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Best Bang for your Buck DAC ?

I just realized I’m in the market for a DAC , I don’t want to spend a fortune on a DAC either . I picked up a drangonfly cobalt a while back and am unimpressed  so I moved it to my CPU and sounds really good on my system there which when I bought it figured I would do anyway since it was my first DAC purchase . There are so many DACs I have no clue , how high up on the returns chart can I go at say $1,000 before I run into heavy Diminished returns resistance. I’m open to buying used . I was thinking about a Schitt made in the states ? Anyone’s take on best bang for buck DACs? 
ngiordano
pauly
1,012 posts
 
RME. Nothing else compares. 
jsal3689
81 posts
 
Hands down, best bang for the buck, Denafrips Ares II. You buy it direct from Denafrips online. $773. US Dollars.   https://www.vinshineaudio.com/product-page/denafrips-ares-r2r-dac
Here is a good review from Audio Science Review: 
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/denafrips-ares-ii-usb-r2r-dac-review.1116...


jjss49's avatar
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jjss49
6,612 posts
 
it is safe to say this thread has degenerated into the usual random spewing of folks just touting what they have bought or read about, using unfounded superlatives, not having compared a relevant set of legit competing products that would be under consideration if someone really wanted to know

don’t know if op is even reading these replies anymore...

good news is, op is after a relatively cheap dac... so if he/she has the real desire to know, he can try several and see for himself what works well... otherwise we are in the zone of -- ’what is the best bang for buck meal in london?’ ’what is the best bang for buck economy car’? ’what is the best bang for buck espresso grind’? -- leaving aside the idiocy of asking such a subjective question to start with

depends how much you care and how much time effort and $ you are willing to commit to find out - do you want to just be done, or do you have some real ’fomo’?
calvinandhobbes
307 posts
 
@in_shore 100%. Just to change up my day and take a break, I just tested this out again. I have a Pro-ject streamer that's been connected to a Denafrips Pontus II DAC for the last two weeks. I unplugged the USB cable attached to an Audioquest Jitterbug noise filter and plugged both into an Apple iPhone via an Apple  Lightning to USB 3 Camera Adapter. The iPhone as a source sounded good, BUT the Pro-ject sounded hands down better in the following ways:
  • The iPhone as a source sounded "fuller", but the Pro-ject as a source sounded bigger with a broader soundstage.
  • Better resolution of complex musical passages: Electric bass in Blue Moon Revisited on Trinity Sessions, Cowboy Junkies & Waltz for Debby, Bill Evans Trio
  • Tonal colors are more evident
  • Notes seem to hang in the air longer. Reverberations continue instead of being cut off.
  • More presence around voices and instruments.
  • Complex rhythms are easier to follow via the Pro-ject. Not so much via the iPhone as a source.
loomisjohnson
1,949 posts
 
the smsl su-9 at around $400 is an extremely impressive piece--great sounding dac + preamp w/remote + bluetooth streamer. numerous connectivity/tuning options.
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