Accuphase dac 60

I have had a similar experience to you and can make an informed recommendation for a potentially good DAC to try. I have a Luxman L-550axii amplifier which is quite warm, smooth and refined like your Accuphase. I also use a Bluesound NODE as source, just like you are planning. I found a good DAC with synergy to be the Chord Qutest which cost me about £800 in the UK. It is very good at excavating detail which balances out the smoothness of the amp. I find USB to be to clinical for my taste and prefer to feed it with an optical cable because that sounds more organic to my ears and has the benefit of preventing any electrical noise from entering the DAC. It doesn't have balanced connectors though, only single ended. The Qutest has three gain settings to choose from; 1v, 2v and 3v, the higher the voltage the fuller and more impactful it sounds, I use it on 3v. It's a bit quirky to use but full of character and they seem to hold their value.

PS - I found this website because I'm thinking about the E-380 as a potential upgrade so I have a bit of an ulterior motive in recommending the DAC I use. But I think it would be an option worth considering alongside the R2R DACs others are suggesting because I think those might be too smooth with that amp, too much of a good thing.

@celestial__sound 

thanks, I will look into my options that you guys suggested. Appreciate the help.👍

I can trade in my old pas audio dac for this. Last one in black for $1,149. That is the trade in program with my $750 off. I wouldn’t use the preamp section, but it is there if I ever need it. 

What do you guys think of that.

@duketbrd88

to answer your earlier question

xlr is theoretically the better connection, but for high end home audio 95+% of the time single ended (rca) connections work just fine with zero sonic penalty in a properly set up system ... especially using short (less than 3 meter) interconnect runs

then there is the matter of dac designers and how/what they optimize in their output stages.... two prominent, well respected designers of dacs... mojo audio (ben zwickel) and msb (jonathan gullman), both clearly state that they feel their dacs sound better, more natural, more harmonious, through their single ended outputs... even though they offer xlr’s for the convenience of their customers (ben charges extra for xlr as it involves more circuitry)

regarding lack of perceived bass at low volumes, you should search ’fletcher munson effect’, there was a recent thread here discussing that

always, always, compare two sources at the SAME volume when trying to hear sonic differences... your cell phone has easily downloadable ’db-meter’ apps, go to app store... play test tone, note volume settings to make two sources equal, then adjust before evaluating...

...and if you bought the accuphase dac card from a dealer, i would certainly push them to exchange a fresh one, so you can be sure yours in hand is not problematic

@jjss49 

Thanks, I tried the db meter app on my phone to compare. There is a difference. I sent the dac back to the dealer. Don’t think I want to try another one. I kind of like the fact there are so many choices and can sell or trade up, not so easy with the accuphase dac. Not much info out there on them at all and pretty hard to sell, it seems like.

What is your opinion on the link to the ps audio stellar gain dac? I really just use the xlr because I had two sets of the kimber hero in my system for so long. I have nothing against the rca hookup at all.

anyway, I can upgrade to the newer one in the link and get full price for what I paid a long time ago. Obviously I wouldn’t use the preamp section, but it is there if I need it someday.