If you just want a simple, single ended high quality DAC, just get the Chord Qutest.
Recommendations for high-end DAC with no volume control
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MLGrado
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Wyred4Sound DACs. Head on over, order one, and never look back. Seriously.
Baten
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https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...surements-of-wyred4sound-dac-2v2-se-dac.6507/
vs
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...measurements-of-holo-audio-cyan-dsd-dac.6992/
Yeah no, I'd put infinitely more trust in the holo. And before you say certain things can't be measured, the wyred4sound looks simply broken from its read-out here. Scummy audio engineering at its best...
the holo audio actually performs really well and fulfills its claims despite being a boutique audio brand...
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MikeW
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Unrelated, but the ADI-2 can very easily run several hours off a battery bank. Makes it handy for travel and DJ work. And you don't even need a guitar case to fit it in your bag 
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MLGrado
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As Thorsten Loesch would say, 'measurements, shmeasurements'.
I am not discounting measurements, and I am not saying certain things can't be measured.
All I know is what I can hear, and the previous gen DAC-1 LE sounds amazingly good.
I don't claim to have 'audiophile' golden ears either. On the other hand, I have a degree in classical piano, have taken and crushed numerous ear training classes, and have perfect pitch. And I like the way the W4S sounds.
I DO find those measurements disappointing for a unit of this price, and an VERY surprised. On the other hand, they don't change what I hear.
And I am sorry if my recommendation based on what I hear offends. If it takes scummy audio engineering to sound like this, so be it. Or maybe we should go back to the drawing board. Or more likely we should consider both the objective AND the subjective. I love reading measurements too, but one has to wonder how much great sounding audio equipment gets lost in the shuffle due to all these websites whose sole purpose is to post several measurements, which leads to people outright rejecting the device and NEVER hearing it for themselves.
Baten
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None offense taken!! I was just likewise disappointed to see the wired4sound perform so 'badly'. One might say "objectively bad". Just left a bad taste to me, I feel some people must feel scammed if they own and paid good money for it. I mean this thing has some uber femto clock option and its measured clock performance/jitter sideband is some of the worse I've ever seen! Just WOW. On the other side of the argument I won't claim perfect measurement == perfectly pleasing sound though, but it should at least apply proper engineering principles.
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elmoe
Formerly known as JashuganHeadphoneus Supremus
I can't get over the look of the Chord units.
I won't argue sound quality but if I'm going to spend several thousands on a DAC it needs to measure well. I want something as neutral as possible to pair with my tube amp.
The Qutest is just a small black box though. Nothing weird about it.
elmoe
Formerly known as JashuganHeadphoneus Supremus
The big LEDs that look like doomsday buttons and the large blue logo on top of it make me cringe. Looks like one of my 10 months old's toys. I think at this point it will be either the RME or the Solaris. Still debating whether the Solaris is worth the x2 price tag. Need more listening time but I demo'd both this weekend and liked them both.
The RME is a much better buy but an all-in-one isn't what you asked for in this thread. And I still think the Qutest is a little better in pure SQ than the RME.
As for the cringe factor, I understand. Owning a singlepower tube amp would make me cringe as well ...
As for the cringe factor, I understand. Owning a singlepower tube amp would make me cringe as well ...
elmoe
Formerly known as JashuganHeadphoneus Supremus
The RME is a much better buy but an all-in-one isn't what you asked for in this thread. And I still think the Qutest is a little better in pure SQ than the RME.
As for the cringe factor, I understand. Owning a singlepower tube amp would make me cringe as well ...
Yes the RME is probably the better choice. I realize the original post is asking for something different but ultimately this may be a better fit for me.
Cringe with delight! I've listened to a lot of amps and my MPX3 outshines amps twice the price. If there's one piece of gear I will never sell or replace, that's the one. It is definitely cringe worthy in terms of construction though. I made a few upgrades to it myself but it could use some servicing by a proper tube tech. That said it's irreplaceable for me.
yavormoskov
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Sometimes measurements do not tell the whole story how we actually hear. I am also considering Khadas but also looking at the SMSL SU-8 V2 and Topping D30. Have you guys had the chance to listen to those and compare it to Khadas? I would really appreciate it so I can make my mind.
I would go for cheap chinese stuff, khadas, topping, jds... If you have the budget though, big fan on chord philosofy, industrial design, built quality, simplicity. Not just the usual box. Otherwise, any decent topping offer would work, no? Sound quality is important, but I assume any device of that price will sound perfectly and differences are not audible. Otherwise...
elmoe
Formerly known as JashuganHeadphoneus Supremus
You assume wrong. Please don't give recommendations based on assumptions.
I ended up with a Dangerous Music Convert-2 which is absolutely great.
I ended up with a Dangerous Music Convert-2 which is absolutely great.
It's a hidden gem DAC. It surprised me how much dynamics it makes without causing any listening fatigue just like I'm listening to R2R DACs without the drawbacks of a typical R2R DAC.
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