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$10k DAC in a 3k system?

Hello all,

Ive owned the same audio rig for 8 years or so (Rega Mira 3 amp> Rega RS5 speakers) 

My source into the Mira3 amp is a headless fanless micro windows7pc I built running jrivermc> musichall Dax 25.3

i am reading some phenomenal things about some of these Dacs in the 10K range ( Chord Dave, Ayre, Lampizator,PS Audio, etc).

My question is a simple one: the other pieces of my system sound great to me, but are at a much lower price point collectively than one of the dacs mentioned above. Do I need to be concerned about my Amp/speakers being fast/dynamic enough to facilitate a Dac like the Dave? Or could I plug a top notch Dac like that into my system and hear the same things I've heard described in the reviews (but on a relative level) ?

thanks in advance for any insight!
dla123
larryi
3,982 posts
 

While this would not be the most efficient allocation of resources, yes, a better DAC will make a noticeable improvement in even a quite modest system. 


At the Washington DC area Capitalfest audio show, a few years ago, one of the best sounding rooms had a low-budget set of components on display.  The speakers were ProAc Tablettes, and the amp was an integrated tube amp from Synthesis.  This seemingly modest system was putting out beautiful music.  The source, I believe, was CD quality files on a laptop.  Hidden from view was the DAC, which was an Audio Note DAC 5 which costs may multiples of the combined value of the rest of the system.  I think the point was to show that even a set of small speakers and a fairly low-powered tube amp can be really capable, but, it also showed off what the DAC 5 can do.

onhwy61's avatar
onhwy61
5,218 posts
 
Nothing ever sounds like what the reviewers write!  They are wordsmiths who have fabricated a "language" that purports to describe music as reproduced via electronic transducers.  It's a consumerist fantasy  whose purpose is to make you unhappy with whatever level of equipment you already have.

You don't have to spend $10k on a DAC, there are very good quality converters for $2k.  Schitt is a brand that comes to mind.
charles1dad's avatar
charles1dad
10,250 posts
 
Hi Larry,
That listening experience you described is a good example of favorable sound quality/cost ratio.  Some modestly priced audio components are well engineered/implemented and are capable of preserving the audio signal from a high quality source. 

I've also heard audio systems that were a mixture expensive and modest priced components that produced very impressive sound quality.  Performance and cost isn't always a linear relationship. 
Charles 
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