elmoe
Formerly known as JashuganHeadphoneus Supremus
This is true, neither of these have a 'premium feel', but they sound and measure premium - MUCH better than many of the so called 'premium brands'. Which is more important is of course a subjective opinion.
Understood and I agree that more often than not, "budget" gear can perform as well as "premium" gear. That being said, I am looking for premium gear recommendations that are a step above budget gear.
In this price range Chord Qutest could be the best option. No unnecessary functions and great sound. I love mine.
Thank you, that is the kind of recommendation I am looking for. I will give the Qutest a listen if i can find one locally.
If you want the best components, this is it: http://www.audio-gd.com/R2R/R8/R8EN.htm
Or save some money if you do not need balanced output: http://www.audio-gd.com/R2R/R2R2/R2R2EN.htm
I think a R2R ladder DAC will suit your tube amp much better than a delta sigma DAC.
I appreciate the recommendation, but R2R audio-gd DACs are not what I am looking for. I've had many chances to listen to them and would like a delta sigma DAC, as I personally feel that is a much better fit to the smoother-sounding MPX3.
I would say Holo Spring 2, level 1 or level 2. It's laughably superior to the R2R mentioned above...
For top-tier D-S DAC I would go Auralic Vega, any variant within your price range as vega is freaking great too, real top notch engineering on both.
Both work very well for speaker set-ups (the intended use case).
Great, this was already a great DAC a few years ago when I was more involved, it sounds like it is still well regarded nowadays and definitely something I am considering as a valid option. Thanks for the recommendation!