Emm Labs DV2 versus Tambaqui

“No one has heard the Meitner?”

@laoman

Go to WBF for user feedback on DV2. This DAC’s is too rich for this site (no offense). BTW, DV2 is an outstanding DAC with a reasonably good VC.

“I am open to listening to anything, however I have never heard a dac that uses the ESS chip that I have really liked.”

Well, that means you have not heard Merging Technologies +NADAC yet. Give it a try and it will likely change your opinion about ESS chip DAC’s and could be your end game DAC.

@metaldetektor

I just looked up Ideon Absolute DAC, high praises all around. But at $34K, it’s target audience are definitely not your average joe’s :-) In comparison, my Merging +player with Roon core and end point proven to be quite a bargain at $14K. It replaced the combo of DA2 V1/Aurender N20 in my pursuit of next level of streaming experience.

@metaldetektor

Thank you for your very helpful and concise feedback. When you ‘actually’ compare DAC’s that are comparative in both performance and price, it gives our readers a true perspective on what to expect vs anyone who loves sharing their biases with a particular DAC without having the need to compare.

Please continue to share your objective impressions in your journey.

“In the $15k plus category, keep an eye on Nagra. Their successor to the Nagra Classic DAC will include streaming capability”

“For streaming, the Roon board in the Tambaqui sounds good (better to my ears than the separate $3000 streamer I had on hand).”

@metaldetektor

I’ve noticed quite a few manufacturers of high end DAC’s are now including streaming client with their DAC’s. To me, this makes perfect sense as long as it’s implemented with proper care. Honestly speaking, the Merging +player has squashed my desires to own any outboard high end streamer. In direct A/B comparison, Merging’s Roon Core+Endpoint $3K option in their +player went toe to toe with a five figure ultra high end streamer :-)