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DAC finalist please help

Hi all,
hope everyone is doing well this holiday season.
I’m back on the DAC hunt and I have narrowed down to these different but compelling DAC’s.
Unlike a lot of you guys on Audiogon I’m not a millionaire : (  My budget is only 1,500 bucks but I think there are some good choices in that range.
If any of you folks have experience with any of these pieces I would greatly appreciate your thoughts.

I’m replacing a McCormack DAC-1 that I have owned since new.
I still listen and continue to buy Redbook CD’s so something that would be kind to those is important.
I’m trying to make the determination on overall what would work and sound the best.
NOS with tubes is intriguing as is R2R as is just a good chip set.
I’m looking at a Aragon D2A used $600 for redbook playback and maybe teaming it up with a Xiangsheng 05B to handle modern formats DSD etc, less than 500 bucks the two together would be just north of a grand.
On the NOS front the Audio Mirror Tubadour III NOS w/tubes, new $1,500.

The Denafrips Ares II R2R used about 800 bucks, or the Musician - Pegasus, new around $1,100.
And then there is the Line Magnetic 502CA tube, used 700-800 dollars.
I love the look of the LM and it's got a great tube stage, I definitely have a bit of a crush on this one.

I realize I’m a little bit all over the Map here, but again if anyone has thoughts or has /had one of these DAC’s I’m all ears...Many thanks and Happy Holidays!HG
grossman616
georgehifi's avatar
georgehifi
10,312 posts
 
I still listen and continue to buy Redbook CD’s so something that would be kind to those is important.
I’m trying to make the determination on overall what would work and sound the best.
NOS with tubes is intriguing as is R2R as is just a good chip set.
Go R2R discrete for PCM RedBook 16/44 24/96 or DXD.
Delta Sigma just doesn’t cut it in comparison so far, but it is better for DSD but it's loosing ground to the newer discrete R2R’s that are out.

Cheers George
calvinandhobbes
312 posts
 
+1 on jjss49's comments on the Ares II. It does sound very good, but ideally I want a bit more refinement. The Ares II sounds great overall, but I do feel that its sound quality has some harshness when listening for an extended period of time. I am considering getting a Pontus to retain the strengths of the Ares II (detail presented with ease, natural presentation across the frequency range, transients are easy to understand but not etched in sound quality).

One potential way to reduce the Ares' sibilance is by using different power cables. An Audience power cable seems to cause more harshness. A Shunyata Venom power cable seems to sound smoother to me. I might do a comparison of Ares II sound quality with these two cables this weekend.
cal3713's avatar
cal3713
1,421 posts
 
I greatly enjoy my audio mirror and from everything I've read it seems the mdhts @jjss49 suggested are also beautiful sounding. After getting an r2r nos dac and enjoying my AM T3se for the past year, I am heavily biased to stay within this typology. The AM I have just sounds more "right" and less electronic than the chip solutions I've tried.
grinnell
1,136 posts
 
I'll second the MHDT Dacs just got a used Stockholm v2 and love it R2R, Tube and very musical, detailed and not fatiguing
hilde45's avatar
hilde45
5,361 posts
 
I love my MHDT Orchid. Still, lots of options. You might watch the recent video from A British Audiophile. I always come away learning something. https://youtu.be/bb-O8JF24PI

(Oh, and if you’re spending $1500 on a DAC, you have much more than most people, so don’t feel too bad. FWIW, money is not typically a sign of virtue.)
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