[bladesmith]

Confused here about dacs...

I need some advice about dacs..I currently have s Dodd Audio Integrated amp...
With a tube preamp, built in..(the amp itself. Is SS)

Not sure if I should use a tubed dac or not. The Dodd unit sounds great.
And I only have had experience with a Rega Dac. It was a very good unit. But was
Sold.

Any suggestions in a new/used unit under 500.00....?

[Rocket]

Hi,

Can you increase your budget a little more?  This dac is great and I have one with the exact same modifications.  I upgraded from a perpetual technologies P3a which had level 2 modwright modifications and the EE dac plus is a solid improvement. This dac has a tube or ss option and you can decide for yourself which you liked better if you buy it.

http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=120481.0;topicseen

Just a suggestion though  .

Cheers Rod

[RDavidson]

Channel Islands VDA 2 with VAC 1 (used). This is a revealing and honest DAC. I owned it for a few years, which is a long time for me to own any piece of audio gear.

You might check out the Peachtree DacIt X. The original DacIt got some pretty rave reviews. I once had the Peachtree iDAC, which sounded excellent. Very smooth and articulate.

Now own a Wyred DAC 2 which I feel is good cross between the CI Audio and the Peachtree, with more versatility and upgrade path to boot.

[bladesmith]

dac's are confusing to me. I believe, after researching them, I will go with a tubeless dac that is upgradable..

I think the upgradable factor is more important than the tube factor, especially when I already have a tubed pre..IMHO

(The Dodd audio preamp (tubed) I have sounds great and is very quiet, along with the SS Dodd amp. Although, one thing I have noticed about the amp, is this, it is taking a long time to break in. Getting more musical every day. )

[oneinthepipe]

Gotta go with Rocket on this.  The Eastern Electric DAC has a faceplate button that lets the listener switch, on the fly, between the solid state output and the tube output, which is a very nice feature, IMO.  The DAC is not a high-cost product, depending on one's budget, of course, and they were several used units for sale here on AC, although they are a little more than $500.00 but arguably worth a little extra expense.  Just my $0.02 in case you reconsider.

For a budget and/or spare DAC, the JDLabs ODAC (under $170) might be a consideration.

[sebrof]

What about the Monarchy Audio DAC?
$1,050 new, not sure if they come down to $500 used. This thing looks quite flexible, with SS DAC, Tube DAC, tube linestage and even headphone capable.

Anyone have any experience with these?

http://www.monarchyaudio.com/NM24_Main_Frame.htm