Non-Delta Sigma DAC in £800-£1200 range options?


Hi, 

I've been looking at the Schiit Gungnir and Bitfrost 2/64 DACs. Out of the two, I understand the Bitfrost is a more neutral DAC, whereas the Gungnir is a tad rolled off at the top; I'm leaning toward the Bitfrost at the moment, as this is more to my taste/preference, but wondering what other options are out there in the stated price range? 

Thanks guys 👍

 

128x128painter24

Have you considered a Chord Qutest for your price range? It is neutral sounding.

 

Edit to add a review link that describes the neutrality of it's sound: https://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/chord-electronics-qutest-dac/

@painter24 In most cases (Holo DACs being one exception where USB is the superior input) an i2S connection via an HDMI cable as short as possible produces significant improvements over SPDIF.  AES/EBU seems to be more on par with i2S, but it’s best to check with your DAC’s manufacturer which input provides the best sound quality.  Also, important to note there is no established standard for i2S pin configuration so you need to check that a given DDC will work with your specific DAC.  I just bought a used Denafrips Iris to run i2S into my Pegasus DAC and will report back with my impressions once I get it hooked up if anyone here is interested. 

@soix thanks for the info, much appreciated. I would definitely be interested in your findings with the Iris/Pegasus pairing, as the Pegasus a sure contender 👍