Does the 'Buck' Start with the DAC?

First I want to be very clear and say that we are the North American distributors for Rockna dacs and server.

Over the past 40 years I have had 78 different digital front ends. Lots of them were A/B direct tested and the best front end became my reference. I was in the camp that the dac made the biggest difference and that the dac was the most important digital piece of equipment until I got my hands on some very good servers/streamers. The server/streamer IMHO can have just as big of an impact on your system as your dac can. The problem is finding a really good server/streamer that matches your dac properly. From my experience, I prefer an i2S connection and a digital designer that builds their own dacs and their own matching server/streamer. The reason I like this is because the 2 pieces are designed to work together. I also prefer the clock to be built into the server/streamer, this saves you money.

For the record I do not believe there is a BEST when it comes to digital but instead really well designed digital. The reason I say this is because I have heard many $30000 dacs with average server/streamers that don't sound as good as a well designed $10000 dac with the matching server/streamer.

I understand in theory this should not be the case but when you get into the more expensive digital front ends, the server/streamer makes a huge difference and therefore must be considered as important as the dac.

Hi, 

I have been very fortunate to hear many dacs with my Rockna server. Two weeks ago we had a Nagra HD ($30000) dac traded in on the Rockna Signature dac. The Nagra HD was a very nice sounding dac but is now sold.

There are many people that purchase a Rockna WD Net server and keep their own dac. There are also many people that like the idea of a perfectly matching server and dac via i2S connection and a built in clock.

There is no wrong or right but instead just personal preference. I recommend people just play and have fun with audio. If you have a great dac that you prefer than keep it and build around that dac.

Cheers,