[Pibborando]

It's been a while since I've visited here so forgive me if this is redundant. I've got my Beyer DT 880s but no great DAC or amp. I'm running a Chaintech AV-710 to my Denon PRA-1500 which is what my cans are plugged into.

I want to upgrade both sections, but obviously not spend a fortune or more than I have to. I've mainly been looking at the Beresford Mk6 for the DAC and the Meier Arietta for the amp. This doesn't have to be portable. I then saw that the 2Move is the same price as the Arietta and it has a DAC built in.

To add to the confusion, I want an amp with crossfeed which both Meier ones have. I'm currently using the Bauer stereophonic-to-binaural DSP for Winamp which is the best and most natural crossfeed I've ever heard. SO... my questions are as follows:

1) How does the amp section of the Arietta compare with the 2Move?
2) How does the amp section of the Beresford compare with either Meier amps?
3) How does the DAC section of the Beresford compare with the 2Move?
4) How does the crossfeed implemented in the Arietta and 2Move compare with the Bauer s2b DSP?
5) Are there any other DACs or amps I should be looking at in these price ranges?

Thanks

 

[bowraboy]

1) Arietta is better than 2Move but not by a huge amount.
2) Probably between the 2Move and Arietta (I have an older TC7510 with different brand name)
3) Dac is much better.
4) Don't know.
5) Probably

This is from memory as I don't have the Arietta or 2Move anymore.

 

[Pibborando]

Thanks for the useful info bowraboy. Sounds like I'd get the best sound from going Beresford to Arietta, and that using the Beresford as a DAC and amp would be better than using the 2Move as a DAC and amp.

I suppose I could get the Beresford now and save up for the Arietta, but like you suggested, there are probably other good options I'm overlooking.

Any suggestions?