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The big DAC decision

One of the challenges of building an audio system is trying to make sure that all of the individual components of that system have equivalent and compatible technical specifications. For example, it doesn’t make sense to purchase speakers that are capable of producing sound in the 5Hz to 20kHz range if your amp is only capable of sending audio signals in the 30Hz to 15kHz range to these speakers. Unless, of course, you hope to upgrade your audio system such that it can properly drive these speakers someday.

In my desire to build an audio system that has the proper balance of individual component capabilities I’ve found myself struggling over the choice of a DAC. Basic technical specifications aren’t necessarily applicable here. The foundation of my system is a Woo Audio WA-33 headphone amp and Focal Utopia headphones. My music files consist of standard CD 16bit/44kHz resolution to Hi-Res DSD files. What I’m struggling with is choosing a DAC that would allow me to get the most out of this amp and headphone pairing. From the research I’ve done so far it is clear that the $23k Meridian Audio Ultra DAC would bring out the best of any system it is connected to. But does it make sense to purchase a DAC of this quality (and price) for my humble headphone system? Or would it be more appropriate to get the Chord DAVE (setting the MQA format compatibility issue aside for this discussion)? I’m currently using an Oppo 105D as my DAC and the music sounds pretty decent, but I know my system can sound better.

So I was hoping to get some input from fellow audio enthusiasts out there to make what may be the most important decision of my system build. I’m also looking at getting a PS Audio DirectStream Power Plant 12 to power this system. Anyone out there have any suggestions or thoughts on this issue?


slvrsrfr
headphonedreams
527 posts
 
You could also check out Denafrips, they have many respected models. And Lessloss, PS Audio and HoloAudio. All these have been mentioned around the forums the last year. I haven't heard them myself but they seems worthy of investigation.

If you are looking for something more like the Meridian then you can check out TotalDac, dCS and MBL.
ferrox
86 posts
 
Moving from PS Audio Directstream DAC to Lampizator Golden Gate Balanced, I think you should at least audition any Lampi DAC. They sound amazing. :)
seegs108's avatar
seegs108
8 posts
 
At these price levels most of the DACs are state-of-the-art and it's really a preference of choosing the type of sound that you want or which DAC pairs best with the system you have. There is a very real point of diminished returns once we move past the $6000-$8000 price point.

My suggestion would be to try as many DACs as possible and chose the one which sounds best to you. A lot of the DACs mentioned allow you an in-home trial or can be listened to in-home from a good dealer. 
rbstehno
1,431 posts
 
If you compare dacs, the ps audio DS dacs are far superior than most of the typical dacs for a number of reasons, IMO of course.
i think a dac that uses FPGA technology is the future and both PSA DS dacs use FPGA.
A dac that uses a network bridge is the best connection to use compared to USB/toslink/coax.
The PSA DS dacs are highly rated along with a couple other dacs that are many times more expensive.

Here is my reasoning for FPGA type dacs:
I get a free upgrade to the dac every 6 months that sounds better than the prior release of the code. 
When MQA got supported, it was a software upgrade to both the dac and bridge.
I have friends with your typical dacs and they are spending thousands to get a card to implement MQA and I don’t know of any dac that can significantly increase the SQ of the dac with just software.
Again, just my opinion
shakira
148 posts
 
Look into Mojo Audio Dac 
money back guaranteed
most analog sounding Dac.
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