Bricasti M3 vs. Holo Audio May vs. PS Audio DS

They’re all good dacs, and there’s lot of others too.  TMRAudio.com should be where you start shopping… great people and great return policy will allow you to find something you really like.  Throw lampizator dacs into the mix too, my favorite his far.

I have owned a LOT of DACs and have been doing a ton of testing lately. 

At this level, there is some inherent compromise with most of these units still.  It is the next rung up ($8K to $12K) where compromises largely go away.  I know that sounds crazy but it has been my experience.  Not saying you want of even need to go up that higher level.  The key is understanding the compromises in each of these units and making a wise choice based on what is most important to you.  

There is a long list of DACs in the rage.  Bricasti M3, Chord TT2, Rockna Wavelight and Wavedream Edition SE, Audiobyte Hydra Vox, PS Audio DSD, Holo May, Denafrips, etc.....

I have spent tons of time with the Rockna, Audiobyte, Chord and PS Audio DACs and I am about to order a Bricasti DAC.  

My experience is there is a trade-off in terms of absolute details and refinement vs depth and stability of the image.  Are you looking for maximum detail or a deep and stable image?  And then, secondarily, tonally are you looking for something warmer or brighter?

Additionally, do you need a network bridge?  How will you get data to the DAC?  Do you have a server?  What connections do you need?  If all of that is laid out, then hopefully it will be obvious which DAC is right for you.  

I’ve owned my Bricasti M1 Limited Gold for 5 years and enjoy it immensely. When I was looking (at that time) I also listened to MSB and Weiss and went with the Bricasti. My previous DAC was a BMC DAC/Pre. I’ve also recently replaced my solid state BMC amps with a Bricasti M25. My source over this time has been Laufer Teknik's Memory Player through three series of upgraded models.

Bricasti's customer service is excellent, as noted in earlier posts.

A major factor for consideration is the rest of your system components. It truly is a synergy thing, and this factors into the DAC’s performance and sound in your particular system.

Auditioning in your system, or a similar system, is definitely recommended; e.g., how does it sound with amps similar to yours (tube or solid state), with similar speakers (horn, sealed or bass-reflex), fed from a similar source (dedicated Roon server, or other mechanism).

Worth taking your time, and using your own ears to make the decision.

Thanks for all the thoughtful responses.  About a month ago, I came to pretty much the same conclusions as @verdantaudio:  far fewer compromises at about the $10,000 level.  So I now have an MSB Discrete, driven by a Mac MA 8900 into Vandersteen Treo CT’s and a six pack of Rel S 510’s.  Streamer is a BluOS Node 2i believe it or not.  I listen to streaming only;  typical 60’s and 70’s rock n roll & blues:  Dead, Allman Bros, Richard Thompson, The Band, Van Morrison, Clapton, Beatles, MuddyWaters,BB Kung, Otis Spann, Coko Taylor—lots of live recordings—you know.  For this type of music,  the MSB is phenomenal:  sound stage has a physical aspect; clarity is live-performance like, especially vocals and acoustic strings, and low frequencies are clean and solid. Overall, the MSB brings a sense of weight to everything, but without any loss of crispness and bloom.  If you close your eyes on Joni Mitchell’s “Blue”, she is in the room.  I also considered the Bricasti M1, but had no practical ability to audition either.  Ultimately went with the MSB’s entry level, on the theory that maybe some of their top of line design and build trickles down. I don’t know.  I lucked out, but Idon’t think it was possible to make a
mistake between these two.  I could say more, but you get the idea.

Congratulations. Nice system...sounds like a great match. Enjoy!