I'm thinking about replacing my Wyred 4 Sound DAC. What should I replace it with?
Normally I would spend $1000-1500 for one. What is out there that would sound better than what I currently own?
I'm open for suggestions.

Thanks LR,
I will only use USB into the DAC. I have around a TB of music floating around in my current computers and don't really think that I will be streaming anything. Saying that, I never thought that I wouldn't be buying discs as late as just a few years ago, so you never know.
I have been looking a bit upmarket from my current Wyred 4 Sound DAC, but it wouldn't hurt my feelings to pay less.
So far The Mytek Brooklyn was looking pretty good, but it has too many whistles and bells for what I need. I don't really need a headphone output and preamp from my DAC.
Truthfully, I really doubt that my"Tin Ears" could tell the difference between what I already have and whatever new hot rod DAC is this weeks flavor. But it is all about the possibilities not the realities.

Dominick,
Take a look at the Peachtree Nova 150. I heard it at the RMAF show and couldn't believe my ears. It's a brand new model and they are having a hard time keeping up with orders. Also as a bonus it has 150watts/channel so it's plug and play so you can jump right in with great sound. I'm actually getting one tomorrow as a demo from my local store.
Rick

Historically, Steve D. recommended the Teac UD-501 DAC.
It had a street price of about $900.

Donnie,

Any progress on your DAC search?

I've been building diffusers like a mad man...which is sad, because it's taking me like two weeks to build one....granted, it's a very complex one, but still...ugh.

So my digital exploration is on complete stand-still till I get more diffusers into the room. With the two demo units I built, I'm already hearing huge improvement in sound, so I'm eager to jump my listening system/room to the next level with better diffusion before I start trying to evaluate digital sources, software, and settings.

Besides, I'm super broke - so I'm hoping to live vicariously though you guys who might be buying new gear.  :)

Are the Benchmark DACs respected on this forum? They seem to be very well built.

Quote:


Any DAC that sounds good is respected in these forums...we try not to poo-poo anything.

That said, I don't know anyone that has one. Like Donnie mentioned, there are so many DACs available these days, it's really difficult to get a grasp on what's good.

I really dislike "generalizing", but in general, I find most modern DACs sound pretty damn good, maybe a bit alike. I think we gravitate to those few that stand out from all the "alike".

The plus side of this is that it's pretty easy to get good sound these days.

same here schiit bifrost multibit.  other than no balanced outputs, i have nothing neg to say about it.  good bang for the buck.  buy one new.. all these guys on ebay think they can sell something for $100 more than you can buy a new one!

i have a schiit modi upstairs in my non critical system.  it seems pretty decent too.

been keeping my eye out for one of the teac's.... don't seem to see them at a price i am willing to pay.

I was considering the iFi stuff for my computer desk/second system. Seems like decent bang for the buck.

I'm still hoping we have time to hang out this week Donnie - Palomino has limited time though, and we feel bad having you drive 4 hours to hang out for 3 then drive 4 hours back.

That said, you could also swing by my place on the way home; but I don't  have an under $1500 DAC for you to comparo (trying to keep on topic)

I'm' not familiar with that one, but the guts look nice!

Interesting thread on Head-Fi I stumbled into while googling this unit. Sounds like some people had issues, and they are already modding them. Word is that new DAC chip used in it sounds really good.

http://www.head-fi.org/t/824593/gustard-x20pro-dac-es9028pro

I was just trying to figure out if upgrading my Rega Dac to one DSD capable was worth it but I just keep getting lost... now I found  this Mastering Quality Authenticated (MQA) format...

https://mytekdigital.com/hifi/mqa/

file:///C:/Users/Luis/Downloads/2016_BUYERS_GUIDE_TO_DIGITAL_SOURCE_FINAL.pdf

Well... this new Oppo Sonica looks good

https://www.oppodigital.com/sonica-dac/

MQA is kind of like a container that allows big audio files to be packed into a more manageable size and streamed to your home network.  There are some other purported benefits when they are unpacked by an MQA compatible DAC, but I have not heard one to make a fair assessment.

That said, you can still play MQA files with any DAC, but your DAC just won't be able to take full advantage of all the tech when unpacking the MQA file.  My current DAC is a McIntosh D100 and it is not an MQA DAC, but I am still able to stream MQA packed files and play them back, just not to their full advantage and I'm not sure how much (if anything) I'm missing, but they still sound really good to my ears!

A lot of DAC manufacturers are not on board with the whole MQA thing as I think it requires them to mold their DAC creations into something that may not be exactly what they intended their DACs to sound like.  I think I read somewhere that there may also be some licensing issues, but not sure.

DSD is another of form of tech that was originally created by Sony Phillips for digitally recreating audible signals for their Super Audio CD format (SACD).  Note the actual file extensions appear as DSF or DFF on your hard drive (not DSD).  You can play those files through most DACs, but they need to be converted to PCM (the predecessor to DSD and more popular format of digital recreation) via  playback software such as JRiver, Foobar, Roonm etc. rather than natively played back as DSD files in a DSD compatible DAC.

The DSD files that I have in my collection are some of the best sounding digital I have ever come across.  Playing back DSD natively sounds excellent, but they still sound really good from DACs that can only handle PCM playback as well.

IMO a lot of that may be due to the care taken in the remastering of the analog master tapes rather than specifically being a DSD technology (more likely a combination of both).  Most of the earlier DSD files out there are ripped from Super Audio CD's (SACD) and when Sony put those out they put a lot of care in transfer and remastering of those files ... so I think a big part of why they sound so good is that they were just handled with much more care than a typical PCM CD was.  Just my theory of course, but I'm sticking to it!

BTW I have the Rega DAC too in my bedroom system.