DAC popularity check
Nov 12, 2009 at 2:43 AM Post #46 of 516
The Audio-gd Reference One belongs in the high-end list without a doubt. If it were made in the U.S. or U.K. and had a nice chassis and fancy controls, it would be priced around $10K -- which is where the SQ lies compared to other DACs of that price.

Added Ref1.


Budget/Entry level:
------------------
Audio-gd Compass (2)
Beresford TC-7510 (1)
Beresford TC-7520 (2)
Beresford TC-7520 SE (Caiman) (1)
Cambridge Audio DacMagic (5)
EMU-0404 (1)
HRT Music Streamer+ (1)
iBasso D10 (1)
Keces DA-151mkII (1)
Little Dot DAC_I (2)
Maverick Audio Tube Magic (1)
MF VDAC (2)
Music Hall DAC 25.2 (heavily modded) (1)
RSA The Predator (1)


Mid-level:
---------
Audio-GD Dac19MK3 (1)
Benchmark DAC 1 (2)
CI Audio VDA-2 / VAC-1 (1)
Lavry DA10 (1)
MHDT Havana (2)
PS Audio DLIII (5)
Stello DA100 Signature (1)


High-End:
---------
Electrocompaniet ECD-1 (1)
Red Wine Audio Isabellina (1)
Wadia 521 (1)
Audio-gd Reference One (1)
 
Nov 12, 2009 at 3:40 AM Post #47 of 516
Budget/Entry level:
------------------
Audio-gd Compass (2)
Beresford TC-7510 (1)
Beresford TC-7520 (2)
Beresford TC-7520 SE (Caiman) (1)
Cambridge Audio DacMagic (5)
EMU-0404 (1)
HRT Music Streamer+ (1)
iBasso D10 (1)
Keces DA-151mkII (1)
Little Dot DAC_I (2)
Maverick Audio Tube Magic (1)
MF VDAC (2)
Music Hall DAC 25.2 (heavily modded) (1)
RSA The Predator (1)


Mid-level:
---------
Adcom GDP600 (1)
Audio-GD Dac19MK3 (1)
Benchmark DAC 1 (2)
CI Audio VDA-2 / VAC-1 (1)
Lavry DA10 (1)
MHDT Havana (2)
PS Audio DLIII (6)
Stello DA100 Signature (1)


High-End:
---------
Electrocompaniet ECD-1 (1)
Red Wine Audio Isabellina (1)
Wadia 521 (1)
Audio-gd Reference One (1)
 
Nov 12, 2009 at 4:16 AM Post #48 of 516
Budget/Entry level:
------------------
Audio-gd Compass (2)
Beresford TC-7510 (1)
Beresford TC-7520 (2)
Beresford TC-7520 SE (Caiman) (1)
Cambridge Audio DacMagic (5)
EMU-0404 (1)
HRT Music Streamer+ (1)
iBasso D10 (1)
Keces DA-151mkII (1)
Little Dot DAC_I (2)
Maverick Audio Tube Magic (1)
MF VDAC (2)
Music Hall DAC 25.2 (heavily modded) (1)
RSA The Predator (1)


Mid-level:
---------
Adcom GDP600 (1)
Audio-GD Dac19MK3 (2)
Benchmark DAC 1 (2)
CI Audio VDA-2 / VAC-1 (1)
Lavry DA10 (1)
MHDT Havana (2)
PS Audio DLIII (6)
Stello DA100 Signature (1)


High-End:
---------
Electrocompaniet ECD-1 (1)
Red Wine Audio Isabellina (1)
Wadia 521 (1)
Audio-gd Reference One (1)
 
Nov 12, 2009 at 4:17 AM Post #49 of 516
Budget/Entry level:
------------------
Audio-gd Compass (2)
Beresford TC-7510 (1)
Beresford TC-7520 (2)
Beresford TC-7520 SE (Caiman) (1)
Cambridge Audio DacMagic (5)
EMU-0404 (1)
HRT Music Streamer+ (1)
iBasso D10 (1)
Keces DA-151mkII (1)
Little Dot DAC_I (2)
Maverick Audio Tube Magic (1)
MF VDAC (3)
Music Hall DAC 25.2 (heavily modded) (1)
RSA The Predator (1)


