How much should I spend on a new DAC

@jetter My new PEachtree GAN1 amp only has 1 input, it is a SPDIF. To get my Fibre stream into that amp I bought a $499 Sonore UltraDigital. I also bought a WyWire SPDIF cable with BNC on one end and SPDIF on the other. The UltraDigital comes with a BNC adapter so if your cable is RCA on both ends the adapter can be used. I connected 1 of my Sonore OpticalRendu's with the UltraDigital and had beautiful, streamed music. The UltraDigital gets its power from the USB out of the opticalRendu. 

I may not use the UltraDigital if I sell 1 or my OpticalRendu's because my new Livingroom DAC has SPDIF streaming output, which can go directly into my PeachTree GAN1.

The GAN1 will be used only for headphones. A switch on the DAC allows to change the streaming outputs.

@yyzsantabarbara Thanks for the information, very helpful. I just put in an order for a Wireworld acrylic toslink cable to see for myself and assuming I like it will move up to the Wireworld glass toslink.

Hi jetter, We literally have buildings miles apart with fiber between them. Fiber is great when working well, but it's a pain when it's not. I don't know if they sell tools to clean Toslink connections, but we use tools that look like they have dental floss in them to clean fiber. The quality of the glass, the method used to polish the ends, all come into play. I use coax at home, I don't need to send 100 gigabytes a second, or to deal with the issues that accompany fiber, I get enough of that at work. I am not a fiber expert, we use specific cables based upon the amount of data we expect it to handle and the associated switches and associated equipment. We don't use Toslink, I don't know if it was ever used in networking, I haven't been working with networks for that long. This opinion is worth everything you paid for it.

Lou

Wow… advice all over the place from folks. 
most of it garbage. 
 

lucky for you I also own a project dac box s2+ and a pass amp (not their integrated amp). 
 

first, I got the ifi elite power supply for the project dac. 
 

this made a huge difference. 
 

you have a good dac that with the ifi power supply will compete with dacs in the <$2000 range. I have done this with compare with the qutest and the Pontus and the dac box with the ifi elite power supply and the dac box s2+ is still in my system. 
 

the other area is your speaker cables and other cables. Your cables are well below the capability of your system. 
 

do not replace your integrated amp as someone suggested, you have a very nice integrated amp. 
 

so better cables and and the ifi elite power supply for is what I recommend to take your sound reproduction to the next level. 

Before spending money to relpace your dac, try replacing the coax and power cord with Odin 2 Silver and Gold from Ali-Express. First I replaced a Pangea coax ($169) with an Odin 2 Silver Coax, and was amazed, I then completely replaced all my hi-end cables ($$$$) with Nordost Odin 2 (not Nordost, but incredible value). The gold for component power cords and speaker cables. Power amps need to swing more current. See Amazon for fabulous PCs under $50.00. I bought 2 of these

,

Please realize that any high-end brand name cable from Ali express (any cables out of china) is likely fake. 
 

wont comment on their no name cables but I would doubt they are any good for the caliber of audio system you have. 

@jetter - Toslink has less bandwidth, so can eliminate high resolution files as being an option.  The other factor is that using a Toslink required to additional conversions from electrical to light and back.  I’ve not really made an effort to compare, so won’t make any proclamations on SQ as I’m sure there isn’t only one answer. 

celestial_sound,

Dump the PC, even an entry level streamer like a Bluesound Node (130) will best the PC if you bypass the internal DAC with a separate high quality DAC. Others can give you better recommendations on the streamer; but some day I'll own an Aurender. Run ethernet from into the streamer, either with or without something like the Ether ReGen

I agree on the R2R ladder DAC idea, but it has to be better than a Denafrips Ares. I have heard the following R2R ladder DACs in my system and can whole heartedly recommend them:

* Musician Aquarius $3,100

* Musician Pegasus $1,100 (only with a DDC like a Denafrips Iris $550)

* Holo Audio Spring 3 KTE edition $3,100

* Denafrips Pontus II (or the newer Pontus II 12th anniversary $1,850) which soars when the Denafrips Iris DDC is added at $550 - This is what I own

Best of luck to you, this is the fun part

This is one of the best reviews I’ve seen of 4 of the top rated DAC’s - very informative.

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=holo+audio+may+KTE+%26+Spring+KTE+compared

I have the Yggdrasil OG - which is a superb R2R DAC for a very reasonable price. If I were to upgrade it would likely be to the Holo Audio May KTE that this guy reviews and compares to the Yggy, the Spring KTE and the Chord HUGO TT2.

I’ve seen others compare the May KTE to the MSB DAC (pricey & perhaps the best at any price).

And yes... an R2R DAC, without oversampling, DSD, etc. - the most realistic sound quality comes from non-oversampling DAC’s. Though, if you want to spend the money - the Chord HUGO TT2, may be as good as it gets without spending MSB kind of money (which is ridiculous money for most people).

