2. digital
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2k to 4k Streaming DAC

I have a Anthem STR Integrated amp with floor standing Focal Aria 936 speakers. I have been using a Oppo BD-105 for streaming Tidal via XLR. I had a Pro-Ject Pre Box 2 Digital that I hooked up to the Anthem via RCA out and used a laptop to stream Tidal Masters and it sounded a whole lot better. I want to use an ipad to stream Tidal MQA files and think a new DAC with streaming would do that. I have read about Mytek and Element X.Are there others I should look at.
airmanmike54
gestalt's avatar
gestalt
190 posts
 
Gold Note’s DS-10 is a compact DAC/streamer/headphone amplifier/preamp. Does MQA/DSD/Roon/Bluetooth/Ethernet/Wifi and has balanced + single ended output. There is a new review by Jason Victor Serinus in the August 2020 issue of Stereophile you may find interesting:

Sitting on a single shelf, powered by a single power cable, Gold Note's DS-10/PSU-10 EVO has potential to fulfill and heal in ways that extend far beyond words. It's a stellar achievement from engineers who understand what musical deliverance is all about.

Review in Mono & Stereo.
Review in Positive Feedback.

disclaimer: I’m a Gold Note dealer
https://gestalt.audio
shahram
115 posts
 
For streamer DAC under 4K I would look at the Lumin D2 as well.
big_greg
6,628 posts
 
TEAC NT-505.  At the lower end of your budget, sounds great, does MQA.
wolfie62
352 posts
 
Digital is perfect, so anything more than $200 is a waste of money. They’re all alike.
p05129
501 posts
 
Digital is not perfect, but it’s very very good when you have the right equipment. $200 will get you a low-fi dac at best, good for background music, but that’s it.
I prefer network attached dacs based on FPGA with dsd/mqa capability
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