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Most organic / real / analogue sounding DAC (ideally with Volume Control) for $1500??????

I’d say I’m completely jaded with digital Hifi.   All sounds so thin & clinical.

I people raving about Benchmark DACs & Chord Mojos etc. They sound like hell to me.   Nothing at all like real live voices & instruments.

I’ve been reading about R2R Ladders & NOS.   The descriptions match what I’m looking for.   I want natural sound that makes me forget about Hifi & just listen to the music.
like Reel to Reel without the faff.

Lifelike is my aim, but I certainly prefer a warm, dark sound over clinical.

Don't need a load of inputs.  Only need 2 or 3.
I don’t have any analog sources, so prefer the DAC to have Volume Control to eliminate the need for a Pre Amp.   However, if the best sounding DACs don’t have Volume Control & there are clear sonic benefits to having a Preamp, then I could be persuaded.

I’m in UK btw, so need brands that ship to UK.


Suggestions please?


Thanks

singintheblues
melchior-christoph
15 posts
 
three_easy_payments4
I do own a Metrum Amethyst Non-Oversampling DAC  (1.3k) and a Systemdek IIX / SME / MC / Ortofon Prepre feeding my tubeamp.
Than I have a dedicated LOKI DSD DAC..
.
The DSD DAC is a € 100 device and is on par with the Non-Oversampling DAC and the turntable - and sounding VERY ANALOG. BUT SACD / DSD64 has a very limited offering.
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What I mostly do is download LP rips, convert them to 24bit / 48khz and have them in an iPod Classic / Pro-Ject Digital Dockingstation feeding my Metrum DAC via chinch toslink.
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Many of my favourite albums from Ultravox / Alphavile / Yazoo / Depeche Mode were produced in 24bit / 48 khz anyway, so the loss is minute.
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When listening to Rolling Stones on DSD I do not know whether it sounds "better" in the sense that it gets more music out of it, but for sure sounds more like"reel to reel".
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There are newly recorded SACD / DSD64 albums which deliver "sound plankton" which to match one would need a DXD aka 352.8 khz recording.
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The sky is the limit. I am happy with 24bit / 48 khz with a non-oversampling DAC and a tube amp. YMMV
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And no - my turntable sounds for the most part just like my Nos DAC.
( I do not have the money for an tube EAR prepre, but than it might be better. MIGHT!!!)
.




melchior-christoph
15 posts
 
audiofun4
The 777 is a tube DAC. I do have a tube amp, so I do not need the "infusion of happy vibes" a tube might give you with SS gear.
I am a sucker for a "mellow" sound - and with my tube amp and the Metrum Octave I had before I already got me there.
The Amethyst just added more bass and "grunt" - letting the Octave sounding a wee bit dreamy - and the Amethyst more "real".
I am a happy camper with 24bit / 48khz and even redbook sounds "analog enough" - warm and bassy that is now.


 

ryder
1,748 posts
 
Chord Mojo and Benchmark DAC sound like hell? That’s quite an exaggeration there. What speakers are you using?
jtcf's avatar
jtcf
1,620 posts
 
I think the folks that believe digital will never come close to sounding as pleasing as analog never felt motivated enough to try very hard.The majority of the upgrades and tweaks went towards optimizing their analog setup.Not that there's anything wrong with that:-)They will never sound exactly the same but a system put together to make the most of a digital front end will be equally satisfying and sound wonderful.As others have mentioned it's the system as a whole IMHO.
fleschler
2,046 posts
 
@jtcf Exactly. Maybe most of my well remastered CDs aren’t exactly analog-like in open, spacious sound, but they are intensely musical sounding. As to my historic (and 1000s of acoustic) 78s on CD, wow, they are better than I could have achieved using my 78 analog front end (VPI 19-4/Ultracraft/Grado 78 e/Marantz 7C).  I don't have the time to adjust speed/pitch and stylus size for each of those records.
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