Rank the top reference DACs you've heard


Usually the battle goes between DCS Vivaldi set and MSB Select II.

However, since Swiss/Japanese (boutique level) DACs are usually out of reach, we rarely read about ultra high end DACs and where they fit with the rest of the league ($5000-$100,000) price range. 

There are other topologies and SOTA designs floating around, what comes to mind:
- new DCS (above Vivaldi) flagship to be announced
- Wadax Atlantis Reference
- Esoteric Grandioso D1X (Dual Mono)
- TotalDAC Twelve Mk2
- Lampizator Golden Gate 2
- Chord Dave+mscaler
- CH Precision C1+X1 (Dual Mono) 
- Soulution 760
- Aries Cerat Kassandra Ref
- Aqua La Scala mkII Optologic
- EMM Labs DV2/DA2

I mentioned flagship DACs only since the list will be bigger and we will lose focus of the subject. It is interesting to know some of us "lurkers" or who has reached audio nirvana with his choice of DAC and what did he it compare with. The more input we get, the clearer the big picture will be. 

Let's go!
128x128emerald

Showing 2 responses by phantom_av

I would put the Playback Design Dream Series DAC on top of the list here, its by far the most fatigue free dac compared to allot of the Dacs on the list some i have never heard so cant comment. Andreas koch designs is pure mastery when it comes to Digital Playback.

I am not into Tube DAC or artificial induced Distortion.

My Vote would be:

Playback Design Dream Series DAC and Dream Transport, Its uses a proprietor Fiber Connection that no other system on the planet is using. Far More superior then BNC, AES, USB, HDMI. The way this system works is leap years ahead of others.


Second Vote: MSB 


Third Vote: Total DAC



After thoroughly comparing the Playback Design Dream and Kassandra DACs, I would rank the Kassandra as my top choice, with the Playback Design following closely behind. While both are exceptional DACs, the Kassandra stands out for its superior midrange fluidity and tonality, bringing voices and instruments to life in a way that is truly captivating.