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Looking for a vinylesk sounding DAC

I cannot say I wasn’t satisfied with my system.

Laptop (Quobuz Studio) - > Schiit Bifrost 2 - > Ocellia Reference RCA - > Werner Acoustics, Selene (active tube preamp using two VT-231 from RCA) - > passive preamp - > Ocellia Reference RCA - > First Watt F6 dual mono custom built - > HEDD Audio’s "Heddphone" / Hifiman HE 4

From the beginning I started to built it I had a quite concrete idea of what it should sound like in the end: vinylesk without using vinyl. It took me a while to get there and now I really thought I got it: Due to the F6 the outcome is brutally powerful and incredibly fast while the tube stage adds lots of body, depth and a rich organic undertone. Finally the RCA’s from Ocellia were adding the fine raffinement and a nice holographic soundstage. Nothing smears, in just every situation everything stays transparent, well controlled/articulated and the separation is just excellent.

BUT when listening to streamed vinyl I still feel the need for action - I just want EVERY track from quobuz to sound like this. Please take just some seconds and listen to this:

https://musicandvinyl.blogspot.com/2020/08/haruomi-hosono-from-aegean-sea.html?m=1

There is just MORE elasticity, MORE tonal density, MORE plankton, MORE concentration to the point, MORE light-footedness and MORE palpability (compared to a "disdainful" quobuz stream). Do you know what I mean?

I still think and hope a new dac could be the nirvana-solution. But which one would manage the job to sound just like vinyl (99% would be ok...)?

Happy to hear your suggestions!
barrista0611
millercarbon's avatar
millercarbon
12,531 posts
 
That's a pretty good way of describing all the ways vinyl kicks butt on digital. Michael Fremer still holds first place with, "There's more there there" but you did just fine. That's the reality. Vinyl is so far beyond digital MF is even able to record the sound of different cartridges on files and play them for people who would never otherwise have the opportunity to hear these super top of the line carts. That's what digital is good for. Comparing stuff. Convenience. Background. That kind of thing. 

The minute you stop all that and want to just enjoy music you simply change to the medium made for listening to music. That's all. 
georgehifi's avatar
georgehifi
10,312 posts
 
barrista0611 Looking for a vinylesk sounding DAC
If you looking for a "vinyl sounding" dac, go to a Lapizator TDA1541 NOS tube dac, not my cup of tea though.

Cheers George
nordicnorm
313 posts
 
To get an analog sounding system, go with all tubes in your chain.

The  Schiit Bifrost 2 is a very decent entry-level DAC. I used to own one. A Lampizator would give you a significant improvement, but also at a significantly increased cost.

The Doge 7 DAC (at ~$1,400 new) would be a good choice that is (cost wise) in between the Schiit and Lampi.

Disclosure: I had owned the Doge 8 preamp at one point and was impressed with its performance, although it is highly susceptible to tube rolling. To improve on it, I ended up replacing it with a Croft RIAA phonostage and a Don Sachs linestage (at 3x the cost).

As for amps, I am partial to tubed monoblocks personally. Tons to choose from, and in every budget range.

Good luck in your search.
barrista0611 OP
26 posts
 
Oh, I didn't know Fremer's article back from 2000 but it's a good read. For me the main question is if that is still the truth after 20 years. DACs have been improved a lot and most of them claim to sound "analog" (while just some do).

But my concern is going further as I think sounding analog is just a part of sounding vinylish. 

George, what's wrong about the Lapizator TDA1541 NOS DAC? 

Nordicnorm, thanks for suggesting the doge dac. I did quite a lot 6SN7 tube rolling with my preamp and had fun with it but after all I don't think the specific vinyl sound can't be reached through tubes. Yes, regarding a full-bodied, warm, lush sound full of texture, but no in respect of all the other aspects I mentioned. I don't wanna miss tubes in my system but as I am already using some in my preamp I'll be looking for a pure DAC for the moment. 


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