Holographic DAC With Air And Decay


Like the title says what’s your vote for favorite Dac when it comes air, decay and three dimensional soundstage?  Looking at 3k or less used. I tend to prefer R2R and, or tubes.  I suppose I'm open to other options as long as it sounds smooth and refined. As always I look forward to all your input, thanks!  

brylandgoodman

+1 @fsonicsmith 

For your pricepoint, you might take a listen to a Mark Levinson 360S. Yes - quite old, but in my experience very nicely carries forward the air, decay, and details already in the program material...

I’ll add another vote for the Wyred4Sound Anniversary DAC. I previously used the Pontus II + Iris combo and liked the laid back and natural tone very much. The W4S DAC was a big step up, improving the clarity, pace and details while not sounding digital. If you purchase it make sure to also order the Recovery and DC blocker units (thanks @jsalerno277).

I’m curious about the Gustard X30 and HoloAudio Cyan. If Denafrips ups the game on the Pontus or Venus that would interest me. 

@fanofmsu Yes I use the ISO and DC Recovery.  They elevate the performance notably with a blacker background, better detail retrieval and imaging/staging.  Replacing the Wyred supplied USB and wall wart LPS with higher quality products is mandatory to achieve the performance I speak of.  However, for transparency, even though I believe the 10th Anniversary one of the best under $5k DACs and competitive with DACs many times its price in the areas I mentioned in my previous post, I am making my final improvement for my retirement system and picking up a Mola Mola Tambaqui from GTT Audio tomorrow.  The 10th Anniversary will be on the market soon.  I am going for that extra level of detail retrieval, extra level of analog/tube-like sweetness, liquidity, imaging/staging the Tambaqui provides.  It comes at a cost but I will not be making any more changes in retirement. 
 

 

@sls883 @fanofmsu I'm curious myself, particularly about how the Cyan 2 stacks up against the X30. Given the big price disparity, I would assume the X30 could easily outclass the Cyan 2. However, if the sound quality improvement isn't significant, the Cyan 2 might still be a solid choice.