Best DAC under $2K

If you're at all into DIY, Peter Daniel has a non-oversampling DAC kit based on the TDA1543 chip. There's a mention of it in the "Latest News" section on his site
http://audiosector.com/

It's an extremely well thought out design and very musical (much in the vain of the 47 Labs DAC). If I recall, the basic kit can be had for around $250. It's extremely tweakable and very responsive to changes in cables, footers (isolation/decoupling), resistors, caps, etc.

He also offers a finished version for around $1K.

FWIW, I'm not at all affiliated w/ Peter, have no vested interest, yadda, yadda, yadda.

Cheers,
Hat

I had the Bel Canto Dac 2 for about 2 years and absolutely loved it. I sold it only because I went to a one box unit, the Ayre cx7e.

Thanks for the help. Just got an e-mail from a North Star dealer, went into their web page and it does look interesting. The model is the North star 192. The unit features two toroidal transformers, one for the digital side and one for the analog side. Any one has tried it?

I second Hatfield's recommendation. Having heard this unit..it is for real. As usual items like this are passed over because the don't carry a high enough price tag. I also have no company funds and such at stake.;-) Just trying to let others know something of very high quality and good sound exist at a very reasonable price. In this case you get more than what you pay for.LOL

Good luck

Gmood,

Glad to see there's someone else that shares my postitve experience w/ Peter's NOS DAC. I just read some of your prior posts regarding the DAC and your decription is spot on. Soundstage definition, clarity, grainless highs, tight & controlled bass, accurate instrument timbre. Very organic and natural.

I've been swapping between a Kinber D-60 cable and a Bitstream cable (DIYCable) for my digital link. I've also replaced the 2k7 Riken resistors for Caddock TF020's along with swapping the 100uF BG cap on the DAC w/ a 47u BG N cap (it brought the soundstage more into the foreground as it sounded a touch recessed on my system). I'm about to swap out the four 1000/25V BG caps for 1000/50V BG caps. I've also been considering the V-Cap upgrade in the coupling position - but I'm on financial hold for now. One step @ a time ;^)

I don't want to come off as "soapboxing" for Peter & Audio Sector, but I like to give credit where credit is due. Peter is a wonderful guy to deal with and is always available for product support. One of the good guys of audio for sure.

Cheers,
Hat