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 3 responses by verdantaudio

MSB - I have spent time with the reference and it is insanely good.  I have never heard the select, but I can imagine how incredible it is. 
Playback Design DreamDAC - everything is upscale to to 512k DSD. Not only is it smooth and detailed, it is not bright.
I would also add Rockna Wavedream Signature and particularly the with the Wavedream NET Server.

Weiss 501/502 belong on any list of top DACs and it should rank higher if you need it for headphone use along with tons of features and a built in renderer. 

I have not heard the Bricasti M21 yet but if it bests the M1 SE, it most definitely belongs here.  

I would say that at the level Playback is at, “high fidelity” via detail, accuracy and staging is expected to be excellent and should be.  It is these intangibles (musicality, dynamics, etc…) that make you want Playback over its competition of vice versa.  Whether it be the Rockna, Aries Cerat, EMM or Playback DACs, each has something unique that separates them and makes them special.