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Still looking for a DAC I can demo at home. . .

I'm looking to spend up to $4500 on a DAC. Must be able to demo at home!  Yes-- I know-- this eliminates  many possibilities but I don't actually enjoy buying/selling gear, so buying gear on A'gon to try, and then having to re-sell it, holds 0 appeal for me. I think of myself as a music lover rather than an audiophile. Perhaps, for those of you reading this, other, less flattering adjectives come to mind ;o), but nevertheless, the search goes on. I have:  Wells Majestic integrated, Silverline SR 17.5 Monitors. I plan to keep my Jolida JD100 cdp as a transport. Emotional involvement, "musicality" (lots of arguments about what that means, I know) are more important to me than hyper detail. Borrowing John Darko's analogy, I'm more interested in "tasting cake" than knowing whether the butter is organic, the eggs are laid by Rhode Island Red hens or Sea Turtles, the flour is winter or spring wheat, etc. Sea Turtles? OK- I'm starting to experience the particular flavor of insanity that comes from spending far too much time reading threads and reviews.  I've held off  trying Schiit Yggy due to conflicting reports re: whether its resolution is too "digital/analytical" sounding. PS Audio Directstream JR. has its fans and critics. Anything else in this price range I can demo at home ???
stuartk

Showing 13 responses by stuartk

stuartk OP
2,432 posts
 
@randy-11: I didn't realize Benchmark had a home trial. Thanks! 
@chayro: The Wells replaced a tubed Jolida integrated-- no contest! 
 At this point, I'm not interested in more Jolida gear, but thanks. 
@ghosthouse: Just wondering why you chose Gumby over Yggy. Was this strictly a financial consideration or based on tonal considerations?
@shadorne: OK-- got it-- another vote for Benchmark. Thanks for the link!  

Update: yesterday, having decided it was time to stop reading and start listening, I ordered a COS D2 to try out (30 day trial). The reviews of its big brother D1 are impressive, and I like to give less-than-mainstream companies a chance. Who knows; I may keep it. Or I may go on to try others. At least I have more possibilities now than I did when I started the thread. Thanks, guys! 
stuartk OP
2,432 posts
 
@ghosthouse: Thanks for taking the time to offer a more detailed response re: the Schiit dacs. 
stuartk OP
2,432 posts
 
@bander: I'm not at all familiar with Exasound. Will check them out. Thanks. 
stuartk OP
2,432 posts
 
I tried COS D2. In my system, it's not my cup of tea. Much too analytical and polite for my tastes.  Next up: Aqua La Voce S2. 

@gdhal: I've encountered wildly diverging opinions on how long Yggy requires to burn in and therefore, with all due respect, I simply don't know what to believe. Same thing with peoples' descriptions of how it (or any component) sounds. At this point, I've gotten to the point where I take the aesthetic evaluation portion of reviews with a couple large shovel-fulls of the coarsest Kosher salt. 
stuartk OP
2,432 posts
 
I now have a Metrum Adagio to try out, courtesy of Mike Powell at Verastarr Cable. I can't afford it, but I have a chance of picking up a Pavane at a great discount, and the latest Pavane is almost identical to the Adagio.
stuartk OP
2,432 posts
 
@333jeffrey: there seems to be a great deal of disagreement re: YGGY.  I don't know how to account for such disparity except to hypothesize that it may be a component that's especially system-dependent.  What is the rest of your system?  I've already paid to ship 3 dacs for home trial, so the idea of having to pay for more shipping plus a possible re-stocking fee is not that appealing at this point. I'm hoping the Adagio/Pavane will make my ears happy. We'll see. If it doesn't blow me away, then I'll have to reconsider YGGY. 
stuartk OP
2,432 posts
 
@rhljazz: Well, I listen to a lot of acoustic Jazz from mid 50's to present. Chord is a brand that's very difficult to try at home. I did find one dealer that offers home demos but charges a 5% restocking fee, and is located on the east coast (I live in N. CA, which makes shipping costs high). 
Chord is another brand that seems to  evoke very polarized opinions, (except for Dave, which I can't afford). 
stuartk OP
2,432 posts
 
@soix : I'm currently trying out a Metrum Adagio but disappointingly, there seem to be some synergy issues that are inhibiting its performance.
stuartk OP
2,432 posts
 
@rhljazz: I checked and it's actually a 10% restocking fee + shipping both ways if I return it. That's awfully steep, IMO. 
stuartk OP
2,432 posts
 
@333jeffrey: OK-- good to know as I go forward, Thanks. 
stuartk OP
2,432 posts
 
@soix: Hex is apparently no longer being made, so it would be useful to check to see to what extent it shares architecture with Adagio. Message me and I'll give you the e-mail for Metrum sales manager Anjo DeHeus-- he should know. 
stuartk OP
2,432 posts
 
@soix:  Metrum dealer Mike Powell at Verastarr (great guy) suggested jitter from my transport ( modded Jolida JD100 cdp) might be to blame
but if that's so, why does the La Voce sound so great paired with the Jolida? I should point out that my response to the Adagio constitutes an anomaly, in Mike's experience, although my buddy who was also listening, had the same reaction I had. I'm sorry I can't be more helpful. Why not initiate a thread asking current/past Hex owners to describe their experience with the unit? 
stuartk OP
2,432 posts
 
To wrap up, I ended up buying Aqua La Voce. Together with Empirical Audio's coax cable and Synchro-mesh re-clocker, this has brought major improvement to my system-- a very worthwhile upgrade. It's very possible the Empirical gear would've corrected whatever synergy issues I'd experienced with the COSD2 and Metrum Adagio in my system, but it's kind of a moot point, as my budget simply wouldn't have allowed it.No matter-- I'm extremely happy with how things have turned out. 
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