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Take a look at the Doge 8. Full tube analog output stage like the Lampi but signnificantly lower price." Wow, I haven't read the review yet, but the Doge 7 looks very impressive for less than $1600. Doge website: http://www.doge.audio Review: http://www.tnt-audio.com/sorgenti/doge7_dac_e.html |
The TEAC 503 and 505 both produce a wonderful sound which leans towards the warmer or analogue side of digital conversion. The unit can come as a simple plan DAC (UT) or Network and DAC unit (NT). I suppose they might be considered a poor mans Esoteric DAC or Network player. I have the NT-505 and love the music it makes from 1s & 0s. I can listen for hours without listener fatigue. |
The specifications for the TEAC 505 look pretty good. I was discouraged from purchasing a used 505 on the grounds that the unit's documentation would be in Japanese only, and that there are questions about TEAC's customer support presence in the U.S. I would be interested in hearing about TEAC documentation / support / repair issues with respect to this equipment from Audiogon readers. |
North Star Supremo and Excelsio. The es9016 based DACs from NSD are more neutral but these two are very smooth and engaging. I cant believe nobody mentioned Chord. The Hugo series is excellent. Another nod can go to the AMR gear. I’d assume the new iFi Pro iDSD would have a similar tone but I haven’t heard it. Marantz gear is musical with just a tad bit of bite to it. I’d recommend the HD-DAC1 or the higher end SACD players. Any tube based dac should get there but then you might be chasing tubes instead of the dac. |
