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DAC That Punches Above Its Price Point

I’ll make it short. I’ve spent some hours reading the DAC threads on this forum. I am aware quality of digital matters as superior DACs usually the costlier ones will sound better than cheap DACs, making music sound more analog, lifelike, real, believable with all the soundstage and detail etc. All the good things. There are some who thought it’s the music that matters, and although different DACs may sound different it’s the music that makes the most difference. In other words, the differences that exist between DACs are not that important as it's all about the music. I can see the point that people are trying to make.

Back to the topic. I’ve read great things on the Denafrips Ares II and Pontus II, and other costlier high-end DACs. I’ve read about the Chord DAVE. I personally own a Chord QBD76 and have no urge to replace it with anything else since it sounds splendid in my system, for the money. I may be setting up another system and was wondering if there is a DAC in the lower price bracket that punches way above its price point, sounding close to if not better than the costlier designs.

I presume the Audioquest Black, Red or Cobalt are not worthy of consideration and sound noticeably inferior to the costlier options? FWIW I tried the Musical Fidelity M1 DAC and this one really sounded poor to my ears. Very digital sound and I stopped listening to it after a while. The Chord sounds a lot more analog, lifelike and real to my ears.

I would appreciate any advice. Thanks.


ryder
larsman's avatar
larsman
2,007 posts
 

@arafiq - yes, I was thinking that this was one of the most hyped up things I'd ever seen a few months ago, both on vids and in forums and articles, but I had to check it out.

It all depends on what kind of sound one likes. Somebody who is very into super detailed and uncolored sound would be very, very well served by DAVE, with or without M Scaler, though that thing is amazing.

I like a more colored, tubey sound so I've been using tube headphone amps and tube 2-channel preamp; currently it's an Audis Nirvana for the headphones. With Utopia headphones, it puts out a very deep, spacious soundstage that is a delightful listen, and while it's got plenty of detail, that's not it's strong point. Same with 2-channel - just got more of the kind of qualities that I like with the Holo May, but the Chord gear is great too, but a tad 'dry/clinical' for my taste....

arafiq's avatar
arafiq
1,684 posts
 

@larsman -- thank you for sharing your impressions. It looks like our preferences when it comes to particular ’flavors’ of DACs are quite alike. I’ve never tried the higher priced DACs like DAVE, but based on what I have heard I too prefer a slightly round, warm and meaty sound even if it comes at a slight expense of ultimate detail retrieval. Last year I tried a number of DACs including RME, Chord Qutest, PS Audio Directstream Jr, Cambridge Audio Azur 851D ... in the end, the one I ended up keeping was a 6-7 year old design - Luxman DA-06. Despite its age and a reputation of somewhat overly romantic or warm sound, this DAC still sounds better (to my ears, of course) anything that I tried under $2K.

Next year, I plan to move the Luxman to my study and try something in the $4-6K range for the main system. I’ve added Holo May to the list of contenders. Thanks for sharing.

jasonduke2
1 posts
 

Everybody says that the HD 6xx is one of the best "bang for your buck" headphones out there. And yeah it is justified since it is selling for $ 200, for a headphone that is supposed to be an exact copy of a $ 350 dollar one that also sounds better than its price point. So my question is this, is there a headphone like this that punches more to its price point in the next tier? Like maybe a $ 500 headphones that sound like a $ 1000 dollar one?

big_greg
6,660 posts
 

@jasonduke2 I don't think there's a lot of anything that really "punches above its price point", but if you want to get to the next level past the Senn HD 6XX, this is a good place to start.

 

westcoastaudiophile
319 posts
 

Best for the money headphones I think / have are Sony MDR-Z7, 1st generation. Lates MDR-Z7M2 are not so good, probably because marketing team recognized as MDR-Z7 almost indistinguishable from pricey MDR-Z1R, and asked Sony design team to “improve” cheaper ones :-). 

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