[rodge827]

Audio Note Kits 2.1b signature is a great nos tube Dac and Mojo Audio Mystique preowned might fit your budget. Mojo Audio dacs don’t come up often so if you see one get it they don’t last long.

[jandrews]

Curious if anyone here has had any experience with the Audio-gd R1-NOS.
I’ve been looking at it and would love to audition one

[jjss49]

responding to a few comments above

background, since the covid shut-in in early 2020 i took on the task of learning about streaming and over time making it my prime music source, and as such i have bought/tried close to 50 dacs, at various budget levels, so while this is still a small fraction of all audiophile dacs on the market, i have covered alot of ground -- it is based on this experience i make my various comments on dacs

-- i had an audio gd master 7 which was their top of line... they are on the mk2 version now... the audio gd is an exceptional sounding dac, by using admittedly crude internal jumpers one could switch from os at varying degrees to nos ... it could be warm effusive and romantic sounding in nos, or as precise/sharp/crisp as the best of them in highest os setting... but it is a dac only with a very large footprint... (no volume control, no streamer, no display, crude controls).

-- also had an audio note kits dac 4.1 le, built by digital pete .... lovely sounding dac, fabulous imaging, some tube magic for sure ... but not at all rolled off smoothed over, so think of it as 'modern tube sound' more than 'your grandpa's tube sound' ... bass is even big bold tuneful -- it does run quite an extensive tubeset internally, and the case is BIG, REALLY big... also the internal receiver card is somewhat dated, can only do up to 24/96... if those things aren't minuses to you, the sound of the unit is wonderful, absolutely top tier in insight, drive, musicality and tone

-- i also had ben zwickel's mojo mystique v3 -- lovely sounding dac, uber smooth, liquid and analog sounding, maybe just a touch too soft and refined for what i was seeking sonically at the time - i remember thinking when i first heard it 'wow ok this is what a really top tier dac sounds like... totally un-digital' ... but i ultimately returned it as i wanted a unit with variable volume and a smaller footprint but the sound was exceptional, if on the smooth sweet side of 'neutral'

hope this helps

[Freo-1]

Hello. Seeking recommendations for analogue sounding dacs below $3.5k new or used. Full bodied with smooth/rounded top end. 

Thanks 

Chord Qutest/Hugo 2/Hugo TT2. 


Custom filtering wins the day.

[VinceT]

When I hear the term analog I think tubes or nos dacs.

The gang here is much more in the know than I am, i keep on hearing about Wiess dacs being somewhat "master tape" sounding for a Delta sigma dac and comparable to Chord. I have yet to hear one, but the new 204/205 fit in your price range. Just wanted to throw that out there not knowing what analog sounding path you were looking to go down in your journey. I would not mind listening to a Weiss dac from the 500 or 200 series if had the chance.

[GregC]

I love my Wyred 4 Sound 10th Anniversary DAC and I think the analog output stage is one of its strengths.  It also has tech to make MP3 recordings sound better than they have a right to.

[Triode Pete]

Hello. Seeking recommendations for analogue sounding dacs below $3.5k new or used. Full bodied with smooth/rounded top end. 

Thanks 

Get the BorderPatrol DAC... it's "Human Sounding"...

My $0.02,
Pete

[paolocaminiti]

i keep on hearing about Wiess dacs being somewhat "master tape" sounding for a Delta sigma dac

I heard this too (saw the video) and got interested in this dac, but I wonder if he was referring to the smoothness or just the amount of resolution (given this is a ESS chip, possibly the now old 9018)... unfortunately not many opinions around...

[VinceT]

n
I heard this too (saw the video) and got interested in this dac, but I wonder if he was referring to the smoothness or just the amount of resolution (given this is a ESS chip, possibly the now old 9018)... unfortunately not many opinions around...

There is quote a bit of into regarding the Weiss 501/502 which is the same dac as the 204/205 minus the DSP/EQ features. Delta Sigmas seem to be working really hard to compete with the NOS dacs, that is why I wanted to make mention of this model despite not hearing one unfortunately. I know that is typically a no no on the interwebs.

[jjss49]

i have a weiss 501, have had it for a few years now, and recently sent it in for the $2500 chip 4ch upgrade

it is a clean and clear sounding dac... harmonically rich, tonally accurate and pure, but with more high frequency information and touch of forwardness in treble presentation that most r2r dacs mentioned here (specifically mhdt tube dacs, audio mirror tubador, certainly the border patrol and so on)

i put the weiss 501 in the same camp (and the same class sonically) as the top bricasti's, top chords (dave, mscaler/hugo tt2), denafrips t+, top msb ...  in this company the weiss is a very good value for its sound, its truly vast feature set and functionality, and its small footprint

the nonsense about 'studio sound' is just that... word games/hype/nonsense, youtube click bait b-s... who the f*** knows what that means

i own the weiss among several others, and i put it or the chord stack into the system when i want uber clarity and an energetic treble presentation, then i go to bill dion's modded mhdt, or msb analog dac (with powerbase), or an older but still wonderful musical fidelity trivista 21 when i want a more relaxed, relatively stepped-back treble presentation

you can say the weiss sound is analog if analog is more an upper dynavector, or clearaudio or lyra cart

dacs with a more luscious tone, reduced treble emphasis is what more folks usually associate with 'analog' sounding -- think more along the lines of a koetsu or top benz micro or air tight

