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Let's hear you, best DAC's out there for 1500$ and less

post #1 of 35
8/6/08 at 12:50pm
Thread Starter 
So
What DAC's do you know, not something to "fancy" but just with a pure good sound quality
At that price range, that has a spdif (for connecting my PC), and I don't need them even to include amps.

What do you say?
I know of the DAC list and so on, but I want to hear from the exp of guys here and what they are thinking and so on

Thank you!

UPDATE - price.
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post #2 of 35
8/6/08 at 4:05pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by HeadLover View Post
So
What DAC's do you know, not something to "fancy" but just with a pure good sound quality
At that price range, that has a spdif (for connecting my PC), and I don't need them even to include amps.

What do you say?
I know of the DAC list and so on, but I want to hear from the exp of guys here and what they are thinking and so on

Thank you!
DAC1 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Reply
post #3 of 35
8/6/08 at 4:10pm
PS Audio Digital Link III

i find it more spacious and involving than the Benchmark. plus you don't have to pay extra for the USB input. plus Rick Cullen apparently does knockout mods for not a ton of cash.
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post #4 of 35
8/6/08 at 11:22pm
I'd like to vote for the DAC1, but I've never owned it. I've only had the USB and Pre versions, both over $1200 FWIW.
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post #5 of 35
8/7/08 at 2:10am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by VicAjax View Post
PS Audio Digital Link III

i find it more spacious and involving than the Benchmark. plus you don't have to pay extra for the USB input. plus Rick Cullen apparently does knockout mods for not a ton of cash.
What mode is it?
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post #6 of 35
8/7/08 at 10:10am

Monarchy M24...

The Monarchy M24 - no contest! Not even close.
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post #7 of 35
8/7/08 at 12:38pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by HeadLover View Post
What mode is it?
mode? i assume you mean that you want to know that it's an upsampling DAC, selectable between 96 and 192. unfortunately for some people, there's no way to bypass the upsample for a straight 44.1 conversion.

it's a non-issue for me, as everything i've listened to has sounded wonderful at one of the two rates.
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post #8 of 35
8/9/08 at 2:11pm
1st Tier: Monarchy NM24
2nd Tier: Oritek V4.1
3rd Tier: Musical Fidelity X-Dac V3
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post #9 of 35
8/9/08 at 5:28pm
I am pretty happy with a Lavry DA10.

If you plan a setup with no seperate pre-amp this model has a nice volume control.

Sound is detailed and smooth.

Cheers

Thomas
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post #10 of 35
8/9/08 at 5:45pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gradofan2 View Post
The Monarchy M24 - no contest! Not even close.
that's a severe overstatement.
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post #11 of 35
8/9/08 at 7:42pm
I like mine a lot
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post #12 of 35
8/9/08 at 8:39pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by chesebert View Post
that's a severe overstatement.
x2. The Monarchy M24 is INCREDIBLY nice, but not in a totally in a league of its own. Count me for the Benchmark DAC1.
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post #13 of 35
8/9/08 at 9:36pm
Check out the Audio Note kits. Superb
"bag for the buck".
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post #14 of 35
8/10/08 at 3:02am
Does used count?
If so I highly recommend the Electrocompaniet ECD1. A really stunning DAC, which can be had used for $12-1500 (about $2300 new).
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post #15 of 35
8/10/08 at 5:32pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by chesebert View Post
that's a severe overstatement.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DARKHAVEN View Post
x2. The Monarchy M24 is INCREDIBLY nice, but not in a totally in a league of its own. Count me for the Benchmark DAC1.
But, is it true? I compared the Oritek V4.1 to the Bechmark DAC1 and preferred the musicality and overall presentation of the Oritek V4.1 which I ended up buying and owning for about 7 months.

I just received a Monarchy NM24 (it has about 22 hours of burn in) and IMO it is a much better DAC (detail, impact, clarity, separation, etc) than the Oritek V4.1 that there is no comparison. Thus by extrapolation it is better sounding to me than the Bechmark DAC1.

I will be waiting for the Monarchy NM24 to reach at least 100 hours of burn in before I post some detailed impressions. So far I am very impressed and satisfied.
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