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Looking for a vinylesk sounding DAC

I cannot say I wasn’t satisfied with my system.

Laptop (Quobuz Studio) - > Schiit Bifrost 2 - > Ocellia Reference RCA - > Werner Acoustics, Selene (active tube preamp using two VT-231 from RCA) - > passive preamp - > Ocellia Reference RCA - > First Watt F6 dual mono custom built - > HEDD Audio’s "Heddphone" / Hifiman HE 4

From the beginning I started to built it I had a quite concrete idea of what it should sound like in the end: vinylesk without using vinyl. It took me a while to get there and now I really thought I got it: Due to the F6 the outcome is brutally powerful and incredibly fast while the tube stage adds lots of body, depth and a rich organic undertone. Finally the RCA’s from Ocellia were adding the fine raffinement and a nice holographic soundstage. Nothing smears, in just every situation everything stays transparent, well controlled/articulated and the separation is just excellent.

BUT when listening to streamed vinyl I still feel the need for action - I just want EVERY track from quobuz to sound like this. Please take just some seconds and listen to this:

https://musicandvinyl.blogspot.com/2020/08/haruomi-hosono-from-aegean-sea.html?m=1

There is just MORE elasticity, MORE tonal density, MORE plankton, MORE concentration to the point, MORE light-footedness and MORE palpability (compared to a "disdainful" quobuz stream). Do you know what I mean?

I still think and hope a new dac could be the nirvana-solution. But which one would manage the job to sound just like vinyl (99% would be ok...)?

Happy to hear your suggestions!
barrista0611

Showing 10 responses by barrista0611

barrista0611 OP
26 posts
 
All those suggestions are great people, thank you!! 

I already own an R2R DAC, so now I'll be looking at

- NOS R2R 
- Reconstruction filter
- superior clocking

As my budget is around 2,5k I will definitely have an eye on the Lapizator TDA1541 NOS, Tubadour MK III SE, Audio Note 2.1 and the new Soekris DAC 2541.

Still open to other options of course! 



barrista0611 OP
26 posts
 
Oh, I didn't know Fremer's article back from 2000 but it's a good read. For me the main question is if that is still the truth after 20 years. DACs have been improved a lot and most of them claim to sound "analog" (while just some do).

But my concern is going further as I think sounding analog is just a part of sounding vinylish. 

George, what's wrong about the Lapizator TDA1541 NOS DAC? 

Nordicnorm, thanks for suggesting the doge dac. I did quite a lot 6SN7 tube rolling with my preamp and had fun with it but after all I don't think the specific vinyl sound can't be reached through tubes. Yes, regarding a full-bodied, warm, lush sound full of texture, but no in respect of all the other aspects I mentioned. I don't wanna miss tubes in my system but as I am already using some in my preamp I'll be looking for a pure DAC for the moment. 


barrista0611 OP
26 posts
 
Can someone comment on orchid VS pagoda? I used to have a Lector Strumenti CDP 707 that was using PCM 1704 with a pair of ECC 81 tubes. Loved it a lot but I'd like a DAC with a different chip now which leads me more to the orchid. 
barrista0611 OP
26 posts
 
@jjss49 Thanks a lot for the link to that very similar thread. Really helpful and even more to consider. I will look further at the units from MHDT and Holo Audio. 

Yeah its obvious. He should try to meditate a bit ... ;] 
barrista0611 OP
26 posts
 
@jjss49 Just out of curiosity - which dac did you finally choose based on your corona-phase-shootout?

@snackeyp I was reading your review of the Holo May. Excellent write-up, absolutely enjoyed it. As the May is not my budget - are you able to compare to the Spring 2?

Anyone using the Spring 1, L2? 
barrista0611 OP
26 posts
 
@invalid @nekoaudio

To be honest I have never tried (or even seen) a transformer output dac like the Neko Audio D100 Mk2. What exactly could I expect?

I’m using a passive pre between my (active) tube preamp and the power amp and always thought about exchanging this for an AVC or a TVC.

And also, I never had a tube dac as I bought my tube preamp first and then starting to get into looking for a new dac. I spent a lot of time in finding the right tubes and would say I’m satisfied insofar. For this reason I still would prefer a solid state nos dac.

At the moment I’m mostly looking out for

- Metrum Onyx/Jade
- Holo Spring 2/L2
- Audial S4
- Mojo Mystique v2X
- (Yamamoto YDA 01) 

Happy to hear opinions about those units. Still open to other options of course.

barrista0611 OP
26 posts
 
@jjss49 That’s - even for 3 systems - an impressive list (with some candidates I’m interested in), thanks a lot for your effort! Out of those you have kept: which one do you think could match best in my case, if you take as a basis that I prefer really rich, organic and thick textures in the mids and an overall fine articulation with a tactile and palpable grip of the bass while I don’t care for the absolute last resolution in the treble region? It's not that I don't like an extensive resolution in the treble too as I see how much this is related to a holographic soundstage but I'm a bit sensitive in that region. 

Sure this is system dependent but I guess every dac got it’s own fundamental character that it brings with.
barrista0611 OP
26 posts
 
@nekoaudio Thanks for the explanations. I just found those reviews on your website and will get through them!

@ghulamr The Metrum Onyx already is on my list. Hopefully I'll have a chance to try it out soon. Thank you! 
barrista0611 OP
26 posts
 

Thanks relaks!

In the meantime I "accepted" that absolutely no dac will exactly sould like vinyl, not just due to the physical process of a needle touching an LP. So I guess I need to "refresh" my goal and would like to get as close as possible. For the moment I think a good NOS dac is the way to go for me. The Border Patrol definitely got my interest but I`m mainly looking at solid state dacs as my preamp uses tubes already and I spent quite a while with tube rolling.

Black Friday: good idea - hopefully Metrum will join in!

Laptop as a source sucks, I know. I am already heading out for a PI2AES.

barrista0611 OP
26 posts
 
I finally found an excellent solution with a LAB 12 DAC 1 Reference. Got a demo unit since a few days which performs THAT perfectly close to vinyl that I’m about to say the search is over.

The only thing that still is on my mind is the Metrum Onyx/Jade. As metrum told me there will be a black friday discount on the Jade - 20%! Call me interested!

Is someone able to do a quick comparison between the LAB 12 and those Metrums?
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