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Relaxed, musical DAC around 2k used?

I tend to differ from many audiophiles in that I am very sensitive to treble and what is commonly referred to as detail retrieval. I want something musical that is forgiving to poor recordings rather than reminding me that I’m not listening an audiophile mastered album, something laid back that gives the sense of ease and relaxation I get from vinyl.

I’ve previously tried DACs like the Chord Mojo, ifi xDSD, and Sabre 9018 based McIntosh D150 and found all to suffer from weak bass and overly emphasized treble (sparkle, air, detail) which is not to my liking. I’ve heard through reviews that something like the PS Audio Directstream DAC might be more of what I’m looking for but at the moment it is out of my budget. 

I also see things like the Mytek Brooklyn and Benchmark recommended at this price range but I fear they will have the same emphasis as the above and won’t be what I’m looking for. 

Im very open to used gear as it gives greater value. Is there anything out there for me?
128x128blorp
itzhak1969
515 posts
 
I have a McIntosh D100 which is the same as the D150 except the dsd capability and it doesn’t certainly suffer from weak bass and overly emphasized treble as you describe on the contrary the bass is tight and powerful ,the treble is natural and smooth. Before blaming the DACs you tried maybe you have problem with your sources,cables or amplification which cause the weak bass and bad treble.
Another point, the Harbeth in general are great speakers but tend to smooth gentle bass (which is very good IMO) and if you are looking for rubost/aggressive bass you will not
get it from your speakers and also the Harbeth’s are very revealing speakers (this is a good sign how good they are )so are not forgiving to poor recordings . It doesn’t matter which DAC you buy rubost bass and forgiving to poor recordings just not going to happen.
erik_squires
16,118 posts
 
Every MQA DAC rolls off the highs for PCM music, so something from Mytek for instance would have less upper treble than a Benchmark DAC3B or Chord Qutest (these have neutral sound).

@mzkmxcv

What?????
Figures 7 and 8 of this review say you have no idea what you are talking about:

https://www.stereophile.com/content/mytek-hifi-brooklyn-da-processor%C2%96headphone-amplifier-measur...


I own a Brooklyn. There’s nothing wrong with the treble response of the DAC, but I will say I prefer the fast filter, rather than the apodizing filter which has to be used to get MQA decoding.

To claim having MQA in a DAC lessens the treble response is nonsense. The original Brooklyn has MQA and measures superbly.

pkvintage's avatar
pkvintage
209 posts
 
Audionote ANK 3.1 tube. A little higher than 2k but you won't regret it. It replaced a NAD M51 which is also a highly regarded digital dac. 

The ANK 3.1 is very musical. The strum of a guitar, the ring of a bell is  a beautiful thing through this dac. 

Good luck
mzkmxcv
777 posts
 
@erik_squires

Caveat I left out, if using the MQA filter. Some MQA DACs only offer 1, so you are stuck with the MQA filter. That Mytek offers more than 1, the SR filter rolls off after 10kHz, as per your measurement link. Also, for that Mytek, you can see that FR has aliasing issues above nyquist, may or may not be audible, but it’s worse than even much cheaper DACs that are PCM only.
blorp's avatar
blorp OP
8 posts
 
@akiravelvet
Which Lampizator model out of curiosity, the Amber 2? Always been interested in trying an R2R dac. 
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