Mid-level:
---------
Adcom GDP600 (1)
Audio-GD Dac19MK3 (2)
Benchmark DAC 1 (2)
CI Audio VDA-2 / VAC-1 (1)
Lavry DA10 (1)
MHDT Havana (2)
PS Audio DLIII (6)
Stello DA100 Signature (1)


High-End:
---------
Electrocompaniet ECD-1 (1)
Red Wine Audio Isabellina (1)
Wadia 521 (1)
Audio-gd Reference One (1)
 
Nov 12, 2009 at 4:18 AM Post #50 of 516
Budget/Entry level:
------------------
Audio-gd Compass (2)
Beresford TC-7510 (1)
Beresford TC-7520 (2)
Beresford TC-7520 SE (Caiman) (1)
Cambridge Audio DacMagic (5)
EMU-0404 (1)
HRT Music Streamer+ (1)
iBasso D10 (1)
Keces DA-151mkII (1)
Little Dot DAC_I (2)
Maverick Audio Tube Magic (1)
MF VDAC (2)
Music Hall DAC 25.2 (heavily modded) (1)
RSA The Predator (1)


Mid-level:
---------
Adcom GDP600 (1)
Audio-GD Dac19MK3 (3)
Benchmark DAC 1 (2)
CI Audio VDA-2 / VAC-1 (1)
Lavry DA10 (1)
MHDT Havana (2)
PS Audio DLIII (6)
Stello DA100 Signature (1)


High-End:
---------
Electrocompaniet ECD-1 (1)
Red Wine Audio Isabellina (1)
Wadia 521 (1)
Audio-gd Reference One (1)
 
Nov 12, 2009 at 4:59 AM Post #53 of 516
Budget/Entry level:
------------------
Audio-gd Compass (2)
Beresford TC-7510 (1)
Beresford TC-7520 (2)
Beresford TC-7520 SE (Caiman) (1)
Cambridge Audio DacMagic (6)
EMU-0404 (1)
Headamp Pico dac only (1)
HRT Music Streamer+ (1)
iBasso D10 (1)
Keces DA-151mkII (1)
Little Dot DAC_I (2)
Maverick Audio Tube Magic (1)
MF VDAC (2)
Music Hall DAC 25.2 (heavily modded) (1)
RSA The Predator (1)


Mid-level:
---------
Adcom GDP600 (1)
Audio-GD Dac19MK3 (3)
Benchmark DAC 1 (2)
CI Audio VDA-2 / VAC-1 (1)
Lavry DA10 (1)
MHDT Havana (2)
Musical Fidelity xdac v3 (1)
PS Audio DLIII (7)
Stello DA100 Signature (1)


High-End:
---------
Electrocompaniet ECD-1 (1)
Red Wine Audio Isabellina (1)
Wadia 521 (1)
Audio-gd Reference One (1)
__________________
 
Nov 12, 2009 at 5:02 AM Post #54 of 516
Funny but my "mid-level" dac was more than twice as expensive with the mods as one of the High-End listings and priced even with two others-only one actually is more expensive.....Huh. Guess it's all relative.
Edit- Okay I saw the rational for the Dac1 above.....


Guess I figured high end meant over four grand or so generally, or at least over three.....so what is the basis? Drawing the line/hard choice on that.
 
Nov 12, 2009 at 5:16 AM Post #55 of 516
Buffalo Sabre32, no mention of commercial only amps, sitting firmly in the High-End category.

------------------
Audio-gd Compass (2)
Beresford TC-7510 (1)
Beresford TC-7520 (2)
Beresford TC-7520 SE (Caiman) (1)
Cambridge Audio DacMagic (6)
EMU-0404 (1)
Headamp Pico dac only (1)
HRT Music Streamer+ (1)
iBasso D10 (1)
Keces DA-151mkII (1)
Little Dot DAC_I (2)
Maverick Audio Tube Magic (1)
MF VDAC (2)
Music Hall DAC 25.2 (heavily modded) (1)
RSA The Predator (1)


Mid-level:
---------
Adcom GDP600 (1)
Audio-GD Dac19MK3 (3)
Benchmark DAC 1 (2)
CI Audio VDA-2 / VAC-1 (1)
Lavry DA10 (1)
MHDT Havana (2)
Musical Fidelity xdac v3 (1)
PS Audio DLIII (7)
Stello DA100 Signature (1)


High-End:
---------
Electrocompaniet ECD-1 (1)
Red Wine Audio Isabellina (1)
Wadia 521 (1)
Audio-gd Reference One (1)
Buffalo Sabre32 (1)
__________________[/QUOTE]
 
Nov 12, 2009 at 5:41 AM Post #56 of 516
Quote:

Originally Posted by dallan /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Funny but my "mid-level" dac was more than twice as expensive with the mods than one of the High-End listings and priced even with two others-only one actually is more expensive.....Huh. Guess it's all relative.
Edit- Okay I saw the rational for the Dac1 above.....