And... yes... a streamer / player like the Bryston BDP 3, will do a good job of transmitting a clean, noise-free signal to your DAC.

Check this out if you want a bit of an idea how great the Holo Audio DAC’s can sound - though this guy’s system components have some significant upgrades that produce this incredible sound quality (they’re not just off-the-shelf components)!

Thank you everyone for your comments. I will probably pull the trigger on the TEAC UD-701N next week. It have 4 linear power supplies, Two for the left and right channel for the analog output, one for the network module (streamer) and one for the digital module. It also have analog preamplification stage and headphones amplifier. Its like 4 separates packed in one box.  The greatest thing is that they use absolutely the same DAC, preamp and headphone module as from their high-end Esoteric N05-XD. If anyone is interested I've created separate thread on audiphilestyle forums. https://audiophilestyle.com/forums/topic/67406-teac-ud-701n-undiscovered-gem-or-farce

I have never heard the  DAC.  However I have no trouble imagining, based upon my experience with Pro Ject gear, that it doesn’t begin to hold a candle to the rest of your very capable system.  I think you might find that a DAC upgrade is a significant, major improvement. As another poster indicated the biggest improvements in DACs is going from $1k to $5K.  Streamers matter as well, though the DAC is more important.  Yes, you can get good sound from a PC, but even a $500 streamer will clear up some audible PC issues and will be easier to use.

If I was interested in an excellent standalone budget DAC, this would be the one that I would choose (or try, with their 30 day audition) which Steven Stone rates very highly. For more money, I would probably consider the Holo Spring 3 KTE, the Denafrips Pontus 2,or the Schiit Yggdrasil (not sure which variation). 

Topping

I have the Musician Pegasus and its by far and away the best Dac I've owned. I think its around 3k (got it in a trade).

I'm sure there are lotsa good ones but I've always played in the 1-1.5k area and this ones a lot better. 

I much prefer this pov: how little can I spend and still be happy with the SQ (obviously no DAC is going to "fix" any other problems in my system, including the room)?  With current trends re: (mostly far east) DACs, I feel there's a change in price:performance. As such I'm focusing on a detailed, neutral performance from a DAC and getting the rest of what I want, downstream (processor and speakers - mine are all Active). There are some people who feel strongly that the more you pay for a DAC the better it is; I don't think that's true any more (certainly not from a price:benefit pov). I'm using Qobuz and have only found one MQA album there, so that's not a big deal; if it were, I'd probably investigate DACs that used separate processors to programmatically address that process.

This is ongoing for me, right now; I've got two DACs I'm looking at, and a third is on the way; I'll end up with one for the main system and a second for my PC. I've rejected the Bluesound Node (good reminder to myself to sell it) because of its analog output (my processor has a digital input limit of 24/96 and it would cost me approx. $4k to open that up, so I'll always use the analog out from a DAC) and software.

IIWM I'd start at the lower/middle ends of the newer well-reviewed DACs; pick your two best, return the lesser and see if the remaining one sounds/feels great - if not, use that as a base for the next product you'll test. For me it's like not letting perfect be the enemy of good.  Best of luck.

Herb Reichert from Stereophile who does not review the priciest equipment raved about the new Rotel dac and cd transport for under $2500. He said that his pricier dacs were not better necessarily. He did not mention which pricier dacs but I do believe it may well be the Holo May Dac (because he owns it and he compared Rotel to a pricier ladder dac).

This is just to say I dont think a 5K dac is necessarily better than a 2.5K dac.

I use a benchmark dac3 and depending on the associated equipment it can sound great or mediocre. If you feed the benchmark the right combination of tube amplification and the right speakers and cabling and it sounds deep accurate compelling and very enjoyable. On the other hand I have heard the same benchmark dac with same benchmark preamp LA4 sound clinical or too bright if not the right synergy.

bottom line imho its more about the synergy of quality components than the idea that one quality component is ideal for any situation.

I also have two marantz 30N universal players and in one system it sounds fantastic right now and in the other system it currently is uninvolving.....so its not the equipment imho....its the relationship between all the equipment and your room and the power distribution in that room too

This I can tell you I bought the R26 , I added a lower price pangea sig 14 mk2 using Cardas best -0 Crystal copper $140 and the Synergistic purple fuse was a nice jump up in imaging depth of ,and dynamics, give it a solid play 24-7for a week ,I use the Isotek breakin cd , then use track3 asa tune up tape every other day it’s only a 5 minute sweep . $340 is not much if you listen to music often, it brings this very good dac into a higher range of quality,refined sound 

left in non oversampling mode.

I recently purchased the TEAC UD-701N and I am extremely pleased with its excellent qualities, particularly the transparency of vocals, resolution, and clarity. The unit is currently in the burn-in process, so I anticipate even further improvements in these aspects. Will keep you updated!