Best DAC maker?

trianglezerius · « **Reply #20 on:** 1 Oct 2010, 10:20 pm »

Best dac to me is the dbaudiolabs Tranquility with its nos chip.

srb · « **Reply #21 on:** 1 Oct 2010, 10:45 pm »

Quote from: jtwrace on 1 Oct 2010, 10:15 pm

I LOVE my Wavelength Crimson with the Denominator module.

As you hopefully would with a $7500 statement DAC. I think you should also get the $7500 (!) silver transformer upgrade.

Steve

rodge827 · « **Reply #22 on:** 1 Oct 2010, 11:00 pm »

Love my Audio Note Kits Dac 2.1

with An silver coupling caps and mucho Black Gate cap upgrades

edwyun · « **Reply #23 on:** 3 Oct 2010, 02:42 am »

I'm partial to the Ultra Analog D20400A. No longer new though.

Tyson · « **Reply #24 on:** 3 Oct 2010, 03:02 am »

Quote from: MttBsh on 1 Oct 2010, 05:55 pm

I had a Scott-Nixon Tubedac + with optional power supply for years and loved it, but when I switched to an Audiosector Dac last year there was no comparison. The Audiosector (which I bought used for about $300) was superior in every way, and by a wide margin. It may not be a fair comparison because I bought the Scott Nixon Dac back in 2003, and his products may have improved over the years.

I have a Nixon Tubedac+ from 2003 using a 6922 and spdif input, and it is definitely a "beauty before truth" type presentation, extremely warm and relaxed. I also have a newer one from 2008 that uses the 6922 tube and spdif input, and also CCS in the tube stage. This one is actually a bit bright sounding. Finally, I just got a 2010 USBTD 2.2, which uses the 12bh7 tube, has USB input, direct to I2S digital path, and CCS in the tube stage. The latest version makes the others sound like they are broken. Truth and beauty coexist in equal measures, and dynamics, bass, and treble all extend much deeper/higher. It's actually a very remarkable sounding DAC.