DAC UPGRADE QUESTION

 

 

kjl1065 OP

12 posts

07-13-2023 at 03:58pm

My budget is $3000.00.

cool. I had the Qutest and it’s a very nice DAC. I found the tone to be natural with good level of details. May be ever so slightly forward? But nothing too concerning. It does a lot of things right.
In the $3,000 price range you’re likely to get different sound but not necessarily better. I went from Qutest to Bryston BDA-3, to Benchmark DAC 3 HGC, to Bricasti M3 with network renderer. I sold my Lumin U1 Mini streamer and use the M3 as Roon end point. There are a lot of options by in my experience the next level from Qutest starts at around $5000 retail.

What are you after with this upgrade? Others above are making a good point to research the forums. @verdantaudio has an extensive multi-page DAC Shootout thread that’s an excellent read when researching and narrowing down your criteria.
 

P.S.

One of the biggest improvements across the board I heard with the Qutest DAC and Lumin streamer was when I upgraded my DH Labs Mirage USB cable to Audience AU24SE+. It’s not cheap even on a used market but it made bigger impact than I thought was possible. Just saying there may still be few drops to squeeze out of that Chord DAC before you ditch it. 

There are tons of DACs out there that can give you meaningful “improvements” in various areas, but since you seem unwilling (or maybe unable) to share what specific improvements you’re looking for I’ll just mention this Denafrips Terminator that’s within your price range. Best of luck.

https://echohifi.com/details/19355/Denafrips_Terminator-DAC

Are you happy with the CJ amp? I ask because I also have the 11As and was unhappy with the ARC Ref75 driving them because of the impedance dip to 2 ohms. They need more current, switching to my Luxman 509X was a revelation.

A few responders asked what specific improvements I would be looking for.

Each time I have upgraded my system I noticed more clarity, detail and

transparency. Wishing to obtain opinions from this site as to what DAC in my $3000.00 budget would give me more of the objectives I am seeking.

It is impossible for me to hear it all. In fact it is possible to hear only a few DACS.

Hoping to reduce the upgrading and arrive at purchasing a product that I can say,

this is great. At least until the next upgrade itch occurs.

Thank you. 

"Topping D90 for under $1K would be a good recommendation. "

Topping would be a poor recommendation. Not only do they sound poor in the middle range, but the build quality is poor. Look at the number of people who have been fooled by the minion leader on his site and now regret buying one. Gustard will give you a good improvement.