Dac: Old vs New

I still have my border patrol from 3 years or more ago...still sounds fine to me. New stuff is different, not necessarily better.

Check out Geshelli J2, either AKM or Sabre chips.  Great products, and great price.  And, looks dapper in its wood case.

Don’t listen to anyone except your ears/brain. This hobby of ours is time consuming but if you are into it, can be extremely rewording and gratifying. It is not for everyone, that’s why audiophiles are on the minority. The process of getting the best possible sound out of your system is more important than the end result, which for most of us it is never realized. Oh boy, I was tempted to say for most of YOU but decided to be humbled today. It would be helpful to have some guidance from credible sources but that can be very misleading and complicate things even more for you. Enjoy the process!

There is so much better technologies in digital advancements over the last 4 years 

depending too on your budget , any of the Denafrips  dacs brings good value,

as well as most Holo springs , Gustards new R26  dac is great value ,

to get imo a truly good reference dac roughly around $5k and up . The best dac I have heard and have heard allthe above and on my buying list is the $7k T+A 200 dac it is as good if not better then any dac at 2x it’s cost .

Depends on the modifications performed. If done correctly, those DACs you mention may not be an improvement at all. There really has not been that much technology advancement over the years.

@audioman58 what DACs have you comp-0ared your DAC to at 2X that you felt were not an improvement?

Happy Listening.