[Nick63]

I am considering three dac options. Two have headphone amps the other is integrated dac/amp. The three are:
 
Exasound E22  $3499 dac/hp
Mytek Digital Stereo192-DSD DAC $1595  dac/hp
Nad M2 Used $2850  dac/amp
 
Any opinions are welcome as are alternate suggestions. Also, If I don't get the Nad I am looking for suggestions for a great two channel amp for under $1500 too.

 

[65535]

For what purpose?
 
For a basic DAC I like the Music Streamer HD, simple and works.
 
Want something feature packed? I like the Grace M9** series, the M920 is just wonderful. The Benchmark DAC series are well regarded. Lots of options, not sure why you'd want to spend in that range really unless you needed some fancy feature.

 

[Nick63]

The dac is for two channel audio over good stand speakers. Many dacs discussed in these forums are used for two channel music only and having multiple digital inputs is a plus for many as it is for me. I happen to have found for me that dacs vary in sound and their appeal to my ears. A cheaper one may well sound great to my ears, but I do think better sounding dacs often cost more{up to a point}. The Grace 920 does have the features and specs, but have not read as much on it, and there was a little concern about a few wrinkles left to be ironed out in a thread here.To top it off  my experience in dac differences is based on some objective measurements, just my ears. So, there is  no right or wrong here and getting a cheaper dac might be wiser, I am just not at that place in my thinking. Thanks for the input. If others second your streamer dac I might be more interested in trying it.

 

[Nick63]

I meant  not "based on objective measurements".

 

[elmoe]

In that price range, there are a LOT of good choices. I suggest you take the time to do some research. You might want to take a look at this thread:
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/693798/ranking-of-21-dacs-and-dac-configurations-and-why-chocolate-ice-cream-must-die

 

[Nick63]

I read some of that thread and another on the Audio GD Master  7. One person said in the other thread that it took a good while to warm up, though you could leave it on I suppose. Without the off ramp, which is expensive, it does not list and says OR% makes huge improvement in soundstage, yet surely would sound good. OR5 may be terrific, but spending that much in addition to the $2200 dac is a bit of a stretch. What would the )R5 and the power supply he mentioned cost together? Still would like to know good amp suggestions too. The AudioGDMaster 7 is appealing, and another thread suggests this model has dealt better with "jitter" than the previous "7". I am hoping that something like the EXASound might already deal adequately deal with jitter with their technical design and clocks. Here is the page from ExaSound about it's 22e. http://www.exasound.com/e22/Overview.aspx

 

[Nick63]

Accidental caps above.

 

[elmoe]

Well, OR5 or not, the Master 7 is a very very good DAC. How it compares to the exasound I don't know, you should ask in that thread perhaps. There are also other alternatives such as the TotalDAC (expensive though) and the Lampizator DACs.