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Worlds best DAC

Went to CES this year to work on my transition to high Rez digital. I've heard many of the highly regarded players in my room or in others systems in the past. I'm actually very happy with my current cd based sound. As I listened to various DACS playing CD then high Rez, I was not bowled over. High rez was better, but only slightly so. The best (and most different) sound I heard happened to have one similarity. They were 2 non oversampling DACS with tube analog stages(Zanden and Ypsilon). These were without question the most natural sounding digital systems I heard at the show. They made CDsound miles ahead of high Rez. What gives?

PS: I understand the limitations of show auditions.
bflowers

Showing 1 response by tmsorosk

tmsorosk
1,013 posts
 
DAC's have improved greatly over the last few years, it's most noticeable from the highest end of the industry. Although the differences may at first seem small, the removal of many digital artifacts makes the overall event much more relaxing and musical, not to mention the extra openness and air that accompanies it.
Of coarse all the best gear in the world won't sound right without proper system synergy, including cabling. It's taken me years and more money than I care to think about to create digital thats comparable to my analog rig. I hope this won't influence an analog verses digital debate, the mood I'm in usually determines which I prefer.
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