What is the best DAC ever made?

Murataltuev,making such a statement suggesting these are in another league is very bold.

I'm quite interested in what you heard in your system. Please share some details regarding the sonic differences between them.

See below what Teajay's experience has been

11-13-09: Teajay
If Pubul57, had not beat me to the punch, I was going to add to this thread way I still find the Accustic Arts Tube DAC to be a keeper in my system.

I have spent a considerable amount of time listening/auditioning the following new crop of either DACS or CD players: 1) Berkeley Alpha DAC 2) Weiss Medea DAC 3) PS Audio Perfact Wave combo 4) Meridian 808i2 5) DCS Puccini 5) EMM reference player

All of the above were used for red book, I don't care about SACD or other high rev formats, and I did not find any of them to be better to my ears then the AA Tube DAC. They are all quite good and offer different sonic signatures, my favorite among them was the Weiss and Berkeley, I would put them in the type one sonic category, and was surprized at the performance of the Meridian 808i2, it just was ok, yet John Atkinson of Stereophile thiks its the best on redbook he has ever heard. But then at the end of the sonic day, I did not find any of them surpassing the musicality or over all performance of the AA Tube DAC in my system.

I do know that when a friend auditioned a totally broken in EMM Labs SE in my system in comparsion with the AA Tube DAC, he returned the EMM to the dealer and then purchased the AA Tube DAC. In my system the AA DAC was much more musical/natural, all on redbook CDs, and that's way my friend chose to purchase the AA Tube DAC.

Very interesting comparision!
I don't think that it is because of different taste as we was 4 people comparing this DACs.
May be it is system compatibility issue.
In my system AA Tube DAC sounded very bright.
Resolution was very high, but soundstage was desintegrated!
Highs was even irritated.
This two completely different results only means that you need to compare them in your own system.

I cannot speak for the EMM Labs DAC as I now own the CDSA, I also have not owned the AA Tube DAC, but the DAC IV, but after listening to more and more music with the EMM in MY system, I have to agree that the EMM offers much more information, specifically as it relates to the intonation of instruments and voice that communincates more of the performance to me than the AA MKIV did. Maybe this is all hairsplitting since all of this gear provides execellent perfromance, but the EMM is the best I have heard after having previoulsy owned NAIM, ARC and AA. So much of this is personal taste and system context, but the EMM gear is providing performance that I would choose over my previous gear. I hate be too enthusiatic over this stuff, but I think EMM is doing something right that really appeals to me in my system with jazz recordings. I have not even ventured down the road of SACD performance on this machine; which is almsot universally seen as far superior to what Redbook can provide.

Hi Murataltuev, Thx for the response. My system consist of different pces than Teajays, firstly he has MAG 20 panels and I use MBL 101E speakers and at no time have I ever heard my AA Tube Dac sound as you put it "very bright", "soundstage desintegrated" and lastly "highs irritated"

I'm at lost for words!

This is totally off the wall, something most defiantly was wrong going on in your set-up but most defiantly not the characteristics nor fault of the AA Tube Dac.

Now I can understand your remarks in your prior posting but something else was going on, too bad you did not get to hear the real characteristics.

There is NO such a thing as the best DAC ever made. And there won't be one!!!!