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Which dac or other suggestions

First time poster here. I am looking for advice to increase the sound quality of my existing system. I have a Marantz SR7009 being used as a pre-amp powered by Emotiva's XPA-5, 2 revel m22 bookshelf speakers serving as my L & R, revel c52 center speakers and 2 revel timber matched C563 in ceiling rear surrounds. I mainly listen to music and switch between L &R stereo only and sometimes "all stereo" or matrix through all speakers. We do watch movies but seem happy with our home theater experience thus far although always open to suggestions. We mostly listen to music through a Sonos connect but we also do have an Orbit turntable. I know that the turntable will one day need to be upgraded to maybe a Rega RP3 or similar. I am in the process of adding two SVS SB12-nsd subs to the mix. Our room is large at 20x30x10 and I hope these subs will make some sort of impact. We also use an Apple TV. Now for my question.

I am looking to increase the sound quality of my Sonos driven music. I spoke to an audiophile (owner of Echo audio in Seattle) and he suggested a dac. In particular, because he knows I'm cheap haha!, he suggested the California Labs Sigma ii, Enlightened Audio Designs DSP-7000 mkiii, and some Krell dacs (stealth and ??) that I have never seen listed for sale. I missed an opportunity on both the Cal Labs and the EAD and I'm kicking myself. With ALL this being said, what other dacs should I consider? My budget is $750 or less and I would prefer $400 or less. Old vs new? Tube? NOS? DSD? Yadda yadda. I am looking for an increased sound stage and dynamic range. If I get more clarity and warmth then yee haw!

I appreciate all of your input in advance. Thanks for letting this first timer ramble.

Btw, I listen to mostly indie rock but I seriously dive into ALL types of music and yes I like it loud.
troydunnagan
4hannons's avatar
4hannons
187 posts
 

I have found more differences between lower priced dac's than higher priced dac's. 

In terms of the higher priced dac's you pay more for that last 5-10%, but generally they all sound very good above $2,000.

With sub $1000 dac's I've found a wide margin of difference. Some cannot resolve enough detail, some cannot produce a wide or deep soundstage. Some can.

Choose wisely.


shadorne's avatar
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shadorne
7,477 posts
 
The Gustard X20 Pro with Singer SU-1 sounded as good as a $2000 previous generation Benchmark DAC 2 to me. That would be my budget recommendation. 
nordicnorm
313 posts
 
A few months ago, I replaced my Teac UD-501 with a Gustard x20Pro/Singxer SU-1 combo.

It was a huge leap in sonic performance. I've since cleaned up the SU-1s' power supply by installing the 4.5V SBooster Ultra board between the internal power supply and Singer main board.
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jughead
208 posts
 
I would invest in a pre amp, because hooking an amp into the pre outs of an avr is not the route to go. pre outs on an avr are a after thought the avr job is digital first. some pre amps have pretty nice Dacs built in and have HT bypass. trust me you can get a pretty good pre amp in your price range and it'll make a huge improvement in sound quailty. Emotiva makes pre amps that will give you HT bypass and Parasound does as well but not sure how well Parasound would match up with your system? I wouldn't worry about cable, speakers or a DAC until you get a pre amp, this will give you the biggest improvement in sound quality at this point.
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