Shopping for a DAC at AXPONA


I finally retired yesterday (at 77). Since I didn't receive a gold watch, or actually anything at all, from my employer, as a celebratory gift to myself I decided that I would buy a new DAC to replace my Lumin T2.

I intend to listen to several higher-end DACs at AXPONA, but it is unlikely that I shall be able to get more than a cursory sense of their qualities -- particularly given all the other equipment, and the room environment itself, will be far different from what I have at home. Here are the DACs I especially wish to hear:

     Bricasti (M1 Series II and/or M21); dCS Bartok APEX; Lumin X1; MSB Discrete; Playback Designs MPD-6 w/Stream X-2; and Weiss Engineering (DAC502 MkII -4ch and/or Helios).

I would be grateful to receive the thoughts of others about these DACs and, particularly, your thinking regarding any contrasts between two or more of them.

Thanks!

 

128x128Ag insider logo xs@2xjmeyers

Aries Cerat Helene (or any of their DACs). A totally different animal from what you plan to audition. 

A couple of people I really respect have opined that the Grimm Audio MU2 is the one streamer/DAC to rule them all. Are they right? (Its price is at the midpoint of the other candidates.)

One other not on your list is the T+A DAC200. It might be on the lower end of your budget, but don't miss out on considering it.