Quite a few Bricasti M21 DACs for sale cheap

I would say the Delta Sigma DACs in the M1 Series II and M21 sound identical to me. 

The M21 has a ladder DAC, which sounds marginally different than the Delta Sigma, so it’s an additional option for the listener. 

The M1 has many more filter options, if that’s important. 

@tvad thanks!

tvad

@mihorn, I am impressed at your ability to discern differences between DACs playing in two different rooms (one a hotel room), on two different systems apparently without any similar components between them, from YouTube videos.

In my experience, the source dictates a big portion of audio system's sound. In those 2 video comparison, one is playing $16k DAC and the other is using 15 years old modded Oppo BDP-95 ($1k retail 15 yrs ago ). The sound should be predictable regardless of the room.

Also, it is the house sound. An audio company system with their flagship gears is their house sound. 

Below is my old audio show videos in hotel rooms. Though my sound is more natural and realistic now. Alex/WTA

2021 audio show

video by Audiophile Junkie (YT id)

In my experience, the source dictates a big portion of audio system’s sound.

Interesting viewpoint.

I prefer to compare components in my system because it offers a familiar baseline.

I can’t make heads or tails of systems’ sound from YouTube videos, and I definitely can’t tell what a particular component sounds like. I don’t have that skill.

I tend to think a system’s sound is holistic, although I ascribe the largest influence to speaker/amplifier pairing.

tvad

I prefer to compare components in my system because it offers a familiar baseline.

Agreed. It'll be the best option. But most cases ($10K dac?) it is hard to do. There are many videos of certain gears and listen to them to guess the sound. I've been doing that for a long time and my guess is correct almost always. Better than nothing for sure. Alex/WTA