New DAC or New Streamer or New Streamer/DAC


Curious what people would think is the biggest bang for the buck?

1)  Auralic Aries G1 Streamer with current Pass Labs D1 DAC (Aries would replace current Auralic Aries mini)
2)  Lumin T2
3)  Auralic Aries mini (I have this now) and Denafrips Terminator

All thoughts welcome.  Thanks
acurus

Showing 1 response by clio09

The OP's DAC has AT&T, AES/EBU, SPDIF, and Toslink inputs. So he needs a streamer that has one or more of those types of outputs. It is worth noting the DAC chip is the PCM-63 multi-bit chip, one of the best chips ever made, and the DAC has 4 for balanced operation. Granted it won't do hi-rez (above 96 Hz) or DSD, but maybe he doesn't need that.

I admire the effort of the OP to try and find a one box solution. I am on a path to do the same but haven't succeeded. My DAC is the Lessloss 2004 MkII with PCM-1704 chips, a multi-bit chip as well and again one of the best chips made. This DAC has been in my system for 12 years. I haven't yet found a one box streamer/DAC unit to be able to meet my needs so I am still using an Auralic Aries LE to stream wirelessly from my NAS and then use the SPDIF output to my DAC. I also want nothing to do with USB and I don't share the warm and fuzzies that many seem to have for Roon, and I've tried it twice.

Overall from what I read of the OPs DAC it is quite good and a keeper. I'd focus on a streamer. The Auralic G1 is on my list to try since I have had good results with my existing Aroes LE. I have a few others I'd like to try as well. Tried the iFi Pro ISD and while I think it is a fine DAC, their Muzo app and wireless capability need some work.