Dac upgrade

DCS Bartok. Truly outstanding. Read the reviews and comparisons. The road would end for a very long time. IMO

+1 for dCS.

It’s the only DAC I’ve heard that makes me want to change my Naim nDAC/Pardo TXPS. Unfortunately not in my budget at the moment.

I agree with you re the Chord DACs.  Very clean and detailed, but it somehow misses the music.  IMO, obviously. 

@newtoncr As I said, my opinion was worth what you paid for it. Good luck. I am following to see what you ultimately end up with.

I am thinking one of the major differences is the balance of your system vs. mine. I preface this by saying I love Ayre Amps and Preamps and the equipment you have was in one of the best sounding systems I have ever heard.

My system is entirely tube based (Art Audio Conductor and Quartets) which definitely adds warmth compared to the Ayre gear so my system likely does more to offset the somewhat clinical nature of the Chord where the Ayre gear doesn't.

Incidentally, the system I referenced above had Wilson Alexxs as the speakers and an Esoteric DAC. Don’t know the exact model but it delivered jawdropping sound.  Might be worth taking a look at Esoteric.  

I've heard most DACs up to 100k and and the ones that stand out for me are the Totaldac by a wide margin.You have a 3 weeks free trial in case you don't like it.Prices start at 2,5k up to 32k.

Appreciate all your input. Dcs is “digital done right” if there is one lol. I am sure Totaldac is amazing , 
briscati I have heard and I preferred the ayre in my system, more magic with ayre .
esoteric I haven’t heard .
i would like to know about t+a dac . Their hv line standalone dac or the mp version . That’s what I am going to listen in my system next week and was hoping for what to expect . Is it worth the 30k plus price tag ?