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ASR and its relationship with Schitt is well documented and discussed ad naseum on several sites.
It's easy to get GREAT measurements as long as you're willing to use a shit-ton of negative feedback. Problem is that it'll sound pretty crappy. Which is why a modestly measuring device can sound better than a super great measuring device.
My current DAC of choice is an Oppo Sonica DAC which I use to play from my digital library on a NAS and stream from Spotify.Im happy with the Sonica but its that time of year where I catch a case of Upgraditus and have been reading up on the following DACS:NAD C658PS Audio Direct Stream JuniorNuPrime Evolution
My current DAC of choice is an Oppo Sonica DAC which I use to play from my digital library on a NAS and stream from Spotify.Im happy with the Sonica but its that time of year where I catch a case of Upgraditus and have been reading up on the following DACS:NAD C658PS Audio Direct Stream Junior NuPrime Evolution
You're in my wheelhouse. Sonica of course is no longer made, too bad, but Oppo has pulled out without warning before. And it was just revealed that production of my DirectStream Junior (DSJ) will be halted. Probably due to parts availability and it doesn't fit into their product lines. Haven't kept up with NuPrime Evolution discussion here and C658 is still too new to have much feedback on it. I bought the DSJ for it's manufacturer's strong historic, R&D, and support background; streamer feature; firmware upgrades; and frankly the discounted price but dealing with the company has been very comfortable (a family feel). But if you're an annual DAC buyer and don't want to waste money I'd look at lower priced stuff, like the $500 Topping DX7s. It better reflects modern DAC realities of ever changing/improving performance in a reasonable well made piece without over investment in quickly depreciating stuff from top heavy old school manufacturers.Alternatives to your listing IMO should include RME ADI-2, a professional German DAC/preamp/headphone amp ($1100) and Soekris 1541 Danish DAC/preamp/headphone amp ($1425, 27 bit R2R design). Both offer fully balanced design with RCA outputs as well in half width cabinets. Another set of options are the impressive Denafrips DACs prices starting at $657 USD.
Thanks for the recommendations. Wouldn’t say I purchase DACs yearly but I do tend to look for new toys this time of year.I ended up ordering the NAD C658 which should be here Thursday. I’m hoping to connect the NAD directly to my Stellar AMPs XLR inputs for two channel listening and connect RCA preout from my Marantz 8805 for the HT Fronts to Line In of the NAD which has a bypass setting to avoid coverting signal to digital then back to analog. The Sonica sounds great connected directly to my amps and has Line In as well but always converts the RCA Aux Line In to digital then back to analog for some reason which isn’t what I want. The NAD can also play MQA from Tidal which I want to test out as well although have heard mixed results.
Please do keep us (me) informed as to your impressions of the NAD C658. From little I've found online its a bit of a mixed bag: chip is an ESS oddball (not 9038 as I'd expect at this price), Dirac not yet available, confusion regarding subwoofer outputs (dual mono or stereo), subwoofer output locked into 80 Hz low pass with unknown crossover slope, and sound quality comparisons ranging from Masters series down to Node 2. Am considering taking my DSJ into the "local" NAD shop to compare. What I'd really like to see from NAD is a streaming preamp version of their very new $2500 M10 streaming integrated amp.