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Higher End DACs

I am looking for a DAC (potentially streamer&DAC) to be paired in a mcintosh system (c1100/611). Its my first foray into digital streaming and I have no need for a CD player.

I see a lot of love for Esoteric, however, most seems to be around their transports? Are they not as renowned for pure digital streaming and/or standalone DACs? I see DCS (for instance) often referenced for standalone DACs - how does Esoteric compare?
ufguy73
mikelavigne
2,199 posts
 
bo1972 could be an A.I. bot gone off the reservation. seems not to be completely sentient.
in_shore's avatar
in_shore
596 posts
 
bo1972 could be an A.I. bot gone off the reservation. seems not to be completely sentient.,.LOL could be 
4425
861 posts
 
ufguy73.  Did you ever get to audition a Bartok?!
ufguy73 OP
51 posts
 
not yet - I am getting some other components installed and want to break those in a bit before demoing some of the DACs that have interested me - definitely going to need something going in though
gregm
3,408 posts
 
Back on topic, I’ll echo @mikelavigne ’s point about pairing the DAC with a top-notch streamer and, I would add, a signal rejuvenator /re-clocker.

I recently auditioned top-class DACs (see here). The improvement brought upon by the streamer (i.e. "source" signal) & the Timing device that followed was not subtle!
In fact, one could tone down the DAC budget to make room for a re-clocker & server!
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