What's an upgrade for an Audiolab MDAC?

[stvn758]

I was looking for a balanced amp but the cost is £1000+, my feeling is an amp is an amp is an amp, whereas an upgraded source will give me a much better boost in quality.
 
I currently have an Audiolab MDAC and Sennheiser HD 800's, I have a Little Dot III tube amp but mostly listen balanced around the back of the MDAC with a Cardas cable. So with the Cavailli Liquid Carbon going for an affordable price what would be a the next DAC up.
 
Is my MDAC as good as it gets before money gets wasted, will a Auralic £1500 amp give me a better return. A little Dot Balanced Amp, what about the new Audiolab MDAC+ at £799. Lest we forget John West is building a beast of a DAC based on the MDAC over at Pink Fish Media now named the FDAC. I'm seeing a lot of Cyrus DACS going for modest prices, are they rated highly around here?
 
Source, Headphones, Amp.. right??

 

[hughwi]

I was looking for a balanced amp but the cost is £1000+, my feeling is an amp is an amp is an amp, whereas an upgraded source will give me a much better boost in quality.

I currently have an Audiolab MDAC and Sennheiser HD 800's, I have a Little Dot III tube amp but mostly listen balanced around the back of the MDAC with a Cardas cable. So with the Cavailli Liquid Carbon going for an affordable price what would be a the next DAC up.

Is my MDAC as good as it gets before money gets wasted, will a Auralic £1500 amp give me a better return. A little Dot Balanced Amp, what about the new Audiolab MDAC+ at £799. Lest we forget John West is building a beast of a DAC based on the MDAC over at Pink Fish Media now named the FDAC. I'm seeing a lot of Cyrus DACS going for modest prices, are they rated highly around here?

Source, Headphones, Amp.. right??

I am going through a very similar thought process at the moment - having already upgraded my amp (both speaker and headphone) - and would be really interested in knowing what you went for - if anything in the end?

 

[stvn758]

I am going through a very similar thought process at the moment - having already upgraded my amp (both speaker and headphone) - and would be really interested in knowing what you went for - if anything in the end?

In the end I got a Naim Uniti Atom Headphone Edition. It was between that and Cambridge Audio, the Naim had a better remote control. Got a 'bargain' on a pre-owned unit that turned out to be new, a little less than 2000. Had some money saved up, so went for it.

 

[hughwi]

In the end I got a Naim Uniti Atom Headphone Edition. It was between that and Cambridge Audio, the Naim had a better remote control. Got a 'bargain' on a pre-owned unit that turned out to be new, a little less than 2000. Had some money saved up, so went for it.

That looks like a great all in one unit, bit of a different direction than I am going in - but thank you for replying to my thread-necro