Need help matching DAC to speakers and amp

op, you shouldn't feel the need to constrain yourself to equivalent priced dacs. I have Harbeth spkr, ayre integrated and linn klimax ds, and I don't think I could have spent my budget better given the size of my listening room and spkr amp requirements.

Wow, it is difficult for you to choose without listening. As we all know, you try something and it is right (and you got lucky) or it is wrong and you try something else. I have experience with the PS Audio DLIII and loved the warmth and "musicality" of it. I now have a Eastern Electric Tubed DAC and love it. They say the newer version is better. I suggest you buy used and try it in your system first. It's a pain, but it's the only way you'll know if it fits with your equipment. We've all done it. Everyone is looking for the next greatest thing, and the thing they don't like may be the perfect thing for you. Goodluck.

Chesebert,

Your Ayre and Harbeth are an interesting combination. Do they go well together? I'm using Ayre myself and getting extremely good results.

In regards to the internal DAC card...

Im not too sold on the whole DAC technology is changing bit. Yeah, USB inputs have, but other than that there's not much the current DACs are doing that the internal card won't do. Maybe super high-Rex like 348 kHz or whatever the ridiculous number is lately. The reason I call it ridiculous is because what music is available in that resolution?

I almost bought the internal card for my B60, but stopped because I'd have had to get rid of my internal phono stage, and I'd only get a single coax input (I need at least one optical). The B100 has none of these issues.

A few downsides, if you will -unlike the BDA-1, the upsampling is not defeatable, and there's one DAC chip vs 2.

I'm not pushing the internal card on you. Sorry if I sound that way. It just irritates me when people advise others to stay away from a 2 or 3 year old design simply because they think the technology has changed so much. I have a 15 year old DAC that ran circles around today's entry level 'giant killers.' In a DAC, just like every other component, there's no substitute for a solid power supply and output stages.

Again, at $1k I love my Rega DAC and haven't heard anything better for the money. That's a preference thing though.

I probably should have chosen my words more carefully when explaining my thought process when I put my amp and speakers together. I did not buy a bright system and now I am hoping to balance them out with a warmer sounding DAC. But if I get a bright sounding DAC, then the equipment I have, with the metal dome tweater and revealing amp will scream how bright the DAC is.

Also, in regards to my price range, Any real faults will be revealeed with my system. I know the price of a component is not the whole story.....but you will be hard pressed to convince me that price is not a good indicator of the quality of the equipment. Sure there are exceptions, and that's what makes them great buys.....but those are exceptions.

I am looking for recommendations on DAC's that would fit the description I am looking for and information about how DAC's have changed or improved the last few years. Should I generally stay with DAC's that are newer?

I appreciate the feedback

Jeff