MHDT Lab-Orchid. $1,100 and you can tube roll the output tube. One can also change out the stock TDA 1541-A stock chip for a Philips TDA1541-S single crown (which i did). The damn double crown went up in price before i decided i wanted to upgrade that far. This DAC sounds surprisingly good.
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The Chord Qutest DAC is a little out of your price range ($1800), but it has received high praise in every review I’ve seen and is considered an outstanding value. There’s a used one for sale on Audiogon right now for $1400. I own one and am very happy with it. I recommend checking the following review out and then looking for a used one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlfCWUbmyGE&t=4s |
I paid over $2,000.00 for a PS Audio UltraLink II back in 1994. It did the job for 26 years, but earlier this year I bought a SMSL SU-8, which you can buy for under $250.00. The SU-8 sounds much better, plus is fully balanced and has a remote control . State of the art in digital technology is a moving target, so what you buy today will be bettered by something cheaper in the not too distant future. I couple that SU-8 with an SH-8 headphone amp and the combination works wonderfully. There is zero background noise, and the music just appears out of that silence. |
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