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DAC That Punches Above Its Price Point

I’ll make it short. I’ve spent some hours reading the DAC threads on this forum. I am aware quality of digital matters as superior DACs usually the costlier ones will sound better than cheap DACs, making music sound more analog, lifelike, real, believable with all the soundstage and detail etc. All the good things. There are some who thought it’s the music that matters, and although different DACs may sound different it’s the music that makes the most difference. In other words, the differences that exist between DACs are not that important as it's all about the music. I can see the point that people are trying to make.

Back to the topic. I’ve read great things on the Denafrips Ares II and Pontus II, and other costlier high-end DACs. I’ve read about the Chord DAVE. I personally own a Chord QBD76 and have no urge to replace it with anything else since it sounds splendid in my system, for the money. I may be setting up another system and was wondering if there is a DAC in the lower price bracket that punches way above its price point, sounding close to if not better than the costlier designs.

I presume the Audioquest Black, Red or Cobalt are not worthy of consideration and sound noticeably inferior to the costlier options? FWIW I tried the Musical Fidelity M1 DAC and this one really sounded poor to my ears. Very digital sound and I stopped listening to it after a while. The Chord sounds a lot more analog, lifelike and real to my ears.

I would appreciate any advice. Thanks.


ryder
dsnyder0cnn
65 posts
 
You almost have to try to find a bad DAC these days. I did fairly detailed listening and measurement comparisons between the Topping D90SE and Gustard X16 not long ago. With identical loads and levels matched to 0.01 dB, it was impossible for me to tell them apart. I wrote about it in several posts in this thread over on ASR.

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/topping-d90se-review-balanced-dac.24235/p...

The Topping is $900 vs $500 for the Gustard. While they sound identical, the Topping does have a few more bells and whistles. Much nicer display, more filter choices, MQA decoding on all inputs, lower output impedance (100Ω vs 300Ω), selectable 4V or 5V output balanced, etc. Gustard offers a NOS mode that’s not on the Topping. It’s a nice feature for the HQPlayer crowd and folks who like to upsample everything to absurd rates.

Given that the X16 has virtually identical objective and subjective performance to the more expensive D90SE, I’d say that it "punches above its weight." However, if you are looking for a digital preamp that can directly drive a power amplifier, the Topping is worth the extra spend for the bigger display and lower output impedance, IMHO.

Edit: Here's a link to amplitude and time-domain measurements that I took of the various filter options on the D90SE and X16. There's a comparison of impulse and step response that a few nerds may find interesting. :)

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/topping-d90se-review-balanced-dac.24235/p...
raysmtb1's avatar
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raysmtb1
793 posts
 
I’ve been in love with my Berkeley version two. They have had out of version three for a while but the guys at Berkeley tell me it’s pretty tough to tell the difference. I just listen to the Macintosh DA2 and I can’t believe it but I like it better than my Berkeley, if you have an interest I thought the Berkeley was better than my last favorite the PS audio with the new Snowmass program.  The Berkeley will be going ASAP
rfnoise
153 posts
 
The Black Ice/Jolida Glass FX Dac. Doesn’t seem to get a lot of mention on this site, but I sure love mine. Worth every penny of the $600 I paid new.
robshaw
226 posts
 
No one mentioned the Benchmark DAC3. They have 3 levels,  just a DAC, or one that you can use as a preamp, and  another with a headphone amp, different combo, go to the website. 30 day trial period, 5 year warranty.  Sounds great in my system. I use their line amp( preamp) and DAC 3B, all balanced. Amp  Peachtree amp 500, audiolab 6000 transport, Tekton Double Impacts, SVS SB 4000 sub. RORY, Great contact. Their reputation for service is great too. Brought out more than I could have imagined. Robert TN
westcoastaudiophile
237 posts
 
@lemonhase: 
"if you are measuring the right things” agreed 100%, tests should be aligned with real sound performance metrics. 

"I can swap out a cap of same value in a speaker crossover”
-capacitor has many electrical characteristics beyond capacitance and max voltage values, to name a few - ESR (equivalent series resistance), inductance, resonance frequency etc. In general, two identical capacitors, matched by all characteristics, will perform the same in speaker with crossover. Some type of capacitors, oil capacitors (I am using those in my speakers) for example, have less resonances, thus produce less distortions, or “coloration” in other words.

"Also explain how two different amps that measure exactly the same can sound quite different”
-power amplifiers mostly measured using ideal, Re-Z, loads (e.g. 4/6/8 Ohms). Real speakers with cables, crossovers, drivers, and finally resonating cabinets, never match any of ideal loads, and have complex frequency/power-level dependent impedance. 

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