Which would you pick between the two DAC.

@eddy1 There are a number of great options in DACLand.

Since I have the Wadia 121, the Exogal Comet Plus, and the Schiit Yggdrasil...I figured my comments may be helpful since these products have been discussed in this thread.

First, you are getting great advice from everyone. And I mean that. All are making good points and recommendations.

Second, I would like to second (or is it +1?) @dlcockrum posts here. I haven’t read the review he mentions, but I’d say that the Comet with the optional power supply (which makes it the Comet Plus) is hands down superior to the Wadia 121. I like the Wadia, and have kept it on hand, because it is good. And I’d be happy to recommend it, especially at the prices it goes for used now, for a simple starter system. It also happens to be very well built. The newer Wadia products are certainly also worth considering, and are going for far below what they are truly worth.

The point about bringing in the ISOREGEN is an important one. It will improve the performance of your DAC. And it will likely improve the performance of your replacement DAC, whatever that might be. A spend on it is easier to justify this way, as long as you are using USB. If you want to start at a lower price point go with the Regen, used options at very good prices as many have upgraded to the Iso.

I have this configuration running before the Yggy:

Sonore microRendu 1.3 > Uptone Regen > Schiit Yggy

And yes, @dlcockrum the Yggy also benefits from the Regen. I was in the first wave for the ISOREGEN, which had a bum board. I decided to wait until the finalized corrected boards were in, and I just got notification that the ISOREGEN is on it’s way to me. It should take the performance up a notch or two. (NOTE: I don’t have the new GEN5 USB board, so this may make something like the Uptone products less impactful with the DACs with the Gen5 boards, just something to know and keep in mind.)

Good luck and all the best in your choices.

I also want to add that I'm waiting until the dust settles on the latest Sonore offerings. There is an upgrade ahead of the Yggy in the near future. May be Sonore, or SOtM, or dCS or Antipodes. Mentioning this because it demonstrates my faith in the performance of the Schiit Yggdrasil.

There is one DAC I'd recommend around 1k, but it is a newcomer and I'm not sure I'd advise one starting out on their DAC journey to consider it. If you are willing to push your budget, once you can get to around 2.5K there are a few options that punch high enough to give the 'big boy and girl DACs' a run for the money and keep them honest.

Let me know if you are open to complicating your decision and choices, if so, I will offer up a few more choices to consider.

@eddy1

If it were me in your shoes, I would only push the spend if I was planning on upgrading my other components in the near future. If you are on that path, then spending more will pay dividends now and down the line. Let’s call this the patient yet more future proofed approach. This will give you good results but it will give you much better results sometime in the future, though it will require a much higher outlay over that time period (speakers, amps, etc.)

I look at the component as a mini-system in of itself.

Even though the Yggy comes in under 2.5K when I consider the supporting elements that mini-system is actually a $6.5K component (cables in, platform, footers, Sonore/Uptone, etc). More if I assign a percentage of the power conditioning, upstream power cable, etc. This does not include what I consider my digital source component (PC, Server, Router, Switch, mini power supplies, and the supporting cabling, etc).

I’m mentioning the above because I advise you to consider a $1K budget for a new DAC (used/new).

The 1.5K in left-over budget, in my opinion, would be better applied to a networked approach (which eliminates your PC as the direct source), better cabling, and a product to clean up the signal into the DAC (input dependent). Let’s call this the best bang for your current buck /system approach. This will provide you with really good results, and is beneficial in that is broadens your approach to and understanding of computer based audio.

Hi Eddy.

FIRST, I recommend finalizing on a DAC. 

Though there are similarities between DACs, the one you choose may have some particulars that you will need to work with. I'd let the DAC decision lead you.

Just as one example, and solely to illustrate my point, if the DAC you choose is galvanically isolated in a proper way, you may not need galvanic isolation ahead of it.

Once you figure the DAC out, the DAC will serve to guide your choices to best meet your needs.

It will also allow you to search the forums and reviews to see what works or doesn't work with respect to it.