Need a DAC Recommendation.

Wow, the  Matrix Audio Mini-i Pro 3 has gone up in price. It is pretty good and I owned it for about 6 months. I bought it on Black Friday for $850. However, for $1350 it is no where close to the Gustard X26 Pro at $1500 (I got for $1350 new). 

The Benchmark DAC3B is a bit better than the  Matrix Audio Mini-i Pro 3. However, the all in one nature of the  Matrix Audio Mini-i Pro 3 is a great selling point.

It is pretty apparent that the selection of sub $1500 DACs includes
some very satisfying products.

The Euro lines are very enticing too.

I won't bother mentioning my maker as they are so backed up with
orders my $500 reclocker upgrade might be further postponed.

I was just reading the asr of the new topping d90se and the gustard x26.

Both measure great but the 3rd harmonic of the new topping is-130db and the gustard is-115.

John Curl has studied this and finds that the odd order harmonics is really bad. 

No company ever indicates which order of harmonic is being produced by their product. 

I can tell you,  this is what makes a product sound musical. 

Remember,  no instruments or human voice ever goes above about 4khz.

But it's the harmonics that allow you to tell the difference between a violin playing a c note or if it's a piano. 

The tube in the Border Patrol is part of the power supply, not the audio signal path.



The border patrol has a tube rectifier, so you are correct. 

Hello,
RME ADI -2 DAC  $1150. I like how you can adjust the EQ to fit your system. John Darko reviewed this and rated it very high. Plus you pick the sound signature. The Topping is very good too. The Denifrips Ares 2 is good. I just like how you can set up the RME. Be careful of R2R DACs if your system is already warm or tubes. If you have SS go with the RME or the Denifrips. You will need to jump above $1500 to go to the next level.