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Opinions On DACs Around 1,000$

I find it hard to get a hold of the world of dacs, and I’m seeking some advice.  Will be upgrading in the near future to something in the 1,000$ price range. currently running the dac in my Cambridge Audio stream magic 6 which is ok. I had a Musical Fidelity v90 that died which I preferred to the Cambridge. Anyways I’m stuck between the idea of buying an older top dac such as a Airalic Vega and newer designs like the Denafrips. I feel 1,000 doesn’t get you a lot with newer dacs. While used dacs like the Vega were 3,500$ not long ago and raved about. This is where I get confused. My previous experience with dacs has been that differences are pretty small. That’s why I’ve yet to invest in something nicer. My system has evolved nicely though and I’m optimistic I can get good returns on a bigger investment. Then I read on one of the big magazines them saying a pro-ject pre box s2 was near state of the art. These kinds of comments make me wonder again if a dac is not the best place to spend my money. I have never read a review about an amp or speakers that cost 500, and the reviewer saying they are near state of the art. Let me know what you think. Any opinions or advice will be appreciated. 

brylandgoodman

Showing 1 response by yyzsantabarbara

yyzsantabarbara
5,036 posts
 

I believe the opposite. You get more with a $1000 new DAC than am older one. I have 2 DACs in that price range.

- Topping D90SE very neutral and do not expect any warmth from it ($900)

- Gustard X26 Pro it has more variation in sound with the filters. It is not as detailed as the Topping D90SE. It goes on sale for $1250

I cannot think of any older DAC that I would take in place of a high quality (cheap) new DAC

If your system is capable, you will hear differences with DACs, but it is not going to be a huge difference since most DACs these days are awesome. My price limit for new DACs was 2K for the last little while. However, I went 'crazy' and spent $3K for the Musetec 005 DAC and it is definitely the best one I have ever had. More bass, denser sound, not bright on top., with detail.  

The other 2 DACs I mentioned also have most of those attributes but the degree of each is not at the level as the 005.

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