I have a Bifrost for my desk.  I've read that the Gungnir is a significant upgrade (even compared using only RCA).  I'm waiting for their 3rd Statement dac.

I've never owned any xlr based stuff, so I don't really know.  I've read about it and understand how xlr's noise cancelling abilities are very useful when you're running long lines around stages at concerts.  But, for short distances in a home audio rack...I don't think it really matters.  

And, falling back on my "Just trust Steve" philosophy on amps, tubes, speakers, etc (cuz he put more time into this stuff than I want to spend money experimenting on)..  if there was a clear superiority in home audio application of various connectors, I'd bet he would have chosen to put them into his amps.   Everything else is top notch.

$.02

Thanks or your input Steve.  I agree with you....if Mr. D thought that the XLR connection would be worth the addition, then they would have already been added to the Decware lineup.  Glad you like the Bifrost...gives me a reference point  in making my decision.  

The only time I have used XLR connections, was when I played out as a guitarist for an New Years Eve party.  They do work great, but we are talking Pro Audio, not home use.  

Schitt's upcoming statement DAC is out of my price range for now.  I am also gonna be buying Decware's ZBOX to round out my music.

Thanks again

I agree xlr is not a decision point. Otoh, you can certainly do better than bifrost - great VFM but doesn't match the resolution and transparency of Steve's amps. After doing detailed comparison with a Meier Stagedac and Eastern Electric Minimax DAC mostly using the Meier Concerto (SS) amp, I found bifrost stood up well. Repeating some of these tests later with the Taboo though, I was surprised to find lack of separation and muddied harmonics with e.g. dense classical piano.

Haven't heard Gungnir but there is indeed good consensus it's a distinct improvement on bifrost and very good VFM too, even at its higher price point. Go visit changstar.com and find your way to purrin's spreadsheet-based review of gungnir and several other dacs for some interesting and astute impressions.

IMHO, Resonessence Labs' Concero is the best bang for the bug and better sounding than many more expensive DACs out there. Just check out (Google) the various reviews. It is supposed to improve upon both the Schiit DACs discussed and then some.

Both USB (2.0) and Digital Coaxial inputs. No balanced outputs. Three different filters. Up to 192K sampling capability. If you choose sound over other things, and don't want to spend a fortune, this is the DAC to have.

The Concero is one of the two DACs in my upgrade plan, along with John Kenny's 'Ciunas' (a terrific DAC also, improving over the excellent JKDAC32, but with only USB as input).

Just my $0.02.

Great suggestions of Fireblade's. Haven't heard either, but have recently been reading a lot about them. The JK stuff has particularly clever design and a strong following.

There's a fair bit of talk on head-fi about both, without the usual hype too. Project86 is a terrific dac reviewer and rates the Concero. So does Nick Dangerous - a csp2+ owner.

Grunter72 in the Lynx Hilo thread commented very favorably about the JKDAC32 in the last few days - and he's heard some expensive gear.

Re changstar, take good note of purrin's comment that dacs are very personal, and those are just his (and anaxilus' and LFF's opinions).

In my view, the market's getting a bit flooded with good quality dacs ATM. All good, except it makes it harder to see the (reasonably priced) ones that truly stand out for their SQ.

AiDee.
That is what I am trying to get at. In your system, right now, nothing sounds better. If we can all get off of the "next one will be better" merry go round, we will all be happy. I fell into this trap with motorcycles. Next year was always a bit better, making this years model somehow a bit lacking. All I am saying is be happy with what you have. I bet it is pretty darn good.

I believe all our apparently contradictory conclusions and appraisals of either physical DACs' listening experiences or mental digestion of the different DAC literature discussions, are valid.

I also believe all conversion chips are pretty much very competent these days, but what we hear has more to do with a DAC's inherent power supply management, output stage design and execution, and the stemming synergies within a particular existing setup.

Depending on one's own sound perception patterns and preferences, personal expectations and a DAC's interaction with other components, a particular DAC could well be 'better' sounding than most others.

