[stvn758]

I have narrowed my choice to the the Benchmark Dac1 and Lavry DA10, are there any more audio 'giant killers' out there. Most Dacs I find are either too cheap or too expensive.

I probably couldn't afford the Bel Canto eDAC3, £2000 in the UK, but any around a grand. Both the above have built in headphone amps which seem a waste of some money as I'm going to get a dedicated amp later.

I will hopefully be listening with some Grado RS1's.

 

[Superpredator]

I've been quite happy with the Monarchy M24 for some time.

 

[stvn758]

They pack a lot into that, a DAC for all seasons.

 

[Aura]

For very modern sources, the Cambridge 840C looks solid as hell and I would put money on it to beat out the DA10 and DAC1. Remember, you don't even have to use it as a cdp - it has digital input and can be used as a standalone DAC.

 

[BigEat]

I have the Bel Canto and Benchmark, you'll like it fine. It is as they say, the utility knife of DACs. That said, I'm not sure either are "high end" DACs in the grand scheme, but I'm not sure they are worth the cash as a separate component anyway. With all due respect to the Esoteric objects of my high end lust.

 

[mrarroyo]

Mr. Poon of Monarchy Audio is running an special on the newer NM24 DAC. If you go to Audiogon you will find it for $1,080

I have had mine for about a month and I am tickle to death with it. It is the most expensive DAC I have ever owned and the best. FWIW, I had an Oritek V4.1 before and I thought it was better sounding than the Benchmark.

Good luck.

 

[stvn758]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aura /img/forum/go_quote.gif For very modern sources, the Cambridge 840C looks solid as hell and I would put money on it to beat out the DA10 and DAC1. Remember, you don't even have to use it as a cdp - it has digital input and can be used as a standalone DAC.

Damn that is a nice piece of kit, thanks for that.

I'm tempted.

 

[Happy Camper]

Quote:

Originally Posted by stvn758 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Damn that is a nice piece of kit, thanks for that. I'm tempted.

They've been spotted in the 3 digit range used.

 

[PFKMan23]

It's not out yet, but the Cambridge Audio Magic DAC seems fairly intriguing:

Cambridge Audio intros DacMagic upsampling digital-to-analog converter - Engadget HD

It's only about $399 and appears to be the 740c in DAC form (atleat that's a rough estimate according to the specs). A fair bit cheaper than most of the options discussed here.

 

[yoginasser]

The Ack Dack has served me very well and is quite respected amongst DACs.
I'm selling it because I bought a city pulse and there after had it souped up by Kyle Takenaga at RAM for about 3Large

Attachment 7955

 

[HeadLover]

I am soon getting ORITEK OMZ DAC 4.2

I am sure it will be a very good one !

 

[A.Thorsen]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aura /img/forum/go_quote.gif For very modern sources, the Cambridge 840C looks solid as hell and I would put money on it to beat out the DA10 and DAC1. Remember, you don't even have to use it as a cdp - it has digital input and can be used as a standalone DAC.

I'm tempted as well even though I love what my Apogee Mini-DAC does and how it performs. It's hard for me to imagine that thing being appreciably beat without me having to spend a ton of money.

 

[VicAjax]

Quote:

Originally Posted by PFKMan23 /img/forum/go_quote.gif It's not out yet, but the Cambridge Audio Magic DAC seems fairly intriguing: Cambridge Audio intros DacMagic upsampling digital-to-analog converter - Engadget HD It's only about $399 and appears to be the 740c in DAC form (atleat that's a rough estimate according to the specs). A fair bit cheaper than most of the options discussed here.

wow... first time i've seen this. i'm actually about 4-8 weeks away from buying a DAC, and i had my sights set on a PS Audio DL III with Cullen Mods to match my C-100... but damn, this is intriguing.

what to do? what to do?

 

[pjw241142]

Would be interested to see how this sounded when hooked up to the Wadia iTransport and a suitable amp!

 

[paulb09]

Quote:

Originally Posted by PFKMan23 /img/forum/go_quote.gif It's not out yet, but the Cambridge Audio Magic DAC seems fairly intriguing: Cambridge Audio intros DacMagic upsampling digital-to-analog converter - Engadget HD It's only about $399 and appears to be the 740c in DAC form (atleat that's a rough estimate according to the specs). A fair bit cheaper than most of the options discussed here.

That's nuts... same twin DACs as the 740C, and they're shoving balanced outputs in too. It's surely going to sound very similar to the 740C, and they're going to sell it for £200. This will be a bargain of a DAC.