[DTrewwye]

Quote:

I'm interested to know more about your findings as i've narrowed it down to the M51 or D2 for my next DAC purchase. Which one would you describe as sounding richer/fuller vs leaner/cleaner? How about dynamics, speed & transients? Thanks.

Dynamics and speed would go to M51, IIRC Pendulum's "Crush" sounded a little slower compared to M51.  Fuller as well because of the low-end heft the M51 can put out.

 

[vlach]

Dynamics and speed would go to M51, IIRC Pendulum's "Crush" sounded a little slower compared to M51.  Fuller as well because of the low-end heft the M51 can put out.

Thanks, that's saying a lot in favor of the M51. I'm sure many have been waiting for this comparison. Thanks again!

 

[Nando1970]

I would love a shootout between the following DACs (quickly found web prices listed)
 
 
Anedio D2
Grace Designs m903
NAD M51
Mytek Stereo 192-DSD
Benchmark DAC-2
 

The last 3 are DSD enabled, which is relevant for me.
All but the NAD should be decent amp for my HD650.
 
I've contemplated to buy the Anedio D2, but now as far as I am concerned I would probably go with Mytek Stereo 192-DSD for its price & features (DSD + headphone amp), but I would love a comparative sound quality review.
 
Am I missing a relevant contender in the 1500-2000 price bracket?
What would be the marginal benefit of allowing price to go up to 2500? 

 

[project86]

Quote:

I would love a shootout between the following DACs (quickly found web prices listed)
 
 
Anedio D2
Grace Designs m903
NAD M51
Mytek Stereo 192-DSD
Benchmark DAC-2
 

The last 3 are DSD enabled, which is relevant for me.
All but the NAD should be decent amp for my HD650.
 
I've contemplated to buy the Anedio D2, but now as far as I am concerned I would probably go with Mytek Stereo 192-DSD for its price & features (DSD + headphone amp), but I would love a comparative sound quality review.
 
Am I missing a relevant contender in the 1500-2000 price bracket?
What would be the marginal benefit of allowing price to go up to 2500? 

 
I've heard the NAD, the Grace Design, and obviously the D2. I loved the M51 - an excellent DAC for sure and highly competitive with the D2. I thought it was a bit more "lit up" than the D2 which for me translated to more detail than I felt was desirable. But this was a small difference and I could happily live with the M51 in my system. The M903 is a very enjoyable amp but as a DAC I find it 1 step behind the others in this field. It's a big improvement on the M902 though. 

 

[ehlarson]

For what it's worth I ruled out the Mytek because the USB hardware is not capable of running with Class 2 drivers. This makes it difficult to use with some other Linux based devices, including the Squeezebox Touch. It also means custom drivers are needed with Macs.

 

[Happy Camper]

Once received, a mini meet with Souprknowva, preproman and myself will be doing some rig listening to the D2, M51, PWD2 and a Hilo.

 

[project86]

Once received, a mini meet with Souprknowva, preproman and myself will be doing some rig listening to the D2, M51, PWD2 and a Hilo.

Sounds fun - and difficult! All of those are good contenders, and even the last place finisher (whichever one it ends up being) is probably still better than most other DACs on the market.

Let us know how it goes!

 

[remilio]

Quote:

Once received, a mini meet with Souprknowva, preproman and myself will be doing some rig listening to the D2, M51, PWD2 and a Hilo.

Wow, it's gonna be tough competition for D2!

 

[SoupRKnowva]

Quote:

Wow, it's gonna be tough competition for D2!

previously i was unable to determine a difference between the D2 and the PWD mkII. I could here a slight difference between the Buffalo III and the D2 though, in favor of the D2. i look forward to comparing the M51 and Hilo this time

 

[Happy Camper]

I really like that PWD2 with what little time I had with it. I think at the price point (2k), these are some of the leaders and are considered value/performance favorites. As 86 mentions, there will be no bad DAC and there will be more alike than different as Soup mentioned. We are keeping it to the HE-6/F1 and LCD-3/Mojo rigs for this round. I'd pay admission to hear this.

 

[knopi]

Quote:

HE-6/F1 and LCD-3/Mojo rigs...

 
cool. Let us know guys what do you think about this two combination, seem like a optimal amps for this headphones.

 

[preproman]

The Buffalo III is out for repair and a few new goodies to be added. 

 

[Happy Camper]

The Buffalo III is out for repair and a few new goodies to be added. 

And this is sad cause it's right there with the others mentioned in sound quality.

 

[burnspbesq]

Once received, a mini meet with Souprknowva, preproman and myself will be doing some rig listening to the D2, M51, PWD2 and a Hilo.

Not that I want to influence anyone's judgment, but the Hilo's bonus capability, the analog-to-digital converter, is pretty special. I'm getting amazing results ripping vinyl at 192/24 using the Hilo. I ripped the 180g, 45rpm reissue of Larry Young's Into Somethin' yesterday, and got some of the most realistic cymbal sound that I've ever heard from a PCM file.

The Hilo also has the ability to route the incoming analog signal from the line in straight to the headphone amp, so you can listen to records without going A-D-A.

I'd love to fly in for that little party.

 

[preproman]

Quote:

Not that I want to influence anyone's judgment,

but the Hilo's bonus capability, the analog-to-digital converter, is pretty special. I'm getting amazing results ripping vinyl at 192/24 using the Hilo. I ripped the 180g, 45rpm reissue of Larry Young's Into Somethin' yesterday, and got some of the most realistic cymbal sound that I've ever heard from a PCM file.

The Hilo also has the ability to route the incoming analog signal from the line in straight to the headphone amp, so you can listen to records without going A-D-A.

I'd love to fly in for that little party.

 
Come on down man..  Just got the F1J back from Nelson Pass..  So it's on like Donkey Kong...