DAC for WA6 SE

AGD-2/3, PS Audio DLIII, or gamma2.

emu 1616, 1820 or 1212, these all measure far better than any of the previously mentioned dac's.

Also I doubt you could actually hear a difference between any of these dac's so may as well just get the most feature packed, functional and pretty one.

how does a mixing, producing audio interface measure better than an audiophile dac sonically speaking?

how are the Motu 896MK measure with top-tier audiophile dacs you have a clue?

Quote:

Originally Posted by jackmccabe 

emu 1616, 1820 or 1212, these all measure far better than any of the previously mentioned dac's.

Also I doubt you could actually hear a difference between any of these dac's so may as well just get the most feature packed, functional and pretty one.

A professional audio interface generally will produce far less distortion, have a lower sound floor, flatter fr response and lower stereo crosstalk.

The Motu 896MK measures very well.

then why people here keep suggesting the "audiophile dacs" that are far more expensive?

I'm honestly confused

Because they are pretty and owning them is a status thing, most people also just imagine differences because they want to and due to visual cues.

Professional dac's also have pretty much reached the limit of 16bit 44.1khz audio, the emu 1820m for example has a snr of 120db which is the limit of 16bit 44.1khz audio.

so would I notice any difference jumping from a Saffire 24DSP to a let's say RME, Motu 896MK or some sort of other higher-end audio interface?

Probably not, but they will be more functional  and have more features.

So a wiser choice would be to upgrade to a balanced amp like the Woo Audio WA22 with an aftermarket cable to drive my HD800?

It depends tube amplifier's are largely a matter of taste and it is very hard to say one is better than another.

Solid state amps on the other hand can clearly be better than one another, but it would be impossible to differentiate between a $200-400 ss amp and a $1000+ ss amp.

I would suggest you try and listen to some equipment and a/b test it or blind test it to see if it actually sounds better or whether you are just imagining it and then based on that buy an amp.

Once you have a decent amp you can't really improve on your setup much, you could look at getting some different headphones and amps to compliment yours but that's about it.

High end audio is pretty much personal taste, but msot people try to push the idea that even more expensive equipment is better when in fact it isn't and just a different flavour of the same quality.

Well said!

Some personal opinions on things beeing discussed in this thread:

1. As long as the DAC is "good enough" the DAC will be of less importance in a tube based system since tubes have a tendency to smooth things over anyway (for good and for bad), "tube coloration" will effect the sound much more than which DAC you use. If anything I'd say pick a DAC that is known to play with some PRAT and ompph to it since the tubes then will take care of the rest.

2. Unbalanced or balanced.... unbalanced that is done right were the components have good synergy, connected to the same power strip etc is not to be looked down upon since you get much more for your money and there will be almost no differance in audio quality. That beeing said a fully balanced setup is theroretically superior... but may not sound better if done badly... and a true fully balanced setup is always be much more expensive.... so in the choice between a "superb" unbalanced setup and a "good" balanced setup I will pick the unbalanced every time.