Bricasti M3 In the house

@hgeifman just curious why you bought the M21 if you are using your intergrated? Isn’t the M21 like 16K? Wouldn’t it have been a better option to either get the Bricasti M1SE or M3? Curious minds would like to know and yes it’s been my experience a preamp brings something to the equation, I’ve always preferred not using a DAC straight into amps myself. Others like it straight in, no right or wrong way to do it.

@rsf507, I like the Bricasti M21 DAC, including the MDx board upgrade, because it has the delta sigma and ladder DAC for PCM conversion. I like it fully differential design and its 'awesome' sound quality in my system.  

Perviously, I owned the Bricasti M1SE DAC and I believe the M21 sounds substantially better.  I use the ladder DAC setting but do switch back and forth.   I have both the Audience Au24 SE+ USB Cable and the Kubala-Sosna Emotion AES/EBU cable, Balanced XLR connected to my M21 DAC from my Aurender N10 Server but use the K-S AES/EBU cable most of the time.  It sounds slightly better to my ears.  

I also have the Bricasti M3 DAC in my home theatre 2-channel system and it is also excellent.    

@hgeifman, did you ever compare the M3 to the M21 delta sigma?   I thought I heard somewhere the M3 (with MDx) was pretty much the same as what is in the M21 delta sigma, but I don't know if that is true or not.  I've heard the M21 ladder DAC sounds really really good.

I just sold my 3 month old M3 (had MDx) to try a few other things.  I really liked it and might buy it again, but it didn't blow away my much older SimAudio 380DSD and so I guess I'm still looking...

I'm now going to try a few lower priced DACs that have a lot of recent buzz to see how they compare.   I've got both a Topping D90 MQA and  RME ADI 2 DACFS in shipment to play with.   My M3 remote cost $500 and the D90 MQA $800, so this should be an interesting comparison :)

@ddafoe,  No.  My Bricasti M21 DAC is in my main audio system and the Bricasti M3 DAC is in my home theatre system that uses the LG OLED TV as the source.  My home theatre system was using the Ayre Codex DAC that I thought was excellent.  I then purchased the M21 DAC (main system) and moved my SimAudio 380 DAC from my main system to the home theatre system.   It was okay so I auditioned the Bricasti M3 DAC (no remote) and sold the SimAudio.  

The Bricasti M3 DAC is excellent and I felt sounded much better than my SimAudio 380 DAC.  As you know, everyone has a different opinion on what sounds good.  Audio is very strange hobby.  I agree with you that it is fun to "try a few other things".  

You might want to look at the Ayre CODEX DAC since it has excellent sound. Its list price is about $1,800 and I have seen them on Audiogon for sale around $1,000.  I am not familiar with the other DAC's you mentioned.  

You had a 380D too... that is funny.  Yea, we all hear differently and like/emphasize different things in our listening.   I've had a few folks tell me I should upgrade my streamer before I seriously compare my DACs or really hear what the M3 can do.   I'm using a RaspberyPi with S/PDIF output running Roon streaming over a Shunyata Anaconda digital cable.  If I buy the M3 again I'll be sure to get the Ethernet streamer.

I'm just hesitant to spend big bucks on a standalone streamer when the Pi works so well running Roon and at least without comparison still sounds amazing.   The little Pi just sits quietly running Roon 24/7 with no issue.  I maybe should have just paid to get the Mind2 card for the 380D and kept it another 5 years...

The RME is a German made DAC (based on their pro gear) and the latest version uses the AK4493.   I've enjoyed AKM DACs in the past.
The Topping uses the AK4499 and for $800 includes  PCM32bit / 768 kHz, DSD512 Native, and MQA; how do you go wrong with all of that :)

Anyhow, I'll report back after I spend some time with each; will I miss my M3 ?