[paolocaminiti]

i own the weiss among several others, and i put it or the chord stack into the system when i want uber clarity and an energetic treble presentation, then i go to bill dion's modded mhdt, or msb analog dac (with powerbase), or an older but still wonderful musical fidelity trivista 21 when i want a more relaxed, relatively stepped-back treble presentation

Interesting, my experience with chip dacs (an RME adi 2 dac with AKM chip) is that it does sound worse then my PSAudio DSD MK1 or a Musician Pegasus I tried, both of those seem less mechanical and fatiguing than the RME as well as less flat soundstaging.

Is especially this mechanical sound feeling - as oppsosed to a fluidity I associate with analog - that scares me away... What would be the cause of this feeling I don't know.

Would you put the weiss on par with the MSB and Terminator in soundstaging and this sense of fluidity I was referring to (if such "quality" makes sense to you).

[mav52]

Get the BorderPatrol DAC... it's "Human Sounding"...

My $0.02,
Pete

Got to agree, with my $0.04

[Kray]

I highly recommend either the Audio Mirror Tubadour III SE or his new version IV.

They are based on the famous AD1865N-K R2R chip.

III has a tube/capacitor output.
IV is transformer output.

I've had both, and they are the best DAC's I've tried under $3k for smooth analogue yet detailed sound.

[I.Greyhound Fan]

For a used DAC, I would consider the Luxman DA-06.  I own one.  They were $6K when they came out.  It is full bodied, analog sounding and greatly responds to usb cables.  A good usb cable is a must and you must try a few to get the best sound.  Some usb cables sound awful with this DAC.  Read the reviews.

https://audiophilestyle.com/ca/reviews/Luxman-DA-06-DAC-Review/

https://www.stereophile.com/content/luxman-da-06-da-processor

For a new DAC, consider a Yggdrasil.  There are different versions.  I had a friends in my system and I was very impressed.  It did some things better than my Luxman.

We also own a Chord Qutest.  It sounds great, especially with an upgraded power supply like a teradak LPS and the ifi iPower X.  It also responds to usb cable changes.

https://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=186233.msg1952560#new

Also, give a look to an AVA DAC.  They sound excellent.

https://avahifi.com/collections/digital-audio

[jjss49]

Interesting, my experience with chip dacs (an RME adi 2 dac with AKM chip) is that it does sound worse then my PSAudio DSD MK1 or a Musician Pegasus I tried, both of those seem less mechanical and fatiguing than the RME as well as less flat soundstaging.

Is especially this mechanical sound feeling - as oppsosed to a fluidity I associate with analog - that scares me away... What would be the cause of this feeling I don't know.

Would you put the weiss on par with the MSB and Terminator in soundstaging and this sense of fluidity I was referring to (if such "quality" makes sense to you).

yes i do, weiss soundstage is wide deep and layered, quite specific on instrumental outlines as well - the msb analog dac is a touch less specific

i don't see that r2r or bitstream dacs dictate the sound, either can be engineered or voiced to be more detailed and upfront, versus smooth and flowing... it is just that cheaper bitstream dacs don't/can't do it due to cost constraints and sound ragged and robotic - i won't bore you with examples but there are plenty of bright r2r dacs and dull bistream ones

[Freo-1]

yes i do, weiss soundstage is wide deep and layered, quite specific on instrumental outlines as well - the msb analog dac is a touch less specific

i don't see that r2r or bitstream dacs dictate the sound, either can be engineered or voiced to be more detailed and upfront, versus smooth and flowing... it is just that cheaper bitstream dacs don't/can't do it due to cost constraints and sound ragged and robotic - i won't bore you with examples but there are plenty of bright r2r dacs and dull bistream ones

It's about the filtering.  The DAC that many people say is among the very best is the Chord DAVE, teamed up with the M-Scaler. 

[jjss49]

delete

[Freo-1]

it is a lot things, filtering included

jitter management, clocking, upsampling, power supply, mechanical isolation, analog stage design and so on...  all of the above affects the sound

Most modern DAC's have most of the above bases covered.  Upscaling and Filtering is where the significant differences occur.

[jjss49]

delete

[Freo-1]

I wasn't referring to cheap DACs.  This is a site dedicated to better sound, after all. 


Between the better quality DAC's, the upscaling and filtering is where the real differences lie.   The DAC's that support custom filtering, such as Holo and Chord, will have a different sound signature than say a Benchmark DAC-3.  All are excellent DAC's, but the advanced upscaling an filtering is where the real differences in DAC's lie. 


The video linked will explain DAC designs in depth.





https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5fmWMiAzCXI