T and A D 200 Dac

@mpomerantz Mike, the model is T+A DAC 200, and as a dealer, I own one and have compared it to a lot of other DACs. I do post about it pretty often on these forums. It’s my favorite unit south of $15K and has a true preamp stage built in, in case you hadn’t yet settled on a preamp (you and I talked extensively on preamp options a while back). Nonetheless, even if you do have a preamp already, the DAC 200 is still worth it as a standalone DAC. It is my best selling unit, and of the total I’ve sold, only two customers are using it direct to amp as the others already had preamps. 
 

I would equate the preamp stage itself as having the performance of a $3K preamp. It’s very good. The DAC itself is fantastic, with a wider, deeper and more holographic stage than many at its price point. It is more on the organic side of neutral vs the analytical/cold side (where the Tambaqui and Holo May land). You typically can hear more with less fatigue. 

You already have my contact info, so feel free to call or email if you want to chat about it. 

@milpai The preamp stage and volume control in the unit are of very high quality, and it can also be disabled to set the unit up as a standalone line level DAC. These features, are additive and do not take away from the fact that for $7,125, the DAC 200's DAC section is well worth it. the preamp stage can accommodate one set of analog inputs for a turntable or such, so the unit is designed with minimalism in mind. 

But even if it didnt have the preamp stage and volume control, I would still highly recommend it. I have compared the volume controls of other DAC, for example the Mola Mola Tambaqui and PS Audio DirectStream, and they are noisy, fatiguing, and brittle sounding compared to the DAC 200. Yes, more and more DACs are employing volume controls, but few aside from the DAC 200 do it right (at least in the up to $15K price range).