Also, technology is rapidly evolving in this field, and what recently was deemed as one of the best, soon becomes obsolete. In this merry-go-round, the best DAC is the one that offers best bang for the buck according to our own theoretical preconceptions, trust in others' opinions and how close the DAC's sound matches our subjective sound expectations.

In the end, it is sort of fun to have the illusion of 'choosing' the 'better' DAC for the moment, regardless of the absolute (and unidentifiable) sound value of our choices. It's all part of the game.

I think the secret is being able to switch gears  - if you enjoy the technical pursuit that is.

I enjoy the reading, tweaking, building, & buying and I am in the trap to a certain degree, but at night I am content to just listen and enjoy.

You still have me interested in the Beresford DAC, Aidee.  My first DAC was a Beresford 7510.  I thought it was pretty good till I heard the Bifrost.  I'd like to try the Bushmaster with a 12v battery.  Worth a try at such a low price.

I think it all depends on everything else, each part in the system effecting the whole of the sound. So if one or more parts negate the sound transmission in any way, then we can hear less of the other part's potential, and/or differences by comparison. This can easily make DAC's differences less apparent. Alternately, a transparent and revealing system might show notable distinctions between the same DACs.

From my explorations there is no question that wire and how it is configured has a lot of variation that can be notable in the sound. Even different oxygen free copper of the same wire specs can change the final voice. Then look at makers like Steve who tend to use a lot of silver wire...different again....and different electrolytic coatings on the same wire effect the sound. And this is only the wire.

Then there are the bigger choices. Caps are huge in my experience, at least for the deep refinement of organic yet musical and revealing music. You could take any of the DACs mentioned here and change the output caps, and you would have a different sounding DAC. My used Tranquility DAC came with V-caps as a special order. I kept hearing something inauthentic in the presentation and kept up with Eric and DbAudioLabs about it. Finally I said it sounded like possibly caps to me, so I looked inside finding out this unit had V-caps. He said he would have to hear it to see if he thought changing the caps might help so I sent it back. He did not like the sound either, put in the caps they had carefully voiced the DAC with, and put in their latest outputs.

No reservations whatsoever after the new stuff burnt in. The same DAC, but in terms of subtle refinement, it became a very different DAC...much more revealing, organic and engrossing. It made the DAC more or less disappear. But V-Caps are considered by many to be one of the best in the world. I think this points not to the quality of the V-Caps, but to how critical synergistic voicing is in making gear, and to how powerful each part can be in the signal chain.

I can hear subtle but meaningful differences in my system with Isocup placement under the Torii. Or with different feet under my Mac Mini server! IC or power cord rolling can be notable and powerful for ultimate refinement. The Tranquility is particularly responsive to different power cords and ICs indicating to me how revealing the Tranquility is. And all the cords I play with sound good, but there are power cord and IC configurations in the System that really excel. Even minor setting changes in my Music player, Pure Music, can be big. But my sytem/room is very revealing, and I am continually working on the last few percent. I find this a fascinating area that is worth a lot more to the overall sense of the musical experience than 2 percent!!! A LOT more.

So my take is that it all depends on everything else.

A basically well designed and well implemented DACs can all do well, but if the system/room allows it to be heard, even subtle differences can be heard. This is the area where it really counts, and the old adage that source is the most important part becomes bigtime true. If the sound is truncated or negatively colored at the beginning, the rest of the system is hobbled. But also, we can wipe out the gains of a better sounding DAC with cords!

That said, there do seem to be a lot of great sounding DACs at relatively reasonable costs, and the "subjective" part is only natural, our preferences all being individual...but the system/room the DAC is set up within is also HUGE in terms of what we might or might not hear.

Yes, you mentioned that it had to go back to Stan.  Thanks for your opinions on the unit.  Right now, I am in need of a phono pre, but that dac experiment may be next.

I could not agree with Will's point more and feel that it is a definte, tangible, value-add of Decware that Steve designs his products with that synergy in mind.

Thanks for the heads up!

$100 if they do it.  $70 if you do it.

Interesting mod schedule idea.  Wait till they tell you to send it in and they promise quick turnaround.