recall which version) the Aero maintains the desirable musicality/tonal properties but may hold an edge in detail retrieval especially in the treble region. Maybe Terry will chime in here, but I’d think the LTA would appeal to you for its strong combination of transparency and musicality versus many other R2R and/or tubed DACs especially in sub $4k realm, and again there’s that trial period. Ok, that’s all I got.
DAC upgrade from RME
A couple weeks back I inquired as to a preamp upgrade, most likely tube, and received much appreciated advice. I now wonder if the upgrade bug should begin with the RME, although in many circle it receives very high marks. When listening to jazz trios/quartets I notice sharp piano strikes can become quite strident. I’m looking into NOS, R2R dacs with good USB capability. Mojo, entry, medium Lampi’s, Gordon Rankin Wavelength, Border Patrol SEi are a few where I have interest. Not so much the Chinese made R2R ladder dacs.
Showing 3 responses by soix
I agree the RME is doing you no favors in terms of stridency, and although the move to R2R is a logical one I’d beware of going too far into the warm/lush range given where you’re coming from, and Mojo and Border Patrol would be a big sonic shift in that direction from where you are now. Frankly, and although you’re looking to avoid ChiFi, I’d still recommend doing a trial of the new LAiV Harmony DAC as it gives you the benefits of R2R yet still provides a good dose of transparency/detail you’re used to with your RME DAC. Hey, it’s just a trial so you don’t have to necessarily get married, but if it blows you away it might be worth expanding your search parameters a bit. Other DACs from T+A and Rockna would be worth a look as would maybe the Schiit Yggdrasil, and although it’s not R2R this Bricasti M3 would no doubt be a huge upgrade across the board… https://www.usaudiomart.com/details/650100253-bricasti-m3-dac/ Just some thoughts FWIW, and best of luck. |