Rank the top reference DACs you've heard

@mahughes

I haven’t heard any of the DACs that the Op listed, please advise which of those fall into your delete list and what you found lacking in them while directly listening to them. Txs

@facten as per my previous post what I found lacking about them was a lack of musical engagement i.e. each had some good stuff going on but it left me cold. It left me disengaging from the music and flicking my eyes out of the window or starting a conversation or otherwise distracted. 
Naming names? One mans meat etc. but, for example, the dCS stuff does an awful lot absolutely right but manages to sound clinical and not like music in the room with you. I understand why it’s on the list and understand why people might enjoy it but, for me, it errs more on the side of mechanical and analytic. I also don’t believe the last 4 on the list belong on the list for similar reasons. 
This is all subjective but ultimately it’s about what they do for you and if you don’t find yourself musically entranced then that’s fine.

@mahughes 


You are correct that one man’s meat is another…..

I have heard the Terminator Plus and found it….mechanical. LOL. I guess that just goes to show us that it is pretty subjective, especially on internet forums. I thought the regular Terminator a better dac than the plus. I have owned neither.

I certainly haven’t heard all of the dacs on the list, few have. With that said, of the ones I have heard or owned I find it odd that you believe the EMMLabs or the AQUA “mechanical”. I do not presently own either but both are exceptional and hardly mechanical the extended periods I have listened in diverse systems. Please describe the setup you heard them in. Maybe there was a mismatch somewhere in the chain. Peace.

MSB - I have spent time with the reference and it is insanely good.  I have never heard the select, but I can imagine how incredible it is. 
Playback Design DreamDAC - everything is upscale to to 512k DSD. Not only is it smooth and detailed, it is not bright.

Lampizator Pacific is their top offering now.  I've owned it for the last 1½ years and it is quite competitive with vinyl in my system, with an appropriate sense of liquidity and coherence, while dishing up a lot of musical information.  It really feels like you are at the event.  I really hardly spin LP's now, because the digital avenue is so good and easy, too.

I just bought a used original Denafrips Terminator for a second system, and I have to say, it is quite good for the money.  I absolutely could live with it long term.  Yes, the Pacific bests it, but there ain't no "wiping of the floor" going on. You get more harmonic completeness and a slightly more coherent sense of space and performance, which is a bit more satisfying musically, but the Terminator is no slouch in these areas, either.

Important to note, my impressions of both DAC's are based upon them being fed by the outstanding Taiko Audio Extreme server.  This device has me believing that the server could be more important than the DAC for ultimate sound quality.