Options for $1k or less DAC?
Hi Everyone,
My current setup:
Spotify Connect -> HiFi Berry Dac w/ hifiberryOS -> Bottlehead Crack w/ speedball -> Sennheiser 6xx
I'd like to replace the hifiberry with a better DAC and switch over to Amazon Music HD to get increased quality of 24/192. I recently purchased a S.M.S.L Sanskrit 10th MK II was was *floored* by the difference in sound between the 2 setups.
My expectation is that the differences are mostly related to DAC with Spotify already streaming at 320bps. The differences that show up between streaming services / quality is likely minimal.
My requirements are minimal to start with:
USB input
Analog Out
Nice to have: Filters, more than 1 output.
So, where do I go from the Sanskrit?
My current setup:
Spotify Connect -> HiFi Berry Dac w/ hifiberryOS -> Bottlehead Crack w/ speedball -> Sennheiser 6xx
I'd like to replace the hifiberry with a better DAC and switch over to Amazon Music HD to get increased quality of 24/192. I recently purchased a S.M.S.L Sanskrit 10th MK II was was *floored* by the difference in sound between the 2 setups.
My expectation is that the differences are mostly related to DAC with Spotify already streaming at 320bps. The differences that show up between streaming services / quality is likely minimal.
My requirements are minimal to start with:
USB input
Analog Out
Nice to have: Filters, more than 1 output.
So, where do I go from the Sanskrit?
- ...
- 22 posts total
all rhetoric aside, if big_greg is trying to lead the op and other readers to believe the schitt bifrost is an equally good sounding or a better sounding dac than a mhdt stockholm 2 or orchid, that belief would be rather incorrect imo based on my comparisons, the mhdt dacs outperform not just schiit’s bifrost (mb) but also their gumby and yggy for overall musicality, finesse and coherence ... the bifrost has a warm midrange and bloated midbass that obscures, and a sibilance problem in the lower treble -- the yggy solves the sibilance problem but delivers a rather ’hifi’/accentuated treble that is rather disembodied from the rest of the music, something akin to a speaker with a ribbon tweeter poorly integrated with the mid/bass drivers saying the bifrost ’holds it own’ is a matter of personal taste and how much allowance for poorer sound one allows in their system and with their hearing -- a samsung smartphone ’holds it own’ against a top flight hifi dac in that it also transmits the music... but it sounds much worse my 2 cents ymmv, which obviously it did with greg |
Today, I am using this DAC with the Benchmark HPA4 preamp. https://soundnews.net/sources/dacs/matrix-audio-mini-i-pro-3-third-time-s-a-charm/ It sounds great with my headphones, Meze Empy + Topping A90 amp. I am going back and forth whether I like it on my uber revealing 2 channel system. This DAC will eventually go back to headphone duties so it does not matter It has the following features and very good sound for $899 MSRP (I bought for $749 on Black Friday) - 7 filters with graphics to show the frequency curves - Beautiful screen that shows album cover - MQA - AirPlay2, Wifi, Ethernet, Android connectivity via Bluetoooth codecs such as AptX-HD and LDAC - Remote - Coaxial, Optical, IIS LVDS, USB Audio, Bluetooth and Streaming - ROON READY (soon) - Headphone (never tried it) - Preamp and volume control (I do not use it) |
- 22 posts total