new Meitner MA3 hit the rack today

Agreed.  I’d be hard pressed to find something more engaging for less than twice that price.  Maybe the Nagra Tube DAC, at 4x the price including PSU, but then you need a streaming box too.    I’ve had mine for what, 10 months now, been flawless, hasn’t even been powered off, it’s been converting bites every day.  I’m sure you’ll end up holding onto it for a longer period of time if you end up writing a check for it.  No plans to look elsewhere anytime soon.

@73cuttysupreme 

To echo your original post, the MA3 is simply an amazing accomplishment. Many have been in the hobby for years…always chasing the next upgrade. For alot of years with digital, the last upgrade was good enough until such time as the next performance benchmark is introduced. The MA3, however, to my ears has introduced a benchmark performance level at a price that is simply unbelieveable. Demo’d Bartok, previously owned Chord Dave, Lampi Golden Atlantic, Nagra Classic Dac, Aqua, etc, etc. I have recently purchased a second MA3 and I also currently own a Totaldac d1 tube streamer. For those considering driving an amp direct, the MA3 is up to the task although I havepreamps in the chain.

Seek it out, go listen and decide for yourself…the MA3 is way too good to be priced at $9,500 retail and my guess is that it won’t be for long.

@ghasley  So how does MA3 stack up against emm Labs dac2x?

@chesebert I assume the MA3 compares favorably but there is quite a price gap as the EMM is 3X the price. Chris over at Audiophilestyle did a direct comparison as the EMM is his reference dac.

No affiliation, but FYI that there's a listing here for a used Meitner MA3. They don't come up often.