What is the best DAC ever made?

Murataltuev, curious when you did your comparison between the Berkely and AA Tube DAC what your system set-up consisted of along with what tubes you had in the AA Tube DAC.

I have not directly compared the Berkely as of yet but have put the AA up against many other DAC's costing substantially more and it never sounded "bad" Actually it sounded so good that I currently still use it.

If you could also describe what you did not like.

Dev, did you, like Teejay, also have an opportunity to compare the Tube DAC with the DAC MKIV? I´m not sure why, but I do get the idea, that all the DACs discussed are beyond bad, all quite excellent, but we like to find differences; what a hobby is really all about. The new EMM Labs gear has me interested, but of course so much of this gear is actually difficult to audition, but under show conditions at RMAF or something like that.

The Berkeley is a very fine DAC, no doubt about it, but the best DAC ever made? That's a tough one!

Who knows what the best DAC is? No one can try every one of them. But I have tried recently in my system, the Ayre QB-9, Levinson, DCS Scarlatti and the Berkeley, and the Berkeley is my favourite. The preference is large in all cases except the DCS.

Anybody try Audio Note?