dacs that I have had in my system - a listing
i comment quite a bit on threads about digital/analog converters, as i have tried many since the covid period in early 2020, when i recommitted to my hifi and getting streaming and a truly modern digital front end implemented in my main home system
i have had questions on what dacs i have actually tried -- so last week when i was sleepless on a long transcontinental flight home from a holiday, i made a listing, which i post below
almost all dacs below have been owned, and spent extensive time (at least 2-3 months) in my system, obviously there have been changes in my system over this time, and not all dacs were owned at the same time
i post this here so others can refer to this here - i looked, but i could not find a way to post this on my 'system' page
the asterisk-ed entries are still in hand, currently:
2020
topping d90 mqa
ayre codex
mhdt stockholm
mhdt orchid
mhdt istanbul
denafrips pontus original
musical paradise mpd1
ps audio d link iii modded cullen
bs node 2i
2021
denafrips ares 2
denafrips pontus 2
denafrips terminator
auris d1d vu
audio mirror tubador 3 se
van alstine fet topp*
van alstine fet hybrid
rme adi 2 (akm)
schiit modius
schiit gumby
schiit yggy*
sonnet morpheus
border patrol se i
metrum jade
metrum octave
metrum hex
metrum adagio
musical fidelity trivista 21 (modded)*
weiss 501* (now 4ch)
2022
chord 2qute
chord qutest
chord m scaler* hugo tt2*
mhdt orchid modded*
audio note kits dac4 pro
msb analog w powerbase*
denafrips venus 2*
denafrips pontus 12
audio gd master 7
musetec 005
bs node n130
bricasti m1se mdx
doge 7
hegel h90 190 390 590* (internal)
2023
gustard r26*
eversolo dmp a6 master*
mhdt toucan
orchard pecan pi*
cambridge audio cxn2 modwright modded tubed*
@jjss49 Thanks for your answers! Did any of your discoveries about DACs lead to any revelations about other gear? In other words, did the capability of a DAC lead you to hear your other equipment -- e.g. speakers -- do something you had never heard them do before? I guess this is kind of the old "bottleneck" question, but I'm specifically wondering about that moment where you thought, "Wow! I didn't know my speakers could do that!" |
@jjss49 One thing is on my mind. The fact that you did these discriminations using Magnepans. Why do you think Magenpans could provide you with the best judgment about DAC’s compared to comparing them using other speakers? Do you think that your conclusions, made with the Maggies, could apply, ceteris paribus, to very different kinds of speakers? |
@jjss49 Thanks for the clarification. It seems that the Maggies were good for determining differences between the Dacs and also transferable to other speakers. |
