do i need a new DAC

i really respect the work of Dr. Watts. had one of his DAC’s back in the day when he was designing for DPA, the PCM 1-2.  have booked an audition to hear the Qutest, on my short list for sure. i am also suspect that Rega will shortly upgrade the DAC-R to match the design of the new Brio amp. the new Audiolab MDAC+is a big improvement over the older design i hear. have not heard it. but i did hear the Audiolabs DAC/amp combo. very good. still my little NAD and the new Rega brio continues to delight. i have heard the new Brio with the DAR-R and they naturally make great music together. all Rega all the way?

i have noticed that Rega is still using the Wolfson chip that was used in the original Rega DAC c.2012 for the DAC-R c.2015. why change why fix something if it ain't broken. i have a Wolfson in my iPod Video and it is considered to be the best iPod that Apple ever produce.  so Rega in 2015 decided not to down the Sabre road but kept the Wolfson? the Cirrus DAC  in my NAD is very good sounding and Wolfson bought their company.  maybe DSD and the newer formats me sound better, but just another excuse to buy the White Album.  we may have reached the pinnacle of standard PCM, not sure what DSD can offer, have not heard it. to recreate a perfect analog signal we would have to sample to infinity?  is this possible. can the human ear really decern the difference between a well recorded analog that has been converted to digital. the source analog recording is just as important as the DAC at the other end. a great sounding record will most likely yield a good sounding CD.  i agree with lowrider57 that PSU's can make a big difference. their is a company called  SBooster out of the UK, that makes a linear outboard PSU for the NAD D1050.  have not heard it.  hard to find used also.  looking forward to hearing the Qutest, but will have to fly down to Kuala Lumpur to Circle Audio when i attend the MPO next month. no Chord dealers here. 

i am using Rega interconnects, and the Supra coax cable. i went nuts with my last system and was buying $1200 interconnects, not going down that road again. pretty happy with a modest set up now.  it can easily get out of hand if you play the weakest link game. around and around we go.  i think what is being gained buy the new DSD format which really  supercharged pcm, is maybe greater dynamics. maybe not transparency?  have not heard it. may want one.  would like to hear from some forum members who upgraded from the NAD and to what?  and what was gained?

the Chord dealer where i live is only a Hugo and Mojo dealer, strange.  will have get on a plane. lol

the other two DACs i am interested in are the Rega and the Audiolab MDAC+, these two still use the same architecture that they have used for the last 5 years. in the case of the Rega DAC-R they are comfortable with sticking with the trusty Wolfson 8740 in fact. NAD has not upgraded the D1050 in 5 years. their must be a good reason for these large companies not embracing the new technology and sticking with delta-sigma? wonder why Audiolab, Rega, and Nad have not changed their approach. hey if it’s not broken why fix it? i guess it’s the smaller companies that are making these perceived advances. wish someone would write a good article on these advancements.

i did not like the first Sabre chip i heard as it was implemented in the Oppo 105, the Oppo 205 big improvement. ditto for the first Audiolab MDAC. the new MDAC + uses the Sabre chip but sounds vastly superior to its predecessor. much more musical and warmer, fuller sounding. i was shocked at just how good it is. they also improved the PSU in the newer MDAC+ and this speaks to its larger case. i think in the case of the latest Rega Dac R they have left the upsampling to a minumum since they feel that this has an impact on SQ. the venerable Wolfson chip that is used in the Rega has been around a long time. i have one in my iPod Video and it was considered the best iPod that Apple ever produce. very musical