[phaeton70]

thanks for the reply!!
unfortunately I don't know the technicalities of the D1, while the MSB is a single 24b ladder, 80b 32x filter, femto clock.
I really love the sound of the Analog, but you know, we are always looking for the greener field

ouch, really the L1 is only 1.5k?? my Analog is almost 7x ...... I really should give this Holo a try, thanks for the hint !!!

 

[astrostar59]

Watching this since I'm in a similar situation - I'm looking for a decent mid-range dac for my Stax 009 and BHSE.

I guess my primary criteria would be natural/neutral sound, then technicalities.

My budget would be ~$6000 so dave wouldn't be a good fit. I had PS Audio Directstream several years ago (which was good, but sold) and would like to try something different.

I'm now hesitating between Yggdrasil and Auralic Vega G2.

Could you please elaborate a bit more about the difference between Yggdrasil and Vega?

Yes the Chord DAVE is good, and better with the Blue Upscaler. But I had the 009 and KGSShv and found it really needs a super smooth DAC with body and more texture than many typical DACs out their. i.e. the 009 is not forgiving and can fatigue beyond the detail aspect of it, where it majors. It needs a helping hand in the mids and female vocals, strings etc IMO.


My recommendation would be the Aries Cerat Kassadra, it is not cheap at 18K euros, but is the best DAC I have every heard. If budget is owed, there is a used Ypsillon 100 DAC which is also a great R2R DAC with tubes, going for 8K.

 

[astrostar59]

Never heard the analog in my rig, was initially tempted but the d1-dual was a better value for money spent. Isn’t the analog equivalent to a d1-single at best in terms of ladder counts?

The shocking revelation to me is that I could not tell the L1 apart from my D1-six on one of the filter settings (not nos for some reason but dsd resampling in the L1). I do not doubt some of these expensive units differentiate a bit more when played on good speaker rig setup but, for our lowly headphone systems, I have lived in peace with my L1 after that experience, probably won’t revisit de dac market for another 5 years or so...

The L1 is like 1500USD, isn’t it? Why not just trying it out before shelling out 10x for something whose case machining may have cost just as much as key components inside? Better yet, have both in house and tell us back what you heard .

Good luck in your search in any case,
Arnaud

I disagree. I found big differences between DACs. All I can think is the TotalDAC6 and your L1 have a similar sound signature maybe? Could be a coincidence.
In reply to the OP, for example, while I had my 009 and Carbon I owned the Audio Note DAC 5 (30K new) which I bought used.

I had that a home and demo'd there DACs
1. MSB Platinum with Signature PS
2. Naim CD555
3. CH Precision C1
4. Lampizator Golden Gate
5. Chord DAVE
6. My Audio Note Kit 4.1 modded

All those DACs sounded very different. The tube based DACs sounded more right to my ears and brought more body and solidity to the music, better female vocals etc.
The C1 was good, but had some sibilance / treble issues on certain material
The DAVE was detailed but in the end I preferred the tube DACs sound long term
The Naim was good, dynamic and nice soundstage, but a bit boring
MSB was close to a typical DS type of sound, though it was R2R, though I believe it has filters and may force up sampling?
The Golden Gate was good, and there tube rolling very flexible. But I felt the DAC 5 was better.
The DAC 5 is a great DAC, no filtering, no up sampling, nice gain stage, tube regulated.

My current DAC has the best of any of these DACs without the pitfalls, is super dynamic and very solid presentation. No fatigue at all, very like a top turntable IMO.

The above DACs were tested on both my 009s and my Zingali horn speakers.

My advice, is try if possible at home, or take your amp and HPs to the dealer. I am convinced you will get the DAC and final sound you are happy with then.

 

[Zinfin]

PS Audio is going to come out with an upgraded version of their DirectStream DAC that will apparently be labeled the TSS (for Ted Smith Signature) edition.