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$1200 DAC (Read 16053 times)
Donnie
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$1200 DAC
03/30/20 at 23:07:02
 
So if a person was getting a check in the mail for around, let's say $1200, what DAC would you recommend?
Just asking for a friend.
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Dana
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Re: $1200 DAC
Reply #1 - 03/30/20 at 23:42:52
 
I love my MHDT Orchad DAC.  With the WE D getter tube.  Spent every penny of your $1200

https://6moons.com/audioreview_articles/mhdtlab/3/

You'll spend a lot of time at your "friends" house just listening. Well after the covid thing.  
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Tom Waits:
And the newspapers were fooling,
And the ash-trays have retired
'Cause the piano has been drinking,
The piano has been drinking
The piano has been drinking,
Not me, not me, not me, not me, not me
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Showme
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Re: $1200 DAC
Reply #2 - 03/31/20 at 04:10:48
 
Wait to order until after your friend cashes the check. Just sayin!
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Dana
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Re: $1200 DAC
Reply #3 - 03/31/20 at 05:34:10
 
No,. It's from the government... They're here to help
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Tom Waits:
And the newspapers were fooling,
And the ash-trays have retired
'Cause the piano has been drinking,
The piano has been drinking
The piano has been drinking,
Not me, not me, not me, not me, not me
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4krow
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IMAGINE WHIRLLED
PEAS

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Re: $1200 DAC
Reply #4 - 03/31/20 at 14:28:58
 
 Being an optimist, I am thinking that is a Tax refund, and not the Federal funding given to those needing help due to recent loss of income. My apologies if I am wrong.
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Tommy Freefall
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Re: $1200 DAC
Reply #5 - 03/31/20 at 14:47:08
 
Donnie, in that price range quite a few people on this forum - myself included - like the Border Patrol DACs.
They utilize an older chip that has a nice analog sound signature.
Plus they're US built.
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Lon
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Re: $1200 DAC
Reply #6 - 03/31/20 at 16:14:42
 
It's not a tax refund, it's a payment made from the Treasury to US citizens whose income is 75,000 or below.
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Dana
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Re: $1200 DAC
Reply #7 - 03/31/20 at 17:55:18
 
Since you are in lock down...
CD12V ALL VACUUM TUBE REFERENCE DIGITAL PROCESSOR

http://www.curcioaudio.com/cddes_3.htm

Full kit is $1250.  
Totally Discrete Vacuum Tube Design from DAC to Output (No IC's in the signal path)

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Tom Waits:
And the newspapers were fooling,
And the ash-trays have retired
'Cause the piano has been drinking,
The piano has been drinking
The piano has been drinking,
Not me, not me, not me, not me, not me
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Donnie
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Why does it hurt
when I pee?

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Re: $1200 DAC
Reply #8 - 03/31/20 at 22:34:05
 
Well truth to be told it is the stimulus check.
$1200 a piece for a married couple making less than $150K. Thank goodness that my wife is retired!
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funch
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Re: $1200 DAC
Reply #9 - 04/01/20 at 04:17:38
 
I have the multibit version of this one, and like it very much.

https://www.schiit.com/products/gungnir
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beowulf
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Re: $1200 DAC
Reply #10 - 04/11/20 at 07:07:59
 
Is that Big Daddy Trump check burnin' a hole in your pocket? Grin
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Radarek
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Re: $1200 DAC
Reply #11 - 04/15/20 at 01:15:04
 
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Dana
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Re: $1200 DAC
Reply #12 - 04/15/20 at 06:31:32
 
Has anyone actually here musical paradise dac?
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Tom Waits:
And the newspapers were fooling,
And the ash-trays have retired
'Cause the piano has been drinking,
The piano has been drinking
The piano has been drinking,
Not me, not me, not me, not me, not me
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Jeff of Arabica
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Accident.

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Re: $1200 DAC
Reply #13 - 04/15/20 at 16:35:24
 
My buddy recently purchased the Musical Paradise MP-D1 and loves it.  A great value when considering SQ and price.  
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Donnie
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Why does it hurt
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Re: $1200 DAC
Reply #14 - 04/15/20 at 23:04:57
 
The Musical Paradise looks nice. RIght up my way of thinking.

So does the Denafrips Ares II and stretching it a bit the Pontus.

I've also had pretty good luck with a Wired 4 Sound DAC before.  They just kind of left a bad taste in my mouth when my Wyred DAC stopped working when I got a Windows update.

I looked at the Schiit stuff, I hear good things and then I hear bad, don't know Schitt I guess!

