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DAC Help

Bel Canto 1.1 or maybe Musical Fidelity? Then there is this Benchmark thing which is out of the price range for now but I could wait. Maybe there is something I haven't considered. I'm looking for a DAC for around $600 used +/- to go with a Theta Data Universal transport, Hamonic Tech Plantinum cable, and tube gear. I listen to Progressive Rock mostly.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks -
Matthew
revdog
piedpiper
753 posts
 
I've improved my Ack! significantly by replacing the 3.3 mF AuraCaps with Dynamicaps, a pair of 5 mF and a .01 bypass per channel. It really opened up and the bass improved big time. I use it with an EAD T1000 with a Mapleshade/Insound Zepher dig link. Extremely open yet smooth, dead silent with wonderfull dynamics; the best I've heard.
audioengr
3,282 posts
 
for Rock, you need dynamics, not warm, soft sound. Try the Birdland Odeon-lite. Great right out of the box. One of the few DAC's that sounds good even without mods. The others like this are too expensive for your budget: Electrocompaniet ECD-1 and Meridian 566.
piedpiper
753 posts
 
audioengr, the dAck! is very dynamic and CLEAN, not warm and soft. The guy I auditioned it with at first is an excitement addict when it comes to stereo and very into rock. He loved it. A good rock guitar tube amp, just as an example, has tons of subtle texture that benefits greatly from finesse in the playback. Also, alot of rock mixes are obnoxiously aggressive and bright and could do with a bit of warmth. The Each to his own though, eh?
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