Appreciate Some Dac Advice

top candidates in my view (used, 2k or near abouts, or under)

dena pontus (as mentioned) - well balanced presentation, nice resolution, big soundstage, warm mids and bass, slight ss grain

soekris 1541/2541 - very similar to pontus, a bit more forward treble, slightly smoother mids, useful variable output

doge 7 - great smoothness and effortlessness, nice warmth, slightly tubey character, slightly softer bass, useful variable output

audio mirror tubadour - touch warmer than doge, further touch slower, more romantic, bloomy bass, slight treble grain

mhdt orchid/stockholm/istanbul - rich flowing smooth sound natural detail (sound varies with tube used in buffer stage), modded versions add outstanding bass impact

chord qutest - other side of spectrum - clean crystal clear sound, terrific soundstage, fast and lean, but minimal ss grain

schiit yggy - similar to pontus/doge but more forward treble, touch of grain/sibilance

hope that helps

Thanks for the input. Might get a Pontus to A/B. Will be using USB connection from picorePlayer to Krell via balanced.

Might have to try a Qutest too. Doge 7 sounds interesting.

Bought a Gustard X26 too, and kept it.

Had others that were more expensive (more than double the price actually), and quite honestly the x26 is better than some of my other DACs that I got a hold of for way, way less than 1/2 the price. The European/American/Canadian DACs just couldn’t compete anywhere near the price point. (Never tried other Chinese DACs.)

The Gustard X26 was an eye opener.

This is all gleaned hearsay, so ultimately I don’t know. Pontus II is supposedly #3, between 1 & 2 supposedly would be the Holo Audio Spring 3, and the Yggdrasil around that price point. I have had the Yggdrasil 2.0 since it first came out, they were not even telling people that it had an upgraded analog version when I purchased mine. The Yggdrasil has many detractors, but remember different people like different things. The Holo Audio Spring 3 supposedly spanks the Denafrips hands down. The new Yggdrasil Less is More supposedly spanks the Yggdrasil OG, and ONE reviewer using headphones said that the Yggdrasil OG sounded better than the Spring 3, some disagree. I have the Unison upgrade on order. Mike Moffat used to say that the S/PDIF was better than the Yggdrasil USB 5, but I noted that when they invited reviewers in to check out the 3 Yggdrasils that Schiit was using the Unison USB inputs, so one would presume that their USB inputs are now king. Years ago Krell had a reputation as being dark. If still true, the Denafrips Pontus II might be for you as I would think from the reviews that it is more Vandersteen like than B&W like, Vandersteens, to me, sound like slow B&Ws with a terrycloth towel over the B&W tweeters. Now to me if you have ANY bright gear in your system, B&Ws can be ear bleeders, and I believe the same about the Yggdrasil OG. I also ordered the Less is More board for my OG Yggdrasil, along with a Holo Audio Spring 3 KTE version. I ought to know for sure who is the best of those 2 in a few months, the Spring 3 is about 5 weeks out, and the Less is More board is app. 9 weeks out. YMMV, and much of this is based upon 3rd party reviews of the equipment as my only personal experience has been with the Yggdrasil OG with the Gen 5 USB, though I have been using the S/PDIF input. Being a detal hound I have dismissed the Denafrips, though the top end Denafrips and the Holo Audio May KTE might be quite a different story than the foregoing according to one reviewer, but I don’t know if he’s a Vandersteen or a B&W type, and that’s irrelevant to me as I am not going to spend 6K on my final choice.