I can highly recommend the Bryston BDA-1 in your price range. Used Bryston BDA-1s are currently going for $500-$700. This was a $2000 piece when it first came out some 10 years ago and is still capable of delivering quality sound. I had one in my main rig from 2014 until quite recently. I upgraded because its USB input was limited to 44K, but its coax, toslink and AES/EBU inputs are quite capable, but if you need higher resolution USB or support for DSD, you will need to look elsewhere.
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I’ve recently tried a few DACs in the under $1k range. Topping d50, Sabja D5, Schiit multibit uber(already owned) ADI-2 DAC. I’m keeping the ADI. They all sounded similar. Topping d50 a bit lean and not too much depth of the soundstage. Tried different filters, power sources, etc... Schiit Bifrost nice tone and good resolution. Sabaj D5 pretty much the same as the ADI, but the menus were in 1pt font, the knob felt a bit fiddly (as in might break at some point) not a lot of history of company if something goes wrong in the future. ADI-2 DAC a bit more resolution, a peq that can be adjusted for each channel, solid build, headphone amp with selectable filters and eq separate from the line out or the in ear monitor output. And the filters actually sound different. A long history of the company in audio (mastering products) Harmony remote link, so you can change parameters from the comfort of your comfy chair ;) . it is a bit of a stretch of your budget, but it may be worth a look. |
Try out this one, one of the few that really plays music unlike most hifi-dac`s https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/DEQ2496--behringer-ultracurve-pro-deq2496 |
I am curious about this Behringer ultracurve, a bit intimidated by the user manual tough, and a bit interrogatively careful about the new noise that this new gear will introduce, but perhaps the pay-off would be the fun to play... I would put it between my computer and my dac...I will certainly buy one someday...If someone has experience with this and a dac I will listen to him... My best... |
A used Ayre Codex will smoke just about anything out there, and for a bit more than $1K, I believe it one of the best performers out there for the money. A Schiit Yggy or Gungnir would be a close second. I owned the Modi, and Bifrost, and can say you really have to move up the line in order to enjoy the sound quality benefits.-Though Schiit demurs from categorizing models sound-wise, they do seem to know/price their products accordingly. Bob |
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