Recommend A New DAC Between $1000 and $2000


I am currently using an older Assemblage DAC 2.0 ( BB1702 R2R dac chip, CS8412 receiver, PMD100 filter) with many upgrade mods.  It sounds surprisingly good, but I am looking for something current and better sounding, with the following characteristics:

- Smooth, spacious, slightly warmish sound

- Smooth, non glaring, non etched higher registers (maybe sounding just a bit    rolled off, as in lacking strident edges)

- Great sound stage and depth

- Excellent resolution

- Generally natural sounding

... and at a price under $ 2000 if possible

Any ideas and / or personal experiences?

Thanks in advance!

 

 

 

fastcat95

Gustard X26 Pro or the newer R2R DAC which I have not heard but people seem to like a lot. Both are in your price range.

The Musetec 005 is a very good DAC, but a bit over your limit ($2-$3K)

I sold both of them. The Gustard to buy the Musetec 005. The Musetec to buy the Lumin X1. However, I may be buying the Musetec again later in the year, when I need another DAC. 

 

I own the Sony Signature TA-ZH1ES and it has a feature that can remaster what you feed it into DSD, it has a great headphone amp and is also a preamp. It comes in around $2K and would recommend it.

High-quality audio is a fickle thing. There are so many factors that play a role in how we hear our music, but like clockwork, the Cambridge Audio Dac Magic 200M gets it right every single time. Subway Live IQ App

Possibilites to research:

Over on TMR for < $2K:

Benchmark DAC 3

Chord Qutest

Over on USAudiomart <$2k:

Chord Hugo 2

PS Audio Direct Stream Jr

Moon 280D

Wyred4sound DAC2