DCS Bartok is pretty amazing. I have one available, sick price. i’ve had most of the ones on your list and then some. If you want some ideas on what they sound like send me a message. Ray
New DAC! Meitner MA3, Denafrips Terminator Plus, Holo May KTE, Mola Mola Tambaqui
Currently have an original Schiit yggdrasil. Thinking about taking another step up or maybe two steps! Is the Holo May still good? I know I hear a lot about Denafrips. Then someone was mentioning Mola Mola.
I like the idea of the i2s HDMI connection, I believe this is so I could have my DAC decode SACD versus a player.
Also considering name brands dCS Lina, Meitner MA3, MSB?
Wilson Alexia V
Dan D'Agostino S250
Mac mini running Roon
Is anyone really winning in this space. Tough for me to demo at home as I'm 2 hours from HiFi Shops and they are kind of limited in the direct to consumer DACs.
Thank you!
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The Yggdrasil is a budget DAC. Upgrading will make a huge improvement in sound. The real question is in which direction do you want to upgrade? Do you want incredible detail? Or detail and musicality. Look at Berkeley and dCS for detail. ARC is detailed and incredibly musical. There are a lot of great DACs on the market today. In general, the greater the investment the greater the performance (of main stream DACs). I would recommend US and European before less expensive DACs. Typically these are great sounding on several dimensions, but miss on a couple. Do not consider new interconnect types in your decision. The big deal is the component. AES is likely what you will use… but it is the component that is the determinant of the sound… the best connection is secondary or tertiary. |
@chauncey I am considering the Yggdrasil myself and would be interested in your comparisons. I am also looking at the OKTO DAC8 (likely get this one). Another DAC that I owned and liked a lot for my 2-channel was the Musetec 005. However, I did not like it as much on my headphones. At this point getting a DAC is about synergy. I have an idea of getting a Playback Designs Edelwise or Dream DAC (damn expensive) though I think the 10x cheaper OKTO may be better for my headphones and tube headphone amp. Synergy is my main criteria now and not really more expensive is better. |
The i2s does not mean it can decode DSD (SACD). I do not think that is even allowed with the licensing terms of DSD from Sony. My prior Mustec 005 DAC had i2s and that had nothing to do with DSD. i2s is usually a little closer to the DAC convertor (maybe chip, FPGA, etc) over another input such as USB. It could be a shorter path to the DAC's internals. Why not look at a top end SACD player that now have DAC inputs such as USB. The Esoteric XD lineup, Luxman, Playback Designs, Marantz, etc
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