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Need Balanced DAC with optical and coaxial inputs for 2 channel home theater system

For my 2 channel home theater system (only), I am considering replacing my Musical Fidelity M1 DAC A with a better sounding DAC.  My needed inputs are one cable box using optical and one Sony Blu-ray player using coaxial.  I need balanced outputs (XLR) to connect the DAC to my Ayre AX-7e integrated amplifier.
  

The Wyred 4 Sound DAC-2 ($1,500) and the Parasound Zdac DAC ($2,500) are on my review list.  Any comments on these units?  Or, what other DAC's should I add to my list?   Considering my two input sources, will I really get better sound if I replace the Musical Fidelity M1 A DAC?

The sound quality using the Musical Fidelity M1 DAC is much better than than using the cable box RCA outputs direct to the Ayre AX-7e amp (my system is wired using both options using the source switch on the M1 DAC).  

Since the Parasound Zdac v.2 DAC is priced at $2,500 that is my top budget but I really prefer to keep the cost under $2,000.  Your comments and suggestions are appreciated.


hgeifman
hgeifman OP
2,186 posts
 
Hi audioconnection,  Thanks for your suggestion for a optical/coaxial switcher box.  It is an interesting concept but I prefer not to add an addition box to my family room cabinet (and prefer a single box solution).

After additional review, I decided to pass on the Benchmark DAC2 HGC because it is NOT FULLY balanced AND requires the DAC’s internal jumper cables to be adjusted to match my Ayre AX-7e integrated amplifier.  My Ayre AX-7e integrated amplifier requires a high quality balanced input so I need  fully balanced DAC. 

I am now researching the Wyred 4 SoundDAC-2 DSDse. It is fully balanced, has good quality sound, has XLR outputs including optical and coaxial inputs. The reviews are very good and it should work fine in my 2-channel home theater system.  Thanks again for all your help.  

extravaganza
373 posts
 
you can also look at bryston bda dac
audioman2015
103 posts
 
If you like laid back,lush, and polite sound take a look at the Luxman DA-06.  A Japanese version can be had on Ebay for about $2800.  

I had the Nad M51 for a week to demo. There was a lot of good going for it but I thought it was not worth $2000 but definitely $1100 used. It is lacking in the lower frequencies and uses a switching power supply vs linear.  It easily bested my Oppo HA-1 but was no where close to my Lite Dac 60 that I modified heavily.  BTW, the Lite Dac was the best audio purchase I ever made. 
cal3713's avatar
cal3713
1,421 posts
 
A comment of limited help, perhaps.  Anyway, I have a PS Audio PWDII and really like it.  I haven't compared it to your other options, but they're going for between $1000 & $1500 and I really like mine.  I've only compared it to their award winning DSD, but actually preferred the PWD (enough to re-buy one).  I thought it sounded more natural, definitely a better fit for my system (coincident speakers/amps), other ears agreed.  In any case, with the DACs pushing down the price, they're a good deal right now.
cal3713's avatar
cal3713
1,421 posts
 
P.S. I’m in a similar two-channel w/ TV & movies (the last Kuro Plasma) situation. I run a macmini (usb), PS4 (optical), DirecTV (coax), & cd/dvd player (xlr coax) through mine. All are both audio and video sources. 
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