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Best Bang for your Buck DAC ?

I just realized I’m in the market for a DAC , I don’t want to spend a fortune on a DAC either . I picked up a drangonfly cobalt a while back and am unimpressed  so I moved it to my CPU and sounds really good on my system there which when I bought it figured I would do anyway since it was my first DAC purchase . There are so many DACs I have no clue , how high up on the returns chart can I go at say $1,000 before I run into heavy Diminished returns resistance. I’m open to buying used . I was thinking about a Schitt made in the states ? Anyone’s take on best bang for buck DACs? 
ngiordano
timlub
2,039 posts
 
I see @loomisjohnson recommended the SMSL SU-9. I emailed SMSL about the differences in the SU-9 vs the M500. SMSL replied that they have tested them side by side many times and there is no audible difference. I suspect that there is something but.... The SU9 has 2 ES9038pro chips, the M500 has 1. The SU9 does have bluetooth, the M500 is a stand alone DAC, they both have a headphone amp, a remote, handle MQA, single ended and balanced output. The SU9 uses the Xmos XU208, the M500 uses the Xmos XU216. Not sure that there is any interest here for the op, but I wanted to at least mention the differences. Good Luck
cooperjack's avatar
cooperjack
22 posts
 
I'm a big fan of the Schiit Gungnir multibit. After many hours of play I still like it a lot. The others mentioned here may also be good but the Gumby is so pleasant I am not driven to replace it at the moment.
stibin
12 posts
 
I’m also in the market for a dac since I bought a Musical Paradise MP701MKII Tube Preamp few months back does it make sense to buy a tube dac? The seller is suggesting to get the Musical Paradise MP D2 MKIII which is a tube dac with a AK4490 but can be upgraded to AK4499 but I’m leaning towards the RME ADI2 which is the same price as the MP tube dac.
jfuquay
104 posts
 
Another thumbs-up for the Musical Fidelity V-90. I haven’t auditioned all that many DACs, but did take the v-90 to my dealer to run against a Simaudio $1,500 model. Yes, the Simaudio might have had an edge, but not much. I now have a PS Audio Directstream because that’s what it took for a clear step up with upgradability. 
jjss49's avatar
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jjss49
6,612 posts
 
while all being very good sounding units, the rme adi2 and musical paradise are at opposite ends of the spectrum:

rme is crystal clear, fast sounding, shimmery, slightly mechanical, relatively centralized, flat narrow sound stage -- probably a very honest representation of the digital signal being portrayed

otoh, musical paradise unit is ’enriched’ in the midrange and midbass, slightly rolled on the top and extreme bottom, soundstage ’expanded’ and deepened via tube output stage, more perceived coherence top to bottom

so to use again the very apt analogy by john darko the reviewer -- ’skim milk vs full fat’

schiit gungnir mb is smack in the middle in terms of tonality but with nice imaging (imaging is the rme’s achilles heel imo, not an issue for hp listeners of course)... gungnir issue which led me to move on is there is prominent relay clicking between tracks, if you change source or different bitrates, irritated me

hope this helps those trying to make a choice


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