Another interesting DAC is from SMSL of all places. Their D1 model looks good, but how good can it be from a place that is known for $200 DAC amps??

As you can probably tell I still don't know what way to go.

Hell I'm currently listening to a little pair of homemade radial speakers  powered by a $45 Bluetooth chip Amp running off of drill batteries. I must not be too picky.
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Radarek
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Re: $1200 DAC
Reply #15 - 04/16/20 at 00:06:04
 
I have the MP D1 first edition with some mods... Mundorf Silver/gold oil and NOS Siemens 6922. My version is re-wired to take 6922 direct. 5670 family is the stock one. Some people love it with WE 396a. Some more mods coming to this one. Worth trying.... I’m catching myself looking for musicians in my room.... lol... You won’t find a used one for sale....
With MP D2 you can change dad modules on the spot and coupling caps without soldering... so is fully tube/ cap roller
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Radarek
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Re: $1200 DAC
Reply #16 - 04/16/20 at 00:12:37
 
Donnie


You can grab this one.... same model like my... full updates will cost you extra 200...

https://www.musicalparadise.ca/store/index.php?route=product/product&path=66&pro...
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Dominick
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Re: $1200 DAC
Reply #17 - 04/16/20 at 23:29:25
 
Donnie....for Christmas I had got the new Schiit Bifrost True Multibit DAC.  It’s like $750 ...so the Gungir Multibit would be around like $1200.   I need throw a review up in this section, but I’ve been lagging my feet.  

Anyway...the new Schiit Multibits Dac’s are truly  amazing sounding!   They are clean, musical, and very detailed.  I would definitely consider them as a top choice.  

Dominick
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Donnie
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Why does it hurt
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Re: $1200 DAC
Reply #18 - 04/18/20 at 16:57:02
 
Denafrips Ares II won out.

$760 delivered from Singapore.

Great reviews about how it sounds so undigital.

Sure hope that it is all it is hyped up to be.

Plus what a cool sounding name " Denafrips" is!!  Sounds like some sort of snack chip that is good for your teeth.
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Donnie
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Why does it hurt
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Re: $1200 DAC
Reply #19 - 05/01/20 at 00:01:59
 
Sorry everyone, You have wasted your money in buying any DAC other than a Denafrips.

In other words my Denafrips Ares II arived from far off Singapore.

Holy crap this thing is good, way good and it is only a hour out of the box,  I can't wait to hear what it does after it gets warmed up.

I started it out on Dan the Amp and he sounded way better than my Torii, just stellar. Then I put in the Torii, just jaw dropping, words fail me on how good.

There is still much more experimenting to do with it, NOS or OS and several filters to listen to.

Anyway I'm excited. Anyone need a Grace Design M900? Ask nice and it may be yours.

Sorry, I gotta go listen to this thing sing.
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Tal
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Re: $1200 DAC
Reply #20 - 05/01/20 at 03:10:02
 
Donnie

I had a similar experience when I added the Denafrips Pontus to the system. The Pontus replaced a Schiit Bifrost MB, a competent DAC, no doubt. However, the Pontus sings, man! Granted the Pontus is above the $1200 budget mentioned in this topic, but boy is it good.

BTW I received an email today from Vinshine Audio about a new upgrade DSP card that can be purchased. Cost is $298 Signapore dollars. I satisfied for now. Maybe I purchase the upgrade down the road.

Cheers

Tal
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SE84UFO2 25A mods x2, ZP3 25A mods, CSP3 25A mods, ZRock2 25A mods, Rega P3-24 Incognito tonearm rewire and Groovetracer mods, Bob's Devices SUT > ZP3, Denafrips Pontus + Hermes, Bluesound streamer, Zu Soul VI, Omega DeepOmega8 sub,
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Tommy Freefall
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Re: $1200 DAC
Reply #21 - 05/02/20 at 03:10:30
 
Donnie, congrats on your Denafrips!
I almost pulled the trigger on one myself. It was in my top 3.

Would love to see a photo of it in your system if you have the time!
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Torii MkIV w/ 25th ann mods
Rachael SE34I.5
Benchmark AHB2
ERRx
ZStage, ZRock2
Tascam CD-240
Border Patrol DAC
Benchmark DAC3 HGC
Bluesound Node
Zu Audio Mission speaker cables
Decware I/Cs
PI Audio MiniBUSS
Zenhead, Grado 325e
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Donnie
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Why does it hurt
when I pee?

Posts: 2190
Re: $1200 DAC
Reply #22 - 05/02/20 at 03:30:34
 
Tommy,

Here you go.

