I know that it is not an expensive DAC but I have had a great deal of pleasure listening to my SMSL DO 100 DAC. They report that it has a SMSL hump, but my room and the Magnepan LRS+ paired with the Peachtree Gan400 seems to work well. It might be the Schitt Freya + tube preamp that is softer sound than my previous Solid state preamp.
Neutral Dac?
I’m curious to see people’s opinions on what they believe is the most uncolored dac? Every dac I’ve tried seems to be a flavor that deviates from neutrality in some way (smooths things over, too bright, too soft on transients, lacks bass etc...). Is there a dac that people believe gets all the fundamentals correct with leaving very little sonic footprint? What is the cost threshold needed to achieve it? I’m surprised at my own findings recently but really curious if anyone else has been searching for a fundamentally uncolored dac and what they’ve found.
I realize the most obvious answer is "the dac with impeccable measurements" but I have also found some of them to sound unnatural (dry/bright).
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Has anybody noticed different copies of the same dac varying in their sound a bit? People are noticing differences between various dac designs that are so small when measured it’s amazing. It seems these ultra perceptive ears could also detect differences between several copies of the same dac. I know with camera lenses it can be fairly easy to see and measure differences between different copies of the same lens design. Just wondering. The ultra neutral dac may not be of any specific design, but specific copies of a number of different designs may randomly hit closer to neutral than others. Nothing’s perfect, so each copy of the same dac design must sound a little different to those of us who don’t have tin ears. With microphones, I know a famous studio engineer bought 6 of the exact same model of very expensive mics, with serial numbers sequential, and then ranked them most suitable for various instruments and vocals. Then he tested his students by asking them which one is best for recording tambourine. |
@soix I was hoping to avoid price but I’m willing to spend $15k. I would prefer to spend $199. I recognize the sweet spot is somewhere between but find myself lately thinking “how low can you go”?. I often find my expectations for 5 digit equipment gets in the way of my enjoyment because often the differences are relatively small compared to lower cost gear and my preconceived idea that a $14,000 dac should make me breakfast and rub my feet. The only thing I’ve ever bought that I thought was absolutely worth every dollar close to $10,000 is the Circle Labs A200 amp. Again I really didn’t want to get into price points and budgets and really appreciate @ghdprentice recommendation of the Schiit Yggdrasil. I’ve followed his posts in the past and believe we have similar opinions. I’m actually listening to the Schiit Modius and absolutely caught up in the music. I recognize it doesn’t soundstage like other dacs but timing is so spot on and tone/timbre are shockingly good at a throw away price. I know there’s a happy answer somewhere south of $10k and would ultimately like to stay there. I have the utmost respect for @grannyring and know anything he says I can take to the bank but would ultimately not like to put $14k in a dac unless I just can’t find happiness with something less expensive. Im dragging my heels at the moment but may ultimately cave and get the Tron…hoping someone will save me from myself. |
I put the latest Denafrips Terminator, Mojo, top Bricasti, EMM, MSB, etc. DACs among others all worth an audition. But this review of the top Chord DAC also has me intrigued. FWIW… https://soundnews.net/sources/dacs/digital-to-analog-veritas-in-extremis-chord-dave-dac-review/ |
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