Absolute top tier DAC for standard res Redbook CD

Nitewullf 

There are two dacs which are awesome in that price range. 

One is the awesome T+A Dac 8DSD which for $4,200.00 is just plain outstanding, I know it is not a ladder dac but nonethess wow if you feed it via a computer with upsampled pcm to DSD 256 or 512 it produces a holographic, totally musica sound. 

This is the dac that we use most of the time when demoing our Legacy Signatures that you so love. 

The other is the Aqua Hifi Lasca  which we have a Demo that would make the piece affordable and that is a Ladder Dac, and it is also upgradable via replaceable boards.

The Aqua gear is just exceptionally musical and is very involving, with a liquid midrange as the La Scala uses tubes, the fact that Aqua offers up grades and is an evolving platform to me would make that dac very interesting compared to the Metrum which does make nice sounding musical products. http://www.aquahifi.com/la_scala.html


http://www.digitalaudioreview.net/2016/06/next-level-aqua-hifi-formula-la-scala-mkii-w-telefunken/

http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews2/aqua/1.html

Dave owner 
Audio Doctor

I have not heard the LaScala or the T&A, but both have great reputations. The Playback Designs Merlot is certainly worth hearing as well. 

And as long as DSD is not needed, the Empirical Overdrive SE is outrageously good!!! 

On the cheap end of Wow is the Axogal Comet and Chord Hugo 2/Hugo TT.

I chose to avoid tubes DAC's for my search, but they may be up your alley as well.

Find a few dealers you trust and spend a lot of time listening. It will pay off in the end. 

Matt, the Comet is from Exogal (formerly known as Wadia), and AQUA's top DAC, The Formula is SS w/o any valves.

Peter, here are a few links for worthwhile choices of Ethernet Isolators that are not optical. I am still trying to find the thread on CA but I am still looking for the right one. So this will have to make do for now. 

http://www.emosystems.com/product/en-70e-ultra-compact-network-isolator/

http://industrialcomponent.com/baaske/mi1005.html

http://www.artistic-fidelity.de/index.php/en/giso-isolator

Some me of us like the Emo best and others like either of the other two. 

Of course this is not an exhaustive list but these are the most respected and popular ones. 

You would put put one of these just before the server. 

I hope this helps. 

I owned the Adagio and have had the LaScala here in my system for an audition.  I agree with gibalok about the Adagio, which I found to be very clean and resolving but with a bit less body and tonal density than I enjoyed from my Level 1 Pavane.  I could tell the Adagio was more resolving than my Level 1 Pavane but after sending my Pavane in for the upgrade, I found the Level 3 Pavane to be more to my liking than the Adagio since it was close in resolution and IMO displayed superior body and tonal density.  I have a very high quality unity-gain, buffered preamp so do not need or want to go direct from the DAC to my amps.  I could live with the Adagio, but preferred the Level 3 Pavane, even when I compared them by running both through my preamp.
I preferred the Level 1 Pavane to the LaScala although that opinion may be in the minority.  I would definitely prefer the Level 3 Pavane to the LaScala.  I have not heard Aqua's Formula but would like to.