Upgrade Denafrips Terminator 2

braunhi-fi

IMO you will not get any DAC better than the Terminator II for less money, you will be going backwards or sideways at best. You may find some other DACs for similar money that you like the sound signature more, but that is a matter of taste.

The Holo Audio May DAC KTE is a really good DAC, but I tested it head to head with a T2....and the T2 bested it; and the KTE is the same money as the Terminator II

If you want a better DAC, you may be spending quite a bit more money.....not less; especially if you want to stay with an R2R DAC

Thanks for yall input! I dont think that there is a better DAC either for the same amount of money. 

I just want to see if another DAC in that price range can fit my taste better. That doesnt mean that the T2 is bad, but I want to have more experience with DACs in general. 

Right now I have an Eye on the NewOntech DAC 07, 07 SE and 08. Maybe someone knows how they compare and if the 08 is really that much better than the 07.

Oh and by the way...I still use an Rasperry Pi as a Streamer with Volumio. Does anyone know a better Streamer? The RPi is kind of low budget.

Re Music, I’m enjoying Roon and its discovery, and it finally sounds better than jriver now that I’ve added a Roon Nucleus One server to my Aries G2.1 streamer. Do get a dedicated server. Both were good upgrades, and I agree with others than focusing on your digital chain is well worth the investment. Get a good switch, I like my SR switch with master fuse and euphoria PC, and also focus on noise reduction like ground blocks, I combine SR Active Ground Block SX with Puritan Groundmaster. Get the best ethernet cable you can for your streamer, I really like the SR Ref Atmosphere SX ethernet (USB as well) but the SR Atmosphere SX ethernet was a little bright for my tastes. IME, every ethernet cable sounds different, and I didn’t care for the supra, even in the cheap price range. If you want an affordable cable, you might try AQ Forest or Pearl. BTW, I’m using a 12 year old DAC, Bel Canto 3.5mk2 and I’m looking for an upgrade too but in no big hurry. I do think that DACs have advanced a lot in recent years and am waiting for a non-Chinese AK4499EX based DAC. Does that count as r2r, seems like a hybrid but it gets great reviews and measures extremely well. I also need to find good auditions of r2r models.

@nagel  Are you using the VBS with your 3.5?  I found the DAC3VB (great DAC BTW) to be a big improvement over the stock DAC3 in my system.  I’d recommend looking at doing a trial of the new LAiV Harmony DAC as it’s getting very positive reviews and will give you a good idea of what an R2R DAC brings to the table.  Just a thought FWIW.

I had VBS but upgraded to VBL linear when the VBS failed a couple years ago. The price and Bel Canto’s service were great, and I liked the VBL sound better overall. Still the VBS had amazingly clean and dynamic treble, and that's one area where I'm concerned about the purported r2r sound. Is the LAiV made in Singapore or PRC? I hate to take advantage of money back guarantees if I don’t know if I’d like it all. Can anyone provide a demo in FL? I’ll be traveling to hit highend stores soon.