Let's Talk DAC's

Have you taken a look at the very unique Black Ice (Jolida) Glass FX Tube DAC?

I have one when it was still being produced by Jolida, and it has the stage one upgrades (Resistor, diode, capacitor and tube upgrade. Increased definition, tighter bass, more focus in the midrange, and more body and holographic image).

I’m feeding it with a Cambridge Audio DXD CD Player and the sound is magical!

The DAC portion features a Burr-Brown 1795 TI chip, and the analog amp uses two 12ax7 tubes for warmth. DSD clocking is based on the Savi Bravo SA9227 asynchronous chip.

I listen to a lot of acoustic material (Jazz, chamber music, new age) with some old school Jazz-Fusion thrown in and it’s always a revelation on just how much sonic material is buried in a CD!

The Chord Qutest is available used for $1,500 or less. It’s a wonderful DAC and a solid step up from your Chordette Qute HD. It combines all the features and sound quality you are looking for. Plus, it’s a perfect upgrade and stopping point on your way up to a Hugo TT2.

I’ve had one for 5 years and it’s spoiled me with it’s detail, drive and sound stage. I’m looking to replace mine - due only to number of years on my system - and the problem is that it’s so good that you are forced to spend $3,000 to $5000 to best it in a meaningful way.

I did try the Gustard R26 for a few days and while it was really quite good, for me, the Qutest was better. I did do that Amazon buy/return process to try it out. There were no problems doing that, but I don’t fell like that’s exactly the kosher way to make purchases.

I’m saving up to purchase the Hugo TT2. I see used ones going for $3,600 and up.

Point well rendered @creativepart. Right now I am down to the Qutest and the new Geshelli labs J2 with AKM 4499 and Sparkos opamps. The Qutest is double the price of the latter though.

I am definitely getting a linear power supply for my Qute HD and I am still going to buy another DAC. I have two systems; a "big" system and the previously noted "small" system.

@desperado915 you might want to check into Keces LPS.

They offer units with  2 outputs with a variety of voltage settings. I just picked up the P6 to replace my BS Node 2i sps plus I can replace the wart on my J2 with the 2nd output.

I tired the TP lps, but it didnt workout with my BS Node 2i. 

I don't know how the ramped up J2 compares to the older version, but the Geshellis customer service was great.

For giggles, try a used Schiit Gungnir Muultibit (A2 board) with USB 5 or Unison (latest) USB interface. These play very well with a nice setup like yours seems to be.

They have recently halted production (for now?), so you'll have to find one used, prolly under 1k. You may have to be a bit patient, as owners tend to keep these in their speaker based systems, many prefering them to the higher cost Yggdrasil models.