$1300-1500 DAC
@vogueot i too learned a ton in this thread. The orchid DAC looked amazing to me. But I got a great deal on the Gumby and it sounds great. I have fully balanced tube preamp so I like that the Gungnir is also fully balance, and some of the cold exactness of a Multibit DAC is rounded and warmed buy the tubes. Dacs and tubes can be very synergistic |
Hi Guys. I am gonna take this opportunity and get some info on MHDT vs dacs below $3k new or used. In terms of analog and tubey with a slightly soft treble sound character, which is would be more like what I am seeking. MHDT Orchid, Canary vs eg Metrum or Border Patrol? How about entry level Audionotes? Any input on sound quality would be most appreciated. Sorry andrewkelley for the hijack, hope you are ok with it. Thanks. |
The MHDT Orchid is very natural and unforced sounding. Nice detail and warmth at the same time. No tube softness. It is an easy best buy at anywhere near its price. Upgrade the output caps to Jupiter or Miflex copper foils and get the WE tube. No reason to spend more for great sound. This dac gives you dynamics, big stage size, detail, deep bass, smooth highs and fully fleshed out mids. |
I have the Audio Mirror Tubadour III SE and love it. In an ideal world I would have done a shootout between it, the Orchid, and Jolida's Black Glass FX Tube DAC DSD. The AM has been loved by everyone who tried it here... https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/another-new-dac-audio-mirror The Orchid became Terry London's (teajay) reference piece after he reviewed it... https://6moons.com/audioreview_articles/mhdtlab/ And the Jolida/Black Glass is a crazy good value at $649 (check the dealer ads on USAMart), and won a recent audio club DAC shootout vs some much more expensive equipment... https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/dac-it-out-shootout-august-24th-saturday-11-3pm-scottsdale-az |
