[gug42]

Hello,

Can you help me to choose a balanced DAC around 700/800$ ?

The main characteristique wantend are :
- balanced XLR output to a little dot mkVI+
- Extendend bass, and mellow/smooth trebble.
- if possible usb and optical input

During my research, I have see :
- Denafrips Ares R2R
- gustard x20
- gustard x12

Any recommandation ? Other stuff ?

Thx !

 

[ahmadfaizadnan]

Hello,

Can you help me to choose a balanced DAC around 700/800$ ?

The main characteristique wantend are :
- balanced XLR output to a little dot mkVI+
- Extendend bass, and mellow/smooth trebble.
- if possible usb and optical input

During my research, I have see :
- Denafrips Ares R2R
- gustard x20
- gustard x12

Any recommandation ? Other stuff ?

Thx !

I really wanna try ares. But the matrix x sabre is a great dac for its price.

https://www.audiogon.com/listings/d...4GO-JEI-u-8eEe_yZiVNc0Lgejv1qqFjZwhoCYUPw_wcB

 

[gug42]

Thank you. Hum Ares seems to be a good money value then.
Well in Europe the matrix x sabre are way more expensive (around 1300$) ....

 

[ahmadfaizadnan]

Thank you. Hum Ares seems to be a good money value then.
Well in Europe the matrix x sabre are way more expensive (around 1300$) ....

I am waiting for a review by someone on the other thread for ares. For its price, with R2R, it's kinda hard to resist.

 

[PurpleAngel]

Hello,
Can you help me to choose a balanced DAC around 700/800$ ?
The main characteristique wantend are :
- balanced XLR output to a little dot mkVI+
- Extendend bass, and mellow/smooth trebble.
- if possible usb and optical input
During my research, I have see :
- Denafrips Ares R2R
- gustard x20
- gustard x12
Any recommandation ? Other stuff ?
Thx !

Check out Audio-GD
http://audio-gd.com/En audio-gd.htm
You can buy directly from them and they also sell thru a few retail outlets in Europe.

 

[gug42]

I am waiting for a review by someone on the other thread for ares. For its price, with R2R, it's kinda hard to resist.

Ok so wait
By the way the cheapest r2r is the modi multibit. I own it, good money value but not balanced

Check out Audio-GD
http://audio-gd.com/En audio-gd.htm
You can buy directly from them and they also sell thru a few retail outlets in Europe.

From what I know audio gd is out of my price range.... I m wrong ?

 

[PurpleAngel]

Ok so wait
By the way the cheapest r2r is the modi multibit. I own it, good money value but not balanced



From what I know audio gd is out of my price range.... I m wrong ?

Did you check out the price on the Audio-GD website and the retailers in Europe?

 

[gug42]

Hello,

Well from local french reseiller :
Armature Cronos (== Ares) : 750€
AUDIO-GD NFB-28 : 950€
AUDIO-GD NFB-1.38 DAC ES9038pro : 880€
AUDIO-GD NFB-1DAC DSD Sabre ES9028Pro : 840€

You are right, first price is near Ares (100/130€ more)

Regards

 

[buke9]

Going balanced is not going to make a big difference or one that you can probably hear. Most dacs aren't going to add that much to what your looking for. I have a Yggdrasil and still can't tell the difference between the balanced and single ended outputs. I only have one amp that has balanced inputs the Cavalli Liquid Carbon and sounds the the same to me. The balanced output sounds no different just that it doubles the power of single ended maybe a bit more dynamics but by much. If you want more bass extension and smoother treble that would be more easily handled by different headphones. It's your money you can do what you want but I doubt you will find the answer in a new dac . This is just my opinion and YMMV.

 

[rellik]

The Teac offerings look very nice. I have been looking into building a full Teac setup.

 

[buke9]

The Teac offerings look very nice. I have been looking into building a full Teac setup.

I had the UD-301 and it is a competent dac but did not find it too much better than my Emu 0404 interface as far as the dac goes. The amp was more powerful but not by a lot and very dark sounding. The 501 has the same chips but does have some filters haven't heard it so don't know if it is that much better. Just know the UD-301 dac is not a upgrade from the Schiit Modi multibit.

 

[gug42]

Going balanced is not going to make a big difference or one that you can probably hear. Most dacs aren't going to add that much to what your looking for. I have a Yggdrasil and still can't tell the difference between the balanced and single ended outputs. I only have one amp that has balanced inputs the Cavalli Liquid Carbon and sounds the the same to me. The balanced output sounds no different just that it doubles the power of single ended maybe a bit more dynamics but by much. If you want more bass extension and smoother treble that would be more easily handled by different headphones. It's your money you can do what you want but I doubt you will find the answer in a new dac . This is just my opinion and YMMV.

I think you are mostly wright. Headphones, Pads, and amps are the most impactful from my experience.
Well I don't hope the DAC by itself will give better bass or mellow trebble, I'd like to have one who has, compared to his familly, good bass lines and soft trebble by himself. Not sure to be clear ... sorry.
I'd like a balanced to be full xlr connected ... By the way, I prefer the form factor, and a least all my headphones can be balanced.

I had the UD-301 and it is a competent dac but did not find it too much better than my Emu 0404 interface as far as the dac goes. The amp was more powerful but not by a lot and very dark sounding. The 501 has the same chips but does have some filters haven't heard it so don't know if it is that much better. Just know the UD-301 dac is not a upgrade from the Schiit Modi multibit.

Thank you, good to know ! So well the modi multibit is a good money value at least
On a local forum someone get the schiit Gungnir Multibit, the Ares and the modi multibit. In the current month, he will do a comparaison

 

[Tim Le]

I had the UD-301 and it is a competent dac but did not find it too much better than my Emu 0404 interface as far as the dac goes. The amp was more powerful but not by a lot and very dark sounding. The 501 has the same chips but does have some filters haven't heard it so don't know if it is that much better. Just know the UD-301 dac is not a upgrade from the Schiit Modi multibit.

I haven't personally heard it, but I've read great things about the new UD-503. Different chip, and the amp has no problem driving more demanding headphones. I've seen them go for around $700-800 with warranty.

Been eyeing it as my next upgrade for a while

 

[gug42]

Thank you. Good to know
I will wait ! By the I have any urgency on buying a dac

 

[gug42]

Well is this one you are talking about :
https://www.massdrop.com/buy/teac-nt-503-usb-dac-and-network-player