Streaming Dac $5000-8000


Hi there. 
I am after a streamer dac one piece unit  

ideally with a very natural sound, slightly warm midrange, and with good streamer app…

its for use on harbeth shl5 plus  

was thinking lumin t3.  any others to consider Like auralic Altair g2.1? Auralic Vega is a bit over budget  

moon seems to be well regarded, but they have a big gap between the 280d and 680d.   390 would be overkill as don’t need the preamp 

I like the luxman d03x cd player sound, but that doesn’t have a streamer  

thanks 
 

 

acdvd

@acdvd 

In your original post you didn't mention you had a Boulder 866. I owned one and also hated having using MConnect. I was hoping Boulder would create an app. I did hear the 866 with Roon and you may want to get a trial version of Roon before spending money needlessly on a DAC/Streamer. Don't let the idea of needing a Roon Nucleus stand in your way. It's actually quite easy to install. 

Hi acdvd,

you like the Luxman D03X so why not add an Innuos Pulse streamer.

excellent Sense OS that is even better than BluOS in some respects. Excellent SQ, including radio paradise natively. If you enjoy the option of Tidal, the Pulse will output MQA via usb to the Luxman, which is one of a small number of DACs that can accept MQA for full studio unfold. 

All bases covered and in budget  both units offer the highest standards of build quality  

 

I also went with the Teac UD701N. I wanted the Esoteric N05XD but couldn’t swing the $11K! I did however audition both and the Teac uses very similar architecture and is about 85-90% the sound quality of the more expensive (3X) Esoteric! It beat the HiFi Rose RS150 and is hard to beat for less than $10K.