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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
sunandmusic
27 posts
 
Waking up this (interesting) thread. Anyone heard the Discrete TotalDAC units? I have buddies who rave about these DACs sounding so smooth and natural and I have heard the TotalDAC Dual in another system and it was damb good, couldn't fault it. It had that wow factor of the over the top detail DACs but without any fatigue or boredom setting in. It just kept giving, no volume adjusting or track swopping, just play it loud and sit down.

I have an Audio Note DAC 4.1 which I was thinking of selling on and looking for something 'better' but still in camp 2 i.e. warm and natural rather than detail freak. I do however like speed and dynamics so trying to grab the best of both types.

Has anyone got / heard the Audio Note DAC 5 Special and how would it rank in the current crop of better DACs around? It is too long in the tooth now, maybe it is better consigned to history, and possibly always was overpriced. The 4.1 is still 'real world' prices (just).

The new bred of discrete DACs seem the way to go for a natural sound with the pace and detail of the better DS DACs. Any opinions would be great guys.
dragon_vibe
430 posts
 

Having owned both MSB Dacs, The Analog and the Diamond. I can tell you from first hand experience. It is not something I would suggest unless of course your not into music but rather showing off your personal Ego. Sometimes price does not reflect the musicality. I learnt it the hard way


larryi
4,053 posts
 
Sunandmusic,

I got to participate in a blind shootout between a 3.1, 4.1 and a 5 Special.  I have also heard the DAC-5 Signature in a friend's system.   These are all very musical sounding devices.  In the shootout, I thought the 4.1 was really the sweetspot.  It was considerably better than the 3.1, and only slightly less resolving and detailed than the 5 Special (at significantly lower price).  The shootout came about when a customer brought into the dealership a 4.1 he owned to compare with the 5 Special, and perhaps, to trade in the 4.1 to get the 5.  Another customer, who happened to be in the store at that time, ran home to get his 3.1 for the shootout, because there was the possibility of trading it in for the 4.1 if the owner of the 4.1 traded up.  As it turned out, both customers ended up executing the three-way trade.  

I have only heard a direct comparison between the DAC 5 Special and one other DAC.  That other DAC is something made by an Italian builder of tube gear (phono, preamps, linestages, DACs, crossovers and field coil power supplies) named Aldo D'Urso.  I thought Aldo's DAC, which is much cheaper than the DAC 5, sounded better in most, but not all respects.  The Aldo DAC was actually better than the DAC 5 in midrange texture and sounded more harmonically dense (more saturated sound), but, the DAC 5 was a bit more open and airy on the top end.  Overall, I would take the Aldo DAC, but, the comparison was pretty close.  If you are at all interested in the DAC 5 or the Aldo DAC, you can contact Deja Vu Audio (dejavu-audio.com) and speak to the proprietor, Vu Hoang (he sells both).

I admit that I have not tried to keep up with the latest developments in the DAC/digital front.  If it is like any other component type, I would not expect there to have been much in the way of real improvements for some time now.  The big changes have been more a matter of convenience.  I DO like very much the convenience of making music selections from a server (Naim NDS).
sunandmusic
27 posts
 
In the shootout, I thought the 4.1 was really the sweetspot. It was considerably better than the 3.1, and only slightly less resolving and detailed than the 5 Special (at significantly lower price).
Interesting indeed, thank you! So maybe my tweaked up DAC 4 is up there. I have swopped out the Audio Note copper caps for the much better Duelunds which are more transparent and faster yet no edge or digital sound to them.

Having owned both MSB Dacs, The Analog and the Diamond. I can tell you from first hand experience. It is not something I would suggest unless of course your not into music but rather showing off your personal Ego. Sometimes price does not reflect the musicality. I learnt it the hard way

Thank you dragon_vibe. I was looking at a used MSB Platinum but was wondering if it was all show and too digital / detail freak territory. I am also turned off that MSB have dropped this affordable DAC and go from the Analogue up to the Signature at 22K USD. So they are saying goodbye to the middle ground DAC buyers IMO. I also read many many MSB users who have sold an moved on with similar comments about not sounding real, over detailed and digital.

Still interested to hear a TotalDAC. Audio Note need to get that discrete DAC out....
emailists
923 posts
 
Although I now sell the product, I have heard the Ps audio Directstream sound excellent from its release and then continually evolve as new operating systems are released which creates a new circuit design In the field programmable gate array they use.  It's truly worth hearing.   There is also a new OS in beta that users are finding astonishing. There is a DS junior out as well for lower cost that includes a network card. They both play DSD natively, which can sound more at ease than PCM. The improvement over the PWD mkii is lightyears in comparison and I like that the sound keeps improving as free upgrades are released. The best comparison is reel to feel- it’s extremely analog sounding and the built in volume control is extremely transparent, and will sound better than going though all but the very best preamps.
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