[sonorsnoopy]

Best redbook DAC for real 3D imaging, texture, presence, PRAT & vividness ?
 
(think SET sound)
 
great power supply design mandatory
 
max. 3k used

 

[OddE]

  Best redbook DAC for real 3D imaging, texture, presence, PRAT & vividness ?
 
(think SET sound)
 
great power supply design mandatory
 
max. 3k used

 
-Just about anything with a decent analog stage would do nicely. My recommendation would be the Benchmark DAC2 in some incarnation - it is designed by professionals for professionals, all specs are stellar, built like a brick s***house and retails new at $2k or so, depending on configuration. (I've owned a DAC1 since the late nineties and a DAC2 HGC since last year - massive overkill for home use, but then again - overkill is a way of life and an integral part of this hobby...

 

[ProtegeManiac]

  Best redbook DAC for real 3D imaging, texture, presence, PRAT & vividness ?
 
(think SET sound)
 
great power supply design mandatory
 
max. 3k used

 

If I was after real 3D imaging and I have $3,000 to spend on the DAC alone, I'd much rather empty one room in the house (save for a listening chair and if it's just my bedroom, get a folding couch bed), spend a chunk of that money on acoustic panels all over the room, sell my headphone system, and then buy decent speakers, an amp to drive them, and then maybe <$500 on a DAC. It's not going to get a lot better on a headphone relative to how much money you're willing to throw at it.

 

[Greg121986]

You want something that is not a sigma-delta DAC chip. You need a ladder DAC. I prefer MSB, but there are other companies making ladder DACs as well. 

 

[sonorsnoopy]

It will be for a speaker system actually. The best I have heard so far was the dcs gear but too $$$. I thought about resolution audio cantata, prism lyra 1, bakoon 9730.
 
can you recommend a r2r ladder dac up to 3k used? i don't care if it is 16/44 only. how long will the internal parts perform to its best (caps) ? or how old can the dac be? I would prefer a pro audio ladder dac due to better resale value.