Article: My Quest for a New DAC - Introduction to the Series

[20hertz]

Isn't the next big improvement to get away from USB and all those expensive boxes?

[austinpop]

10 hours ago, ddetaey said:

As I fully understand you will not be able to test all proposed dacs (let alone all the dacs within budget available on the market), it would be very interesting to understand what are your criteria to select the ones you are going to test.

Will it be criteria such as free loan by the manufacturer, or are there some distinct criteria that would 'encourage' you or CA to buy a DAC for testing purposes. Should dac's be distributed in the US, via traditional dealership (as Sterophile does) or do you accept worling directly via the internet with e.g. a South-African (just to say something different than chinese) manufacturer.

Or would it be based on looks and design, on a pure personal basis?

What I am trying to say here, that the selection process is as important as the actual tests and reviews as well.

 

Looking forward to your opinions on this?

 

Dirk

 

Great question. By the time the series idea had gained traction, I already had a list of DACs that had caught my eye. These are in the first wave I'll be looking at. Of course, to do that, Chris had to request review samples on behalf of CA from the manufacturers. So far, no one has turned us down, but it could happen. Past the initial wave, there may be a few (one or two) others that come to my attention, say by readers' recommendations.

 

Remember - this series is about my own journey to find a DAC that advances the sound quality of my system in a substantial way. What is the initial set of DACs on my list? They are:

1. Mytek Brooklyn DAC+
2. the Mytek Manhattan II, 
3. the upcoming iFi Pro iDSD, 
4. the upcoming Ayre QX-8, 
5. the Denafrips Terminator, 
6. Chord Hugo TT2.

How did I pick these? My key criteria are:

• Support for at least 24/384 PCM and DSD128, ideally higher
• Known to perform well for both PCM and DSD
• MQA support preferred, but not required
• Big powerful linear PSUs are important to me. Either have a substantial LPSU built in, or support an external PSU input
• Sound its best with native sample rates without upsampling.

On that last point, I realize there is a popular approach that favors using HQPlayer to upsample everything to DSD512 at source, and drive DACs like the T+A DSD8, iFI Micro iDSD Black Label, and Holo Spring that sound great at this sample rate. However, at this time, my system is not geared for this approach, and I would have to invest in changes to the front end before I could even start looking at DACs in this sweet spot.

 

As I said, this is about my journey, so my choices are necessarily and unapologetically skewed to my preferences and system.

[Sunflower_sutra]

Just wanted to say this looks like this is going to be a interesting series. I have already picked up some pointers and find your writing style fun, approachable and informative. Good job! Nice to see some new blood

[The Computer Audiophile]

Part 1 is now published!

 

 

[esimms86]

I agree 100% with ElviaCaprice’s recommendation of the Chord TT2. It may prove to be priced above your budget but I would think that it would be well worth extending yourself financially(if you can/are willing to) for the TT2. Assuming that you’re still in the pre-end game phase of gear purchasing, I could see you at some point down the road slowly starting to save up funds for an as yet announced/priced standalone M scalar. I can personally attest that Blu2Dave sounds great via headphones sans a separate headphone amp when listening to DSD converted to PCM via the M scalar(and, of course, when listening to straight PCM). No, it doesn’t do MQA, so you would need to decide for yourself just how important MQA is to your system needs. 

 

Whatever you decide, I’m enjoying the invitation to ride along with your journey.

[austinpop]

22 minutes ago, esimms86 said:

I agree 100% with ElviaCaprice’s recommendation of the Chord TT2. It may prove to be priced above your budget but I would think that it would be well worth extending yourself financially(if you can/are willing to) for the TT2. Assuming that you’re still in the pre-end game phase of gear purchasing, I could see you at some point down the road slowly starting to save up funds for an as yet announced/priced standalone M scalar. I can personally attest that Blu2Dave sounds great via headphones sans a separate headphone amp when listening to DSD converted to PCM via the M scalar(and, of course, when listening to straight PCM). No, it doesn’t do MQA, so you would need to decide for yourself just how important MQA is to your system needs. 

 

Whatever you decide, I’m enjoying the invitation to ride along with your journey.

 

I am indeed very intrigued by the potential M-Scaler/TT2 combo. A lot depends on when they are both out and available, and what their price points will be in USD. The 2 key things that intrigue me most about this combo are:

1. could the TT2's robust headphone output, and claimed vanishingly low output impedance yield performance to equal or exceed my near-endgame Cavalli LAu amp? If so, the sale of the Cavalli could mitigate some of the cost. Some, not all!
2. this combo may be the siren call to setup a nearfield speaker system with highly efficient speakers driven directly by the TT2. 

I suspect it will be many months before I can even try this combo, and the hardest part will be getting evaluation gear.

[exdmd]

If you get a chance consider reviewing the Mytek Liberty DAC at $995 as it meets your criteria. I own both the Brooklyn+ and the Liberty and SQ is very close. I think the Liberty is the best bang for the buck on the market. You do lose the display features, phono stage and remote control compared to the Brooklyn+. Also due to space limitations balanced output is by TRS, so you will probably need TRS to XLR cables if you want to run balanced.

[Bruce Orr]

Rajiv - just catching up with your preview here and the first installment. Excellent vision and first review.  Very much appreciate your approach and writing style.  Two questions:

- is the Simaudio DAC line one you may consider for reviewing?  They have one or two - beginnng with the 280D - in the price range you are interested in. I use it and find it quite good but have never been able to compare it directly to others.  Also, in talking with them, they will be adding an MQA capability in the next 30-60 days, which I know you are interested. 

 

- it appears you believe the power cord that came with the Zenith is of sufficiently high quality it does need to be upgraded?

 

Bruce

[Yorkshireman]

This may be a bit over budget but I have heard some good things about the CAD (COMPUTER AUDIO DESIGN) 1543 MKII DAC.

[1kw]

This is a easy one.  Buy a PS Audio Directstream with the Bridge 2 .  You get full MQA,  Roon end point, native DSD, high res. pCM is converted to DSD.   With trade in on the company website you can get close 3 grand off the list price putting you under $6000 for everything.  

[Dr Tone]

49 minutes ago, 1kw said:

This is a easy one.  Buy a PS Audio Directstream with the Bridge 2 .  You get full MQA,  Roon end point, native DSD, high res. pCM is converted to DSD.   With trade in on the company website you can get close 3 grand off the list price putting you under $6000 for everything.  

 

Decision has long been made.