New DAC or New Streamer?


This should be fun. After I pay to get my amp upgraded at VAC next month  I plan to either upgrade my DAC or Streamer next. I should have enough for that by late spring/early summer. I'm retired so I save some each month until I have what I need. My system is in my user profile. But to keep this simple my current DAC is the Dinafrips Venus II I got a year ago. (I also have the Hermes DDC)

My streamer is the Cambridge CXN V2 via coax to the Hermes-> I2s -> DAC which is also 1 year old. I was just getting into streaming then and knew little about it. I have learned a lot this past year, a whole lot.

I think the bottle neck is leaning more toward the streamer. It seems the DAC is pretty good, I know there are much better DAC's out there but it holds it own I think. Maybe not? I cannot afford the likes of DCS, Lampizator, etc.

The next planned upgrades are a Terminator II DAC and Aurender N200 Streamer. Both are $5000-$6000. (Unless I go for the Terminator + DAC that is $7500 but I am not sure it is $2500 better than the Terminator II)

So, since both will get upgraded a year apart, which should I go for first? Which would provide the biggest upgrade?

Thanks. Happy holidays to all.

128x128fthompson251

Dave and Troy. Dave is much better. Troy not so much. When Dave (Lalin) posts, I read. When Troy posts, which is obvious, I don’t 😉🤦‍♂️😂. Confusing thing is they both use the same Audiogon log in 

@l3uzz 

Appreciate your listening impressions of two highly regarded audio streaming components. Audio Troy mentions this comparison pretty regularly. Nice to hear from someone who was present during this encounter.

Charles 

@charles1dad,

You are welcome, and the Aeon is the real deal. I have heard some good servers, and it is one of the best. The next comparison I am very interested in is one between the Aeon and Master versions, and then, Master vs. Taiko.

What I also like about the 432 Evo units is that they use external PSUs; the SBooster is a good PSU, but there are high-end linear power supplies that can cost as much as the Aeon itself, so I assume that 432 Evo units’ performance can be taken even further by upgrading from the dual SBoosters. I also expect the Master to obliterate the N20 given that half its cost is the PSU.

Alexey

Mr Thompson you can start with

a 432evo standard 3500 and you can upgrade to a higher end model easily as the servers are modular you pay the difference in price plus 25% to cover labor plus shipping costs

 

you can upgrade all the way to a master even from our starter servers

so yes you can afford an EVO

 

Dave and Troy

Audio Intellect nj

us importers 432evo