What DAC to get?

Budget?

My Topping D90se is considered a great nuetral DAC at $900. Tremendous details from music on this DAC.

My Gustard X26 Pro is considered by me to be a great DAC for $1500. It is a warmish DAC but with good details.

My Benchmark DAC3B at $1700 is another favorite of mine but it maybe a little lean on the low frequencies. That was a comment by someone that owns it and is a musician. I do not think so but I ain’t a musician.

These 3 are all ESS DACs.

You should consider the current sonic attributes of your system and see how you want to extend those attributes or maybe curtail is (a bright system with a warm DAC etc..).

Rockna wavelight, it destroys every chip DAC on the market. It has the body, density, tonality of an R2R, and the resolution of the best High end Chip DACs . Go big or Go home :)
It might be hard to get because of the pandemic though...

Then exit the DAC via 3.5 Stereo pin. It is possible to reverse this and go out RCA to 3.5 Stereo pin to the speaker.

I don’t get it.  What’s the rest of the equipment in your system?

My only DAC experience has been with a lower end Topping E30, and it's been surprisingly good.  Tough to beat for $150

@chorus   

$2K

@soix

I am going out of my Acer Helios 300 Predator Laptop into an Audioquest FMJ Jitterbug and the Audioquest Dragonfly Cobalt.  Then going out via 3.5 Stereo Pin using Synergistic Research Foundation cable into Audioengine A2+ via RCA. Then via Synergistic Foundation from the A2+ to the Audioengine S8 subwoofer via RCA to RCA.

It would be convenient for me if the DAC I get has the capacity to output from 3.5 Stereo Pin, but won't be the big problem if it doesn't.  I could take the RCA-to-RCA cable running the subwoofer and use it to go out of the DAC and into the speakers, then go RCA out of the speaker and into the subwoofer via 3.5 Stereo Pin.

@yyzsantabarbara


So far, that Gustard X26 Pro looks like a good front runner :).  Having two ES9038PROs, one for each channel, is basically like having two Cobalts. :)

PC source and 3.5 mm cable.
Like doing it through a shower curtain.
Psycho.
Just need a sharper knife.

Since there are a multitude of good DACs available, it is nigh on impossible to recommend what features and SQ is best for YOUR ears and setup. Good luck fielding suggestions that work for others.

@fuzztone  


So your addition to this discussion is to belittle and shame because you don't like my setup?

Nice.

op

@fuzztone gave a snarky reply but look past that and see what he is saying, which, imo has merit

your choices of computer as digital source and connectivity are quite less than ideal if sonic purity is a priority for you

@jjss49

CDs are 44.1 @ 16 bit - 24bit (depending on when the CD was produced).  They can be ripped to any number of lossless formats. Whether these files exist on a thumb drive, external drive or internal hard-drive, the bits are the bits.

The Acer Helios 300 Predator isn't a low-end computer. I have upgraded it to 32gig of RAM with two internal solid state drives, the primary being an NVME drive. I have manually set the min/max size and offloaded the Windows swap file to the non-windows drive, which reduces seek time and offers faster through put if needed. My system is more than capable of kernel streaming bit-perfect sound bits over USB. Therefore, I have difficulty accepting the logic that my delivery system is flawed.

The laptop's power brick uses Shunyata's Venom V14 Digital power cable, and into Shunyata's Venom V16 Power Distributor, powered by Shunyata's Reference Delta XC power cable and into Audioquest's NRG Edison socket. This ensures that the system has the cleanest power in which to formulate and complete the audio packets it sends to USB.

Then the Audioquest FMJ Jitterbug filters any noise that might make into the USB stream.  The Audioquest Dragonfly Cobalt also has built-in noise filtration as well as the DAC and a clock.  It also amplifies the signal.

I am more than confident that my system's ability to resolve digital audio files into pleasing sound is beyond adequate.

Is there room for improvement?  Absolutely, which is why I am looking to move away from the portable DAC into a standalone DAC, that carries its own power source and can resolve sound better.

My desire to keep the 3.5 cable is more for convenience. The speakers I am connecting to or will connect in the future, do not use XLR inputs. Therefore, RCA to RCA or RCA to 3.5 stereo pin are my only choices.

Even the $6,000 Rockna wavelight has RCA outputs.  So, I don't think the specifications I am seeking are shortsighted.

The One to Beat: Gustard X26 PRO DAC Review (soundnews.net)

op

you seem to have done your homework on the digital feed, with usb cleaning etc... you may well have a good source set up out of your computer, run through the aq cleaner

as for the 3.5 mm analog output jack, you state you are trading that convenience against sound quality, so it is a trade off you accept (if 3.5mm analog out was preferred over standard stereo rca or xlr connections they would be widespread in home gear, obviously)

as for dac choices, i have written much about my journey through at this point 30-40 modern and older well regarded dacs over the last couple years, a quick search will yield those and other related postings made by me and others

wish you good luck on finding the right dac for you

@yyzsantabarbara

I may have to agree. It fits my budget and has the primary DAC component that has the sound signature I like.  Thanks for that recommendation. :D

@jjss49

I hear you. It's just the cable I bought is only a month or so old and costs $800. I would hate to have to put it in the closet. However, I see the merit in abandoning the 3.5 stereo pin format in favor of a more robust connection method.  At present I am using the A2+ but plan on upgrading to the HD6.  Still no balanced connection method. So it does seem RCA-to-RCA is the likely method.

@guakus The unit does go on sale sometimes for $1350 on this site where I got mine.

GUSTARD X26 PRO Full Decoding ES9038Pro*2 Chip DSD512 Bluetooth 5.0 X (shenzhenaudio.com)

@yyzsantabarbara

Thanks again!  I think this one is the winner. I would get it right now at whatever price....but...I made promises and must wait 2 years :(

I highly recommend the Schiit Gungnir multibit or if at all possible the Yggdrasil. The are outstanding sound quality for their price and will set you up for significant improvements in the future by upgrading other components. I bought a Gungnir mb as a part of helping a friend get a new DAC. We got him a Yggdrasil. Both outstanding for the money.

Audio gd r7 conventional. Fell in love with an Italian r to r dac but at 8k out of reach. Previously had ps audio separates but their price has gone above my range.  Read reviews of the Chinese dacs without dealers and went With audio gd.
95 percent of the performance of the Aqua at 40 percent price.  In addition, importer eill
service in Georgia instead of going back to China 

Denafrips ARES ii  R2R DAC. $800