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DAC’s

Hello, curious on everyone’s thoughts. I’m still building my system. I came across a really good deal on a Meitner MA3 dac. It’s from an authorized dealer and they offered to sell me one NIB for 7k. I have read and read about dacs and I am getting tired. Haha. I really like the Denafrips Terminator 2, Holo and the lumin T3 being the cheapest of them all. Once I factor in a streamer I am already close or over the 7k. Also I don’t need a dac for anything other then just streaming. Thank you 

shtr74sims
holmz's avatar
holmz
2,328 posts
 

$7k is a fair chunk of change.

I cannot hear much of a difference between the iPad coming out of an apple dongle and the same iPad feeding Spotify into an RME DAC… so I would be more tempted to shift the 5-6k extra into something else where it might be more noticeable.

Maybe your equipment and ears are better, but unless there are some features with that DAC then personally I would require some careful listening to sway me towards it.

ghdprentice
7,022 posts
 

The DAC is one of the critical components of your system. I read some reviews on the Meitner MA3 DAC. Seems very respectable for the money… as in the sound quality sounds worth the money.

To be getting the most out of your DAC you need to have or plan on owning a comparable streamer, preamp, amp and speakers. It would be helpful to know your other components and venue. The best, and easiest place to put these is under your userID. Then you do not need to keep reproducing them. Photos… even if in disarray and under construction is really helpful. You can see mine.

Anyway the Stereophile review poses no red flags, but also not overwhelming praise. I really appreciate them mentioning Grant Green’s Idle Moments album. I am listening to it now… the high resolution one is absolutely wonderful.

jeffseight's avatar
jeffseight
574 posts
 

shttr,

The deal of a lifetime only comes along once a week.

The Holo May DAC is cheaper and considered better.

The DAC is what makes the streamer sound good.

 

lalitk's avatar
lalitk
5,535 posts
 

@shtr74sims 
I am with @ghdprentice on this one. The MA3 is decent enough but still requires you to source an external device to run ROON core. Which is another whole bag of tricks you need to put together in order to take full advantage of MA3.

Before you finalize your DAC purchase, narrow down your options for streamer or server. These two components must take full advantage of tech on board (USB or SPDIF connectivity) and superiority of Internal clocks in either DAC or Streamer.

And lastly, based on the quality of your streamer/server; network optimization would be the next step to fully realize the potential of digital streaming.

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