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Reference DACS: An overall perspective

There has been many threads the last few months regarding the sonic signature of some of the highest regarded reference DACS (Dcs,Meitner,Ensemble,Audio Note,Zanden,Reimyo,Accustic Arts) here on the GON. I have been very fortunate to audtion many of these wonderful pieces in my home or friend's systems. I wanted to share, in a systematic way, my impressions/opinions with you GON members for a two reasons: 1)That my experiences might be helpful to fellow members interested in audtioning these DACS. 2)Starting an interesting discussion regarding the different "sonic flavors" of these reference digital front ends. I totally agree with the statement, "if you have not heard it you don't have an opinion". Therefore, I have no comments regarding DACS from Weiss,Goldmund,Audio Aero and Burmester because I have never had the pleasure of audtioning them. I would love to hear from members who have and share their experiences with us. My overall impression is that these DACS(Dcs,Meitner,Ensemble,Audio Note,Zanden,Reimyo,Accustic Arts) can be grouped into two molar categories regarding their overall sonic signature. By the way, all of them can throw a large/deep soundstage with excellent layering in the acoustic space with "air" around individual players on that stage. However, than they start to part company into two major categories. Category #1) These DACS "flavors" revolve around pristine clarity, fine sharp details,speed,very extended top/bottom frequencies,and great PRAT. These DACS never sound "etched" or "in your face" but are more "upfront" then "layed back" in their presentation. The DACS, to my ear's, that go into this bracket are Dcs,Ensemble,Meitner. My personnal favorite in this group is the Ensemble, which I owned for two years. These DACS remind me of the sonic signature of speakers such as Wilson,Thiel,Dynaudio, Focal/JM Labs. Category #2) These DACS "flavors" revolve around a "musical/organic" sense, natural timbres,and an easy flowing liquidity. Their "less forward" presentation my give the impression of less detail, but I think in this case its an illusion fostered by their more relaxed/organic manner. The DACS, to my ear's, that go into this bracket are Audio Note,Zanden,Reimyo,Accustic Arts. I did find that the tube DACS did not have the top/bottom frequency extenstion and PRAT of the SS DACS in this bracket. For me, the Accustic Arts DAC1-MK3 gave me the best of both categories, therefore it is now the resident DAC in my system. These DACS remind me of the sonic signature of speakers such as Magnepan,Von Schweikert,Sonus Faber. Well, it's all just my opinion regarding these digital pieces, but I hope this post was at least informative/somewhat interesting and would lend itself to other GON members sharing their impressions, not about what DAC is the "BEST" in the world, but your personnal taste and synergy with your system.
teajay
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pablolie
13 posts
 
fascinating read - to get such a long perspective on digital evolution.

i bought my first "great" cd player in... 1990? it was a denon 1290 (and not my first CD player). honestly, i got hands down better sound than i got from available (halfway affordable) turntables at the time, and i switched to buying CDs. i still own my vinyls though (but have digitized most of them, turntable is in storage).

in 1999 or so, i went upscale and got an Accuphase DP-65v. ah. *much* better. nirvana for so many years. even as i switched to listening to computer-stored FLACs i used the Accuphase for many years as a DAC, never having it play a CD again for years.

but it was big and unwieldly. so i finally in late 2013 replaced it with Benchmark DAC2-HGC. an *awesome* piece of gear.

here is my philosophy: i want my source to be as brutally accurate as possible. the sharper the better.

that way i can use the backend of the chain (amp and speaker) to tailor the sound to shifting preferences if needed.

the DAC2 is awesome. i am currently listening to Maalouf's awesomely recorded "wind" and there is *no* harshness there, just transparent musicality dripping out of the system.

i LOVE digital done right.
onestaudio's avatar
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onestaudio
143 posts
 
Don't waste your time or money. I am listening to an Esoteric D-02/P-02 combo now and wouldn't hesitate in a second to move to an Ypsilon DAC, and it really doesn't matter which transport...Though the matching Ypsilon would surely be a great match. The Ypsilon is a non upsampling DAC, so 44.1 in and 44.1 out. If you are truly looking for an outstandingly Musical piece, give it a listen, you will not regret it!
Much is lost in the complexity of upsampling and processing. Don't get me wrong, the Esoteric pair is a good digital playback source, but it lacks the feel of the performance. A good CD through the Ypsilon with a good transport, I used the P-02, was simply revelationary.
mbovaird
140 posts
 
To me, the Lumin S1 is the best sounding digital. Plus no computer to fuss about.
jon2020's avatar
jon2020
988 posts
 
Has anyone heard the new Berkeley Reference dac? And compared it to any of the top tier models mentioned so far in this thread?
thankful
223 posts
 
I just had John Tucker at Exemplar Audio upgrade my Oppo 105 (now a T105). He strips the entire analogue section and replaces it and adds an outboard power supply. The T105 becomes my swiss army knife of audio equipment. The sound is very "musical. The sound stage is deep, wide, airy, has nice detail, lots of space around instruments but is "gorgeously musical." Everything is tied together nicely. The DAC in the unit is amazing, it tromps the PS Audio PWD MKII I previously owned. I would not be afraid at all to compare it to a Meitner class or higher quality DAC. Like most of you I have owned some very nice equipment and this simple setup (T105 to Exemplar Exception integrated) is stunning good. I own Von Schweikert vr-35's speakers and Silent Source speaker cables and interconnects. Since the DAC is built into the T105 I was able remove a separate unit and digital cable and run direct. My previous systems included separate high end everything and my current set up is the best sounding and most "musical" sounding system I have owned.
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