Guess I figured high end meant over four grand or so generally, or at least over three.....so what is the basis? Drawing the line/hard choice on that.


Well, something made in China will cost less than something made in the U.S.
biggrin.gif
And price doesn't determine the quality of the DAC, it just gives you an estimate of where it might rank. Only listening to it and comparing it to other DACs will tell you just how high-end it really is. But many people feel that if it doesn't cost the price of a mid-range car, or if it is a DIY project it can't be high-end.... and to them I say "use your own ears to find out."
 
Nov 12, 2009 at 6:25 PM Post #57 of 516
Yeah, don't worry too much about whether your DAC is mid-range or high-end. Just put it where you think it's appropriate... I didn't introduce a set price rage for each categories or add more categories because it's not that important. The important information here is the count
smily_headphones1.gif



Quote:

Originally Posted by tomk /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Good Evening Erd,

Thanks for not beating knots all over my noggin. At age 61, I require accommodation.

A fine idea for a thread. Thanks for crankiing this up!


no problem
smily_headphones1.gif
 
Nov 12, 2009 at 7:00 PM Post #58 of 516
Quote:

Entry
------------------
Audio-gd Compass (2)
Beresford TC-7510 (1)
Beresford TC-7520 (2)
Beresford TC-7520 SE (Caiman) (1)
Cambridge Audio DacMagic (6)
EMU-0404 (1)
Headamp Pico dac only (1)
HRT Music Streamer+ (1)
iBasso D10 (1)
Keces DA-151mkII (1)
Little Dot DAC_I (2)
Maverick Audio Tube Magic (1)
MF VDAC (2)
Music Hall DAC 25.2 (heavily modded) (1)
RSA The Predator (1)


Mid-level:
---------
Adcom GDP600 (1)
Audio-GD Dac19MK3 (3)
Benchmark DAC 1 (2)
CI Audio VDA-2 / VAC-1 (1)
Lavry DA10 (1)
MHDT Havana (2)
Musical Fidelity xdac v3 (1)
PS Audio DLIII (7)
Stello DA100 Signature (1)


High-End:
---------
Electrocompaniet ECD-1 (2)
Red Wine Audio Isabellina (1)
Wadia 521 (1)
Audio-gd Reference One (1)
Buffalo Sabre32 (1)


Am I supposed to add my one to the list like this?
 
Nov 12, 2009 at 7:15 PM Post #59 of 516
Entry
------------------
Audio-gd Compass (2)
Beresford TC-7510 (1)
Beresford TC-7520 (2)
Beresford TC-7520 SE (Caiman) (1)
Cambridge Audio DacMagic (6)
EMU-0404 (1)
Headamp Pico dac only (1)
HRT Music Streamer+ (1)
iBasso D10 (1)
Keces DA-151mkII (1)
Little Dot DAC_I (2)
Maverick Audio Tube Magic (1)
MF VDAC (3)
Music Hall DAC 25.2 (heavily modded) (1)
RSA The Predator (1)


Mid-level:
---------
Adcom GDP600 (1)
Audio-GD Dac19MK3 (3)
Benchmark DAC 1 (2)
CI Audio VDA-2 / VAC-1 (1)
Lavry DA10 (1)
Meier-Audio StageDAC (1)
MHDT Havana (2)
Musical Fidelity xdac v3 (1)
PS Audio DLIII (7)
Stello DA100 Signature (1)


High-End:
---------
Electrocompaniet ECD-1 (2)
Red Wine Audio Isabellina (1)
Wadia 521 (1)
Audio-gd Reference One (1)
Buffalo Sabre32 (1)

I have 2 additions to this list.
 
Nov 12, 2009 at 7:33 PM Post #60 of 516
Quote:

Originally Posted by progo /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Am I supposed to add my one to the list like this?


Add it or if it's there already just increase the count in parentheses next to it.

Edit: Yes like that.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 2 (members: 0, guests: 2)
Back
Top