That was the LM and the Harbeths you were hearing. In your shoes I'd have gone for a Denafrips Ares ii.
Penafrips, MHDT Labs DACs versus Integrated amps for home office
Carrying this over from another discussion. Apologies for being verbose, but... I am on the hunt for DAC and amp combo with awesome sound quality and would appreciate any thoughts. I have a 10x10 ft home office, which I spend many work and after hours in. So, I have been trying to upgrade my sound, but am not able to invest gazilllions. I stream Tidal MQA and HiFi via USB from my MacbookPro using Tidal's app. I listen via speaker, no headphone, no vinyl.
I want wide & deep soundstage, clarity, and great sound at lower volumes. "3D soundstage", "holographic", etc.
Here's what I have so far. (amps will be in a bake off)
I love the Peachtree so far, but want to give the Cambridge a fair shot, which requires that I buy a DAC (less than a $1000-$1200 if possible). The loser of this bakeoff will be for sale as soon as I decide...
So, For DACs, after countless rabbit hole hours researching, I think that I have narrowed it down to the Penafrips Ares 2 (cannot afford the Pontus) and MHDT Istanbul (cannot afford the Orchid or Pagoda). Cannot afford the Chord QUTest either. But open to suggestions!
I had also considered the RME ADI-2 DAC but I am afraid that it would be too sterile/harsh/fatiguing with my Canton speakers... (the NuPrime IDA-8 is awesome, but it was fatiguing and wimpy bass with my speakers unless turned up pretty loud). So, it is not a match, and I fear that the RME might be similar. But who knows...
Hence my interest in the power supply of the Cambridge (class XD) to compare against the Peachtree's, as well as the Penafrips and MHDT hooked up to the Cambridge to compare with the Peachtree (class D) and its internal DAC. Of course, I'd try one of the externals with the Peachtree just to compare...
In summary, I want wide & deep soundstage, clarity, and great sound at lower volumes but will kick it up on occasion. "3D soundstage", "holographic", etc.
I want wide & deep soundstage, clarity, and great sound at lower volumes. "3D soundstage", "holographic", etc.
Here's what I have so far. (amps will be in a bake off)
- Canton Vento 830.2 speakers (very "revealing")
- Peachtree Nova 300 integrated (with internal DAC)
- Cambridge Audio Azur 851A integrated amp (but no internal DAC)
- NuPrime IDA-8 with internal DAC
I love the Peachtree so far, but want to give the Cambridge a fair shot, which requires that I buy a DAC (less than a $1000-$1200 if possible). The loser of this bakeoff will be for sale as soon as I decide...
So, For DACs, after countless rabbit hole hours researching, I think that I have narrowed it down to the Penafrips Ares 2 (cannot afford the Pontus) and MHDT Istanbul (cannot afford the Orchid or Pagoda). Cannot afford the Chord QUTest either. But open to suggestions!
I had also considered the RME ADI-2 DAC but I am afraid that it would be too sterile/harsh/fatiguing with my Canton speakers... (the NuPrime IDA-8 is awesome, but it was fatiguing and wimpy bass with my speakers unless turned up pretty loud). So, it is not a match, and I fear that the RME might be similar. But who knows...
Hence my interest in the power supply of the Cambridge (class XD) to compare against the Peachtree's, as well as the Penafrips and MHDT hooked up to the Cambridge to compare with the Peachtree (class D) and its internal DAC. Of course, I'd try one of the externals with the Peachtree just to compare...
In summary, I want wide & deep soundstage, clarity, and great sound at lower volumes but will kick it up on occasion. "3D soundstage", "holographic", etc.
Any comments and advice on this would be immensely helpful! I am research fatigued...
Cheers!