Performance of $1000 DAC's

Sorry Sugarbie, I don't follow your reply at all. As for not carrying what other people think, if we didn't want to solicit other peoples opinions there would be no reason for these forums.

My recent questioning/concern of $1000 DAC's sounding thin are based on comments within these forms, not print reviews.

I once had a Bel Canto Dac1...it was well under $1K used, and it was most definitely not thin-sounding - in fact it was a joy to listen to, and one of the best value pieces I've owned.

I would presume that at the $1K pricepoint, there will be compromises made...if you want high detail, you'll give up a bit of body...if you want a liquid midrange, you'll give up a bit of detail, etc. It's all about system matching - you just don't wanna go too far in one direction.

Going up in price will yield units that will work with a wider variety of equipment (and obviously sound better for the most part, as long as you buy a well-respected unit), but I am of the belief that anybody's system should be able to accomodate a $1K DAC quite nicely. It's just a matter of which $1K DAC.

Brianmgrarcom, I have been wracking my memory to see if I can be of any use and I come up with this. I am presently using an Esoteric P-10 transport with an Atlas Opus cable (1.5m) and a battery-powered Apogee Mini-DAC. This DAC with a battery PS would sell in the $1K range.

Now I think way back to the first time I heard a P-10. Thanks to a very generous pal, I was comparing four digital sources: an Ensemble Dirondo/Dichrono, the P-10 with an Apogee DA-2000, a TEAC T1 with an Apogee DA-1000E-20 and a Shanling CD-T100.

The order I've listed them in was the order in which I perceived their quality. The top two were very close (in the top 3 I'd heard up till then with the Linn CD12), and now I am trying to recall that experience so I can give a rough idea of how my present setup compares to those.

I would say that the Mini-DAC on a battery is very surprising. With a P-10 it would take the middle spot in the lineup above, and perhaps sit very close to the second. My impression is of a bit less liveliness and punch than the DA-1000E, but also less congestion on complex passages, and more openness and air.

For tone and body, all five of the sources did very well. I wouldn't call any of them thin-sounding.