DAC recommendation in 5 to 10K range
I recently get to the point that I want to try a new DAC in $5 to $10K range and would like to know if there are recommendations I should try and audition.
My current DAC is a Denafrips Terminator, to me, Terminator is an overall fun DAC that provide good clarity, energy, and scale. It has strong macrodynamic focus with good impact and punch, as well as solid resolving power and texture, but I feel drawback is lacking micro dynamic capability, tonality is not organic, neither is presentation, treble is not that refined, and can sometimes get too hot and gritty. What I hope in my next DAC is a balanced DAC that lean a bit more toward the relaxed and slightly sweeter smoother side of things, great organicness, great placement accuracy and depth in overall stage, great coherency and liquidity, as well as having great impact and punch.
Have you checked out the Denafrips Terminator Plus? Its the bigger brother of Terminator 2 and gets amazing reviews all around. Beats out Holo May KTE
https://www.hifi-advice.com/blog/review/digital-reviews/spdif-dac-reviews/denafrips-terminator-plus/ |
+1 @mark360 I've heard the Lector gear also at Deja Vu also excellent sounding Dacs. |
@tahsin1022 Please show me a review where someone prefers the terminator plus over the May KTE. Not being snarky, I would love to see one because I have not yet come across such. Thank you. @elan120 This is one of the best DAC reviewers I've found. He reviewed many of the DACs mentioned in this thread in a way that you will not see anywhere else and with actual music samples demonstrating, yes demonstrating the differences between them. He did like the Terminator Plus, but at the end of the day, the May KTE remains his reference piece. |
There are a LOT of DACs in this price range. I will say that based on my testing there is a big difference in performance between between the ~$5k DACs can ~$10k DACs.
you are effectively trading off detail for soundstage. The higher you go, the less compromise you find. This is not strictly linear and there are amazing values, particularly in single ended devices. Also, each has a tonal signature and a level of warmth vs brightness that should be considered. From your description, there are a ton of products that might meet your needs. The question is exactly where you are going to draw the line in terms of sweetness, control, etc… There are a ton of great suggestions here and I would recommend reading up on the brands mentioned and a few others. Then, you probably need to arrange a demo of one of them that you think will work. i would definitely look at: Chord - though this is a brighter sound profile but no one delivers a better image between the speakers in this price range and amazing detail. Image width is a challenge. Look at the Dave used or the TT2 and possibly MScaler Bricasti - dead neutral, good detail but not reference level (Dave and Weiss are more detailed) with amazing staging. M1 SE is a consumer version of their Studio DAC. Best with network card. M3 is also available in the range and is very good. Most M3 owners move on to M1 eventually. weiss 501/502 - Also a pro company that delivers amazing detail with strong imaging and has a killer feature set. Can be a tough brighter but can be modded with DSPs. On board renderer is superb. Jadis JS2 - I am running JS1 now. It is neutral yet sweet and musical. The JS2 is tonally supposed to be similar with a little less in terms of dynamics because of the less sexy power supply Rockna Wavedream Edition - this is an R2R which is not terribly important. The Wavedream is supremely neutral. The sound is difficult to describe because it is so neutral. Best via I2S but USB input is good. Meitner MA3 - see the review that just broke in Stereophile. T+A - I believe they have like an $8k DAC that is supposed to be stellar and T+ A is optimized for USB. A lot of these other units perform best via synchronous connections Aqua - known for having a warmer sound profile. Lots of people love this line. Mola Mola - that Tambaqui used will be in this range. It is unique. Not everyone loves it (it can be had used) but lots do. It is very natural and very resolving. I have a LONG thread reviewing DACs elsewhere called DAC Shootout Starts this Weekend. You will see I am a dealer for Chord, Bricasti, Rockna, Weiss and it seems very likely, Jadis. I have no affiliation with Aqua, Meitner, Mola Mola or T+A.
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@metaldetektor , Thank you for the suggestion, and I have heard good inputs from many sources about Mola Mola Tambaqui, check into used market is a good idea. |
