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What the Best Dac have you heard or owned. How could you tell it was that good.

I wondered what’s the best sounding dac you have heard or owned. What did it do that the others didn’t. 

calvinj
mitchb's avatar
mitchb
336 posts
 

I have not heard expensive dacs in my system but my modded PS Audio DSD sounds good for a $3500 dac. I experienced my dac improvement with added mods and now fully upgraded with APS nickel transformers, VOCM mod and analog power supply board powered by a Keces P3 with a Neotech 20ga silver dc cable connecting Keces power supply to power supply board in dac is the best sounding dac in my system so far. All that said I have not tried a lot of different dacs in my system.

tomwipf's avatar
tomwipf
16 posts
 

The timbre, impulse and transient information coming out of my Ayre Acoustics QX-5 Twenty ($15,000) with L5xe is fantastic. Horns, voices or anything else in the midrange sounds rich, relaxed and has information around the notes normally missed in dacs such as the Bartok Apex ($20,950) which I sold. The bass with QX-5 is incredible as it has texture, extension and detail galore without sounding bubbly, bloated, unnatural or lacking. The QX-5 has made me a better listener because now I know what I was missing. Compared to the competition, the QX-5 should cost 2-3x as much. Happy listening!

chuck
203 posts
 

The best DAC I have heard is the MSB Select.   I have not heard the Nagra, Wadax or Playback designs.  I have heard all the others mentioned in this thread and it is not even close to my ears.

phantom_av's avatar
phantom_av
326 posts
 

Both MSB and DCS frequently introduce new models at such a rapid pace that it leads to a depreciation of their second-hand markets. This constant influx of new releases creates a perpetual cycle where buyers feel compelled to constantly upgrade, never quite reaching satisfaction. However, the allure of owning prestigious equipment remains a significant driving force behind their purchases.

DCS, known for being ahead of its time in the past, leaned heavily towards analytical precision at the expense of musicality. This single-minded focus on transparency inadvertently led to a loss of emotional depth in the sound, resulting in a somewhat hollow and overly sharp listening experience.

In an attempt to retain customers who were seeking more musicality, DCS launched the APEX upgrade. Presently, they are developing a new DAC to compete with MSB's upcoming Cascade and their higher-priced DAC offerings. Despite their impressive technological advancements, both companies struggle to maintain long-term user satisfaction beyond the initial excitement of ownership.

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hk_fan
460 posts
 

My Weiss Helios is the best that I've heard.  Unrivaled detail retrieval but not artificial sounding.  It's completely musical and a soundstage that is deeper and laser etched.

I know it's good because I hear new things on familiar recording and I don't want to turn my system off even when it's way past bed time.

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