Higher End DACs

Just to clarify further, OP is a newbie as far digital / streaming goes. One box solution like DCS Bartok or Lumin X1 or Aurender A30 will allow simple setup. All of the above are loaded with thoughtful features to wet his appetite.

If the goal is to build a SOTA digital setup then something like full stack of MSB Premier or DCS Rossini which runs deep into $30K price range.

You can always go the ‘separates’ route with streamer and DAC which gives the maximum flexibility to pick and choose the best possible components based on features and personal preferences.

Aurender, Innuos and Lumin offers the best stand alone streamers. The latter two gives Roon option in addition to their proprietary apps.

My top 5 DAC’s to consider, EMM Labs DA2, AQUA Formula xHD, Berkeley Reference Series 3, DCS Rossini and Brinkman Nyquist MKII.
Cheers!

“I would be curious what ’level’ of DAC would you say is commensurate with my general Mcintosh system of c1100/611 and B&W 800 d3 speakers?

is the MSB line/T+A 3100 overkill? is it the next step up that would be lost in my current system, above?”

@ufguy73,

You probably didn’t expect seeking advise on DAC/Streamer would turn out to be quite a rigamarole. It’s an important decision given rest of your system and first foray into digital streaming. Speaking about your system, it’s a great ensemble of gear but not without its limitations. Don’t get me wrong when I say that, for many it’s still a dream system to own all out McIntosh /B&W gear. I have gone through few iterations of B&W, Classe and McIntosh in recent years. It’s a classic pairing....B&W and McIntosh. I blame the dealers who weren’t adventurous enough to showcase B&W’s with anything else but Classe (under B&W group) and McIntosh. And for last couple of years, consumers minds are being re-tuned by mega-dealers to show how well McIntosh / ARC gear pairs with Sonus Faber speakers. Sorry for the rant but you will see ‘why’ in next couple of paragraphs.

If you plan to keep McIntosh C1100/611, I would say listen to Mytek Manhattan II with optional network card or DCS Bartok in your system. You will be more than pleased what these one box components offers in terms of performance and simplicity.

I think someone mentioned Bricasti M21, that would be a good choice too.

To answer your query honestly, both MSB and T+A 3100 would be a overkill with MC611 in your system. It is the weakest link in your system. I have had C1100/MC601 with B&W 800D2 and as much I loved and enjoyed C1100, the MC601 turned out to be nothing more than pretty face and very expensive paper weights. You may find this hard to believe, but your B&W 800’s are best driven by Class D amps with at least 500W/8ohms specs.

Should you choose to bring T+A SDV 3100 HV into your system, that should eliminate the need for C1100. You may not be ready to part ways with C1100 yet but keeping it with SDV3100 would be a waste of money.

As far as amps goes, if Class D doesn’t float your boat; the newer Classe Delta amps will wake up your B&W like no other.

https://www.classeaudio.com

Tough road ahead, but you will figure out which way to go only by listening to all the aforementioned recommendations in your system.

Good luck!

All those who chimed in saying ‘non-MQA support would be a deal breaker’.....while I respect their opinion, I would not discard any DAC/Streamer choices solely based on this feature. With ‘right’ components, Tidal HiFi and Qobuz Hi-Res files upto 24bit/196kHz sounds pretty amazing.

To my ears, MQA files sound slightly unnatural and bit ‘hot’ in upper frequency range. And we have yet to see universal support from the manufacturer of DA converters.

I can’t imagine anyone turning down T+A SDV3100 HV or EMM Labs DA2 just because they don’t support MQA 😊

audiotroy says.... “Please show us one digital front end that: Can be ordered with a world class preamp for almost no additional cost”.

Aurender A30
DCS Bartok

PS: Worldclass is bit of exaggeration when it comes to preamp functionality in a ‘all in one’ box components.

@ufguy73,

Speaking of your quest for digital front, where are you on auditioning offerings from DCS, MSB or T+A?

Hate to repeat, but only way to know what sounds best with your existing gear is to listen new component in your home.

Where is the long sought ‘IGNORE’ button...I sure would like to skip  through all those posts by bo 😉

@ufguy73,

Sound like a plan. I always support local dealers, it’s an important relationship that pays out well beyond the initial demo/sale.

“No audio format will ever give you a better result in the quality of the recording”

@bo1972,

This is very concerning, what can we do to fix this?

@dmance,

Thanks for chiming in...some of us are well aware of the benefits of isolating RF noise from the streamer. It has been discussed in the following thread to an extent, 

https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/network-switches

Feel free to add your feedback there or start a new thread. I think this very topic of noise isolation deserves a dedicated thread and we can possibly learn and educate ourselves from your experience.

It is the way humans react to audio when they can not react to the truth! Report this

@ufguy,

If you’re using an iPad, gently tap on right hand bottom corner of any post to report back to moderator.

Good luck!