Spending on dac vs amp

FWIW, I just bought/received the Emotiva XDA-1 DAC for $299 (shipped w/30 day money back trial).

I’ve got it connected to my VTL IT-85 (80watt, EL34, Integrated) which are driving a pair of Dynaudio Special 25’s. Don’t laugh until you try it… it sounds really good. For sources I’m feed the DAC with an Apple TV2 and an old Roku Soundbridge as well as a really old HK CDP (as a transport).

In a week or so I’ll drop it into my main rig and see how it holds up to a >$3000 DAC…

I'd recommend finding equipment that you can audition at minimal cost. There are a number of dealers online with very flexible return policies.And there may be local dealers who will allow in-home auditons. Try different combinations of equipment until you hit your sweet spot. With an $8k budget, I'd factor in some return shipping/restocking fees that may be necessary before you hit the right combo. Buying used and reselling here on Audiogon is another way to go about it.

Haven't heard the Emotiva, but I'd generally agree with sentiments here on using a $250 DAC. It all starts with the source and anything lost from the source's signal will prevent your other components from reaching their full potential.

While the statement ”It all starts with the source and anything lost from the source's signal will prevent your other components from reaching their full potential” is true, it is also true that inferior downstream products (pre/amp, speakers) will prevent your source from reaching its full potential.

I tend to agree with Eslaudio related to digital sources. Technology related to digital sources change at a far greater pace than amps, pre’s, speakers (IMHO).

For example the VTL Compact 100’s amps in my main rig are at least 30 years old and still going strong. Whereas my 10yr old Levinson 360s DAC, while still a great piece, has been outpaced by technology. 24/96 was once cutting edge but now we see sample rates for 24/192 with USB inputs, etc… Will the $300 Emotiva replace the $7000 Levinson, most likely not? But the choice also depends on how the stereo is going to be used, (i.e. critical listening or background / streaming music or CD transport). Are there other sources as well?

If you need to compromise on cost I would look at first getting the best speakers, integrated and wires you can afford and then look at the digital source. Cheap doesn’t mean bad. I’ve gotten some really good results with a dyi NOS DAC; not the end all in resolution but very musical.

So in the end it’s a matter of choice and there is no golden ratio on what to spend compared to other components.

Thank you all for the feedback. If I summarize some of the key points, this is what I heard:

- spend the most on the analog components and start with speakers. ($3k)
- work from the speakers down and get a good amp as these should they with me for a while ( up to $2.5k)
- in terms of dac, paying more makes a difference but the pace of innovation is so high that it probably doesn't justify spending too much (no more than $1.5k)
- keep the remainder for good quality speaker cables, psu, and analog interconnection, don't worry about digital interconnects. ( up to $1k)

In addition $8k seems to be more than enough to build a great system.

However ultimately, it is all based on experience ( warm vs transparent, ...) Ratios are there to be changed and challenged. No one size fits all.

Fair summary?

Mizuno...that is a fair summary of the comments and I think a very valid approach. I would only say, don't get too stuck on the exact dollar amounts and place a lot more emphasis on trying to find components that are synergistic with one another. A well balanced system is most important, this way you won't have any obvious "weak links in the chain" that are limiting the potential of the whole system. I don't know if you already have stong opinions about various components or if you are starting from ground zero with a completely open slate, but if the latter, my advice would be to go to a bunch of local high end bricks and mortar audio stores and tell them you would like to put together a well balanced system for around $8K and you would like to hear examples of different technologies (electrostat vs box speakers, tuve vs. solid state amplification, digital vs. vinyl source) and see what sounds most like emotionally engaging music to you. From there do a lot of research online and via the main audio publications, and this way you can start to winnow down the options to pieces you want to go back and audition again (preferable together at same store). Good luck and enjoy the journey.