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  3. 162029-21

DAC Choices - $5,000 to $7,000

What are the current top DAC choices in the approximately $5-$7K price range (new or used) that I should look at as possible upgrades to my current Metrum Adagio?  Having an on-board volume control is not a factor as I can operate my system either way.   If I wanted to spend more I would look at Totaldac, Rockna Wavedream Signature, or one of the other top-end contenders, but I selected the price range to achieve a sound quality that is consistent with the rest of my system and because I don't want to spend more due to the still evolving nature of digital technology.  I do like the more natural sound (to my ears) of NOS R2R DACs.  So far, I have considered the three below, but none seem to be a slam-dunk upgrade from the Adagio, which still sounds pretty good in my system.  The decision is complicated by having to "buy to try" so that I can hear one in my system.  Maybe now is not the time for an upgrade.  Any thoughts?

  • Denafrips Terminator w/DSP board - Reportedly has the full body/dense tone type of sound I like, but also has a high'ish output impedance 
  • Holo May KTE - Reportedly measures great for an R2R DAC and has strong reviews 
  • Rockna Wavelight - Some reviewers like it but others put it in the middle of the pack for the price
mitch2
electroslacker
375 posts
 
I went from a Benchmark DAC2 to the Terminator.  Running it from a new HP laptop over Curious USB and added the USBe-Perfect coming out of laptop.  Seemed to take three weeks to settle in, but I'm very content now going all-streaming.  Quite involving.

Has anyone added a Denafrips Iris or Gaia to a Terminator that they already had? I'm tempted by the new Hermes but not sure there's any problem to fix. Anyone been amazed or disappointed?

One thought, if you go Terminator-plus, you can run a very good clock out of the T-plus back to any of their digital converters and have an end-game digital path. Terminator-plus with the clock driving Iris might be better than Terminator with Gaia for about same cost.
djones51
4,947 posts
 
The Topping E30 is on sale for $130.
jaytor's avatar
jaytor
766 posts
 
@electroslacker - I think my next step is to add the Gaia to my Terminator, although I agree that using a Terminator+ with an Iris would likely be a good solution.

I've got my old preamp (Parasound JC2-BP) for sale. As soon as that's gone, I'll order the Gaia. 
havocman
350 posts
 
Try the wyred for sound 10th anniversary dac.There's a couple reviews on it and one of the reviewers said it was the most analog dac that he's ever had in his system. I bought one and I put it up against the $15,000 Canadian simaudio dac, and the wyred for sound just left it in the dust.I could even see the look on the salesman face that he knew that the 10th anniversary dac was better.And when I was leaving the store he asked me what's the name of that dac again I'm going to look it up.
yyzsantabarbara
4,935 posts
 
I have a Benchmark DAC3B. I will be getting a Matrix Audio Mini-I 3 Pro DAC tomorrow to pair with either a Topping A90 preamp (got it today) or my existing Benchmark HPA4 preamp. The better DAC will go with the HPA4 system.

Hopefully early next year, I am looking at either the AudioByte VOX | HUB | ZAP stack (1 power cord for all 3 units) or the Halo Audio May Level3. To pair with the HPA4. It will replace either the Matrix or Benchmark DAC3B.

The AudioByte and Rockna are from the same guy. The AudioByte stack seemed technically more adventurous than the Rockna Wavelight.
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