Bryston DAC3.
Looking for recommendations for a 'warm' sounding DAC
Would anyone know of a warm sounding DAC, budget to £2500/$3000 new or used. My ears don’t like a crisp and clinical sound, I find that Chord/dcs/Topping sound painful if loud. I know many love those crisp leading edges that these deliver but that sound does not synergise with my amp/speakers nor my sensitive ears. I know the easiest way to achieve this would be to switch speakers to a mellow speaker but this option is not available.
Any suggestions would be welcome.
Any suggestions would be welcome.
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- 63 posts total
What DAC are you using now?So this is my second system - a Naim 180/82 into B&W 804s, which is used only for background social listening. At the moment I use it to play Qobuz via Roon through Chromecast Audio. I would like a better DAC than the Chromecast audio, but the Chord one I tried provided a very detailed presentation which somewhat grated my ears. I suffer from hyperacusis - in my case a low threshold to loud harsh sounds - think kids screaming or dishes clanking, and the Chord and cheap-as-chips Topping seemed to accentuate those attributes of the sound. My main system is fine but that is a very much smoother Vitus/Boenicke set up which is rich and warm and doesn’t aggravate my ears. |
This one might be worth a look: https://6moons.com/audioreview_articles/sonnet-digital/ I haven't heard it but I have owned 5 of the designer's other DACs and still own two of them. |
@duckworp, I suffer from hyperacusis as well. Mine developed from a virus. I’ve gone thru many speakers and components so that I could listen to digital without issue. I must ask, why are you using B&W’s which present such detail in the highs? As far as a dac recommendation, I think you should try a NOS dac aka a r2r ladder DAC. There is no upsampling, it takes the native data stream and shapes it into a smooth waveform. I own an Audio Note (all tube with no digital filters) which I purchased used. It presents warm, non-fatiguing sonics. Ather highly rated NOS dac is from MHDT. Border Patrol is a Dac that has created a lot of buzz on the forums. It's NOS and uses a tube rectifier I believe. |
- 63 posts total