Looking for a DAC that's better than Mc C47
Hi guys, I'm looking for a DAC upgrade to improve my current setup. Using the Mcintosh C47 digital preamp as the main interface source for a few years.
I find the C47 lacking in rich harmonics tones and 3D-ness in digital music playback. Budget around USD1000.
I've heard Denafrips Aries II and it doesn't even sound close. Topping, SMSL & Gustard around this price also not close. The C47 is good sounding already, just wanting to better it.
Any recommendations? Thank you.
I owned the C47 for a while and was not happy with the built in dac. I bought a Musetec MH-da005 for about 3K. I know this may be above your budget, but some feel this compares well to dacs costing 10K. Much has been written here on the Audiogon digital forum about it. Some think it may be the end of the search. I wrote a detailed review.
https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/musetec-lks-mh-da005-dac |
Look into a used Benchmark DAC3b should be around your budget. Chord Qutest should also be a step up. These two DACs I’m familiar with and I heard the dac1 built into McIntosh integrated. @rsf507 let me know where Bricasti M3 is in sale for around $1000. 😂 |
Thank you guys.
Looks like Mytek Liberty 2, Schiit Gungnir and MHDT Pagoda are more in line with my budget. Will dig more info and reviews into these 3 models as I have no demo here. The rest AR, Berkeley and Musetec are out of range.
For the MHDT, their website doesn't give me confidence though, so 1994. Hahahaha~ Taiwan company manufacturing in China. And I'm not the 300B tube kind of person, so the Orchid emphasising a lot on the mids is not for me. The Pagoda on the other hand looks more balance and more incline to my taste.
Anyone has experience with YBA D100 dac? It is considered acceptable price range at about USD1400. Specs wise not as strong as China brands, it only has 1 R-core trans, 1 PCM1795 chip and a few op-amps. I understand sound quality is not all about audiophile components used and specs measurement. |
Hello guys, after some research, looks like I need to pump up my budget by quite a lot to get the sound sig I'm looking for. Anyone can comment on the Yggy OG vs MHDT Pagoda Balance? If there's an option for XLR connection, I'm more keen on that. Both are at the USD2500 point though, really quite off my initial budget. What do I do? Hahahahaha~ |
