Best DACs under $7,000.00

To blisshifi:

Thanks so much.  Best breakdown I've been able to get!  Even though I haven't directly experienced this dac, I have experienced other equally costly ones that were mentioned in this now-long thread that I just didn't feel had a soul.  They might check all the digital correctness boxes, but they aren't seductive in their interpretation (the magical balance of tonal density?).  Designers will crow about being analog-like but in the end, they fall flat. The end goal of all my music listening is to be taken somewhere--a journey of thoughts, memories, emotions, enchantments, and liquid poetry.  Many of us have had that with great vinyl. I can see it at times in the digital setup I have, causing the renewed search to take it to the next level.  That is precisely why the Lampitzators have remained on my shortlist.  Reviews and opinions about them tend toward the emotion and involvement they can produce, regardless of or in spite of any weaknesses. That's where we are trying to get to. The DAC 200, being solid state, easier to manage and with some great ways to finesse the sound, might get there as well or better.  Thanks for taking the time to analyze this.  From what you've written, it is definitely at the top of the list. 👍

@gregjacob You’re welcome. I would say the DAC 200 has soul, and many other characteristics. It’s a DAC I could likely live with if I didn’t already have the SDV 3100 HV. That one definitely has much greater tonal density, richness, and decay, but it’s scary how well the DAC 200 performs at a fraction of the SDV’s price.

If the Lampi Atlantic TRP has the better Mundorf caps in them, they might be worth considering, but you’ll also have to land the right tubes which will give you the balance of soul and resolution, and that can be either very rewarding or very frustrating. I know in all my time, I’ve always wanted my solid state to have more tube characteristics, and my tube gear to have more definition and improved performance at the frequency extremes like SS. It wasn’t until I went T+A that I got the best of both worlds and likely will never look back. Prior to that my primary system had anywhere from 10-30 tubes in it. Now… zero.

I also subscribe to Stereophile and have not seen a review on the Audio GD R-7HE. Also, an R2R DAC cannot do DSD by itself. My Audio Holo May R2R DAC has a Separate built in DAC just for DSD processing.

Budget friendly and remarkably good. Benchmark

@willywonka The Audio-GD review is in Herb's Gramophone Dreams segment.