Absolute top tier DAC for standard res Redbook CD

Color me misinformed, but I thought the Merlot was $6500-

With the Comet Plus at $3500- there’s not a huge difference in price here.

Both are excellent choices in their price point. But I consider the Comet a HUGE value for the money, I mean H U G E!!! The Merlot is properly priced and is an excellent DAC for the money.

I don’t think I would suggest someone with a $95k system to audition a Comet Plus as their primary DAC. The Merlot would do their system proud. But I will openly admit that in my small Wells audio/Scansonic sub 10k office system, the Comet did sound a scootch better then the Merlot. And the A10 internal DAC sounded better then both. I was shocked. But go figure......

Interestingly, we did swap power cords and USB cables to make things as fair as possible because everyone was so surprised with the results. It didn’t make a difference. We used a cheap crappy belkin usb and the TotalDAC USB. And a few different power cords. I do think that the Comet (like most DAC’s) requires massive hours of burn in to truly sound its best. And this Comet was well burned in.

As I say, opinions vary and the only way to hear if something works in your system is to try it out.

Thank you for sharing your opinion and your results, Matt. The context of different findings in systems of varying resolution is important here as you say.

Dave

As an update, I have upgraded every power cable in my main system from Shunyata Alpha digital, analog and HC to the all new top tier Shunyata Sigma NR power cables. I also have replaced my older Shunyata Hydra AV conditioner with the newest Denali D6000s. The guys at Shunyata know my system well (I’ve been a big supporter and long time customer of theirs) and they recommended the D6000s over their more expensive conditioner for my system. Because of its physical layout (rack on side, amps up front). The power cables are here. The D6000S is arriving Wednesday. I can’t wait!

Alwo, my Davinci mk2 has arrived at the dealer and he will be delivering it on Wednesday.

So lots to report coming up.

I also secured a Lumin S1 and will be comparing it to the Aurender A10 at the office and the N10 in my main system. THAT should be a fun comparison!!!

Thanks for the comment Jason. The Wells Audio gear is VERY good and VERY unknown. They make some of the best high end headphone amps on the market as well. Their Majestik integrated is amazing and their stereo amps are just flat out awesome. Larry, from Distinctive Stereo, introduced me to them. I had never heard of it before. Worth an audition for anyone looking for a great stereo amp or integrated in the $4k to $14k range. And I can't overstate how much I love Merrill Audio's Veritas monoblocks. I happily owned them until I upgraded to my Burmester 911 mk3 monoblocks. 

glory, Did you use any of dlcockrum's solutions? What USB and which footers did you use to get the Comet synced to your system? I also noted tha Mike of Verastarr held back and didn't even mention he's developed a few improvements for the Comet.