[sideways]

Seems like circumstances changed again... a new move and some new gear last month puts me in a position of needing a different dac. Gone is my Havana... it was too much of a good thing with the McIntosh gear I acquired. I stream everything from a CCA so optical is all I use.

These are MUST NOT HAVE:

- analytical
- technical
- cold, dry
- shrill, brash, metallic
- sibilant
- no exaggerated treble

These are MUST HAVE:

- colourful... I'm looking to be engaged
- spacious... I like depth... I like the sense of feeling I'm sitting in the front row
- balanced... I won't say pure neutral but not warm either... the Mac stuff takes care of that... the tubed Havana was way to much warmth
- rhythm... must be able to carry a tune

Budget is up to $1500.00 CAD new or used. These are a few I was looking at:

- McIntosh D100
- Bryston BDA-2
- Denafrips Ares II
- Schiit Bifrost 2
- Chord product?
- W4S DAC 1 or 2? A couple older units on CAM
- anything else???

School me... I know some of you have lots of experience and you have served me well in the past... am I on the right track? What am I missing? What should I add or omit?

Appreciated!

 

[dunring]

It sounds like your looking for a lot of qualities in an amplifier but shopping for a DAC. Ive had dozens and the only way I can tell the difference between DACs with the same Sinad score is by the filters they have.
Really good DACs have gotten affordable, the Khadas Tone2 with balanced just as a DAC was really good except the control wheel was a pain to use to change settings. I use a Topping d10b and its nice, but my next upgrade will be the Topping e50 since it has selectable filters. A true 22khz sharp filter for me is what makes 44.1khz music sound on point and engaging.

 

[sideways]

Nope... disagree... but I'm not going down that road nor even going to entertain anyone that quotes ASR or measurements.

A dac is a source... no different than a phono cartridge... each one is distinctive and has it's own sound. And when you are hypersensitive to tone and timbre you can hear the difference like I can. I guess that's half my problem LOL!

So ya... no Topping, no SMSL, nothing like that because I've been there done that and they don't work for me... hence my opening remarks on must nots!

 

[sideways]

Let me just add this... when I was looking IEM's I had a heck of a time... following reviews and buying the "best" ones only to find how much I hated them. Until I found one that alot hated and trashed but I fell in love with... the Moondrop SSR... if I can emulate that signature in my main system I'd be happy!

 

[The Jester]

Timbre is one of Chords strong points,
Qutest is a good starting point for a DAC only solution ….

 

[sideways]

Thanks for that... I was looking at that model earlier today!

 

[The Jester]

Optical is the preferred connection for most users too …

 

[DenverW]

Every topping dac i've tried has been dry and brittle. Imagine a cool Alaskan breeze, blowing at your ears over a mile long stretch of empty tundra. Is that an artic fox? No. There is nothing there except mosquitos. Their buzzing is not audible, however, due to great SINAD.

With your budget you could look at a gungnir MB with unison, especially if you check out the used market. I do like the bifrost 2 as well, it is very close for less money. I was dac shopping a few months ago and ended up taking a risk on the audio mirror tubadour iii se. Used was around 2k, so over budget, but it is everything you're looking for as well.

 

[hakunamakaka]

Qutest actually was the dac that made a difference on my setup. It was not some bias or very small nuances. The dac sounded more lively and engaging than E30 with better staging capabilities. It thrives during complex passages in tracks. The problem is that qutest has it's own shortfall. You need at least a clean source for it and preferably use it with optical. When it was used with my laptop over usb, treble is too lean and aggressive. I loose quite a bit of authority in bass as well and whole soundstage is more congested which is very obvious when I listen on Utopias. I wouldn't buy it new, but if you can get hands on a used it's well worth a shot.

I know folks play around with power supplies on Qutest, but I haven't tested so cannot comment there

 

[DJW50]

Second vote for the Qutest here too. I have it in my system and I've yet to find better. My set-up consists of a Pathos Inpol Ear, an Auralic Aries G1 ( a superlative source for Amazon HD music) and both Focal Stellia's and Utopia's.
I also bought an expensive MCRU LPS for the Qutest and it really does take some beating, all the detail is there but you find yourself toe tapping along with the music.
Having tried quite a few high end DAC's now I still haven't replaced the Qutest. As mentioned above if the source is bad it doesn't improve it but give it a Ultra high HD track and it is bliss.

 

[sideways]

Appreciate the responses everyone!

Agree with you DenverW... that group of dacs that "measure well" seem to allows sound dry and brittle to me... I get that same sense listening to Parasound stuff and even Cambridge albeit I haven't tried there stuff in a while... gave up LOL.

A used Qutest is still above my price range... Schiit is in the ball park though... I did try the new 3E and although I was really impressed with it tone wise, it sounded a tad flat or recessed... FYI speakers are Magnepan MMG's and that makes a difference with soundstage.

At the moment I am feeding them with a Fiio K5 Pro... the AK's in it do a decent job with the sense of space but needs to step it up a bit.

 

[The Jester]

Maybe hold off on the Qutest and top up the budget a little ?
Only downside with the Qutest is once you’ve used one in your system there’s the real temptation to listen to an MScaler, that takes things to a whole new level of timbre and soundstage, an “end game” for all but the “ cashed up” among us …

 

[simon740]

Hello,

I had Rega DAC-R, Aune S16, Nuprime DAC 9, Naim DAC V1, Topping D30 and Denafrips Ares II. For my taste any music....Ares II. Realy good.

regards,
Simon

 

[sideways]

Yesh... trying to get $1500 past my wife let alone $2k LOL

 

[elnero]

You could add the Soekris dac2541 to your list. While ultimately I decided it wasn't the endgame DAC I was looking for, in many respects it outperformed my Ares II.