Front:



From the right:



Trivia question, who is the picture of on my monitor?

From the left:



Dan the Amp really needs to have his new hair color put on.
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Donnie
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Why does it hurt
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Re: $1200 DAC
Reply #23 - 05/02/20 at 04:01:48
 
I forgot one of the back.



Yep, I'm using a Beldon USB cable, it was the ony thing I had that had the 5V power cable in it. The Denafrips needs the 5V to trigger the USB section.

I also am using some Monoprice XLR to RCA cables to run Dan the Amp off of. I tried the cables on my Torii and they didn't sound as good as my Mapleshade cables.

Sometimes you get what you pay for.
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Jeff of Arabica
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Re: $1200 DAC
Reply #24 - 05/02/20 at 08:42:37
 
Quote:
Yep, I'm using a Beldon USB cable, it was the ony thing I had that had the 5V power cable in it. The Denafrips needs the 5V to trigger the USB section.


You can fool it with the AQVOX LPS http://www.aqvox.de/usb-power_en.html (or similar device) which will allow you to use a "data only" USB cable that does not have the 5V buss.  The sound quality will improve.
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ArtMan
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Re: $1200 DAC
Reply #25 - 05/02/20 at 17:38:52
 
Tal,

Have you played with the high pass filters on your Pontus yet? The slow (less steep) filter sounds better in my system. The highs are cleaner and more refined compared to the default steeper filter.
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Donnie
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Why does it hurt
when I pee?

Posts: 2190
Re: $1200 DAC
Reply #26 - 05/08/20 at 23:39:47
 
Tonight I'm planning on experimenting with oversampling vs. non oversampling and maybe some of the filters on this Denafrips DAC.

Wish me luck!!
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Donnie
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Why does it hurt
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Re: $1200 DAC
Reply #27 - 05/09/20 at 12:43:47
 
Well I did quite a bit of trial and error testing with my Denafrips Ares II last night and came up with some early impressions.

Non oversampling wins by a mile.

Whoda thunk that basically no digital trickery would sound the best?

So these DAC's don't have a chip in it and works by using a whole bunch of resisters.
As I understand it this is the most old fashioned method of converting digital to analog.
Then I run it into a tube amp, the most old fashioned way of amplifying a signal and together they sound just glorious.

Hmmm I'm seeing a trend here, maybe the latest and greatest isn't quite what it is hyped up to be??

If I get real ambitious tonight I might try encoding everything to 4X DSD and see it that makes any sonic changes.

I've noticed that it is much easier to tell sonic changes in the dark as opposed to during the daytime. There always seem to be too many distractions during the daylight hours.

Anyway, I am a very happy with this Denafrips DAC, but am truly happy with how wonderfully it synergizes with my Decware amplifier.
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Tal
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Re: $1200 DAC
Reply #28 - 05/09/20 at 15:15:58
 
ArtMan

I haven't experimented with the filter yet. After reading the description on  the Denafrips website, sounds interesting! Will be experimenting tonight.

Tal
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SE84UFO2 25A mods x2, ZP3 25A mods, CSP3 25A mods, ZRock2 25A mods, Rega P3-24 Incognito tonearm rewire and Groovetracer mods, Bob's Devices SUT > ZP3, Denafrips Pontus + Hermes, Bluesound streamer, Zu Soul VI, Omega DeepOmega8 sub,
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ArtMan
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Re: $1200 DAC
Reply #29 - 05/09/20 at 17:51:47
 
Donnie,

I came to the opposite conclusion with the Pontus in my system. With OS on, the highs sound more extended with a much larger sound stage. The rest of the range, as far as I could tell, was very similar but slightly different. The differences I could hear, other than the highs, were very subtle between the two.

My conclusion is that some sources sounded better with NOS but with most I preferred the extended highs and air of the OS. I don't doubt your ears since I've come to realize that much is system dependent.  I find R2R DAC's sound much more like analog than other alternatives.

I don't doubt you are enjoying Ares II. Denafrips DAC's are great values for the money.
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ArtMan
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Re: $1200 DAC
Reply #30 - 05/10/20 at 21:59:27
 
Since I have cables still burning in, I decided to listen to the NOS setting again last night. Some sources, especially the more intimate ones, sounded better in NOS, although it seemed more a matter of harmonic balance than anything else I could pinpoint.

However, near the end of my listening session I realized something that was unexpected. I actually felt listener fatigue via NOS. At least at this time, I will stick to the OS mode for most music.
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