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Recommend A New DAC Between $1000 and $2000

I am currently using an older Assemblage DAC 2.0 ( BB1702 R2R dac chip, CS8412 receiver, PMD100 filter) with many upgrade mods.  It sounds surprisingly good, but I am looking for something current and better sounding, with the following characteristics:

- Smooth, spacious, slightly warmish sound

- Smooth, non glaring, non etched higher registers (maybe sounding just a bit    rolled off, as in lacking strident edges)

- Great sound stage and depth

- Excellent resolution

- Generally natural sounding

... and at a price under $ 2000 if possible

Any ideas and / or personal experiences?

Thanks in advance!

 

 

 

fastcat95
macg19
912 posts
 

+ 1 on the Black Ice/NOS tubes

pinwa
285 posts
 

The Gustard R26 is better than the Gustard X26 and for my tastes both are better than the Pontus II.  

grinnell
1,095 posts
 

MHDT  they have several in your price range, R2R, tube, NOS

jimmy2615
438 posts
 

One DAC in your price range you won’t hear much about but I found very good for the money and similar to some of my pricier DACs was the line magnetic DAC (they make only one model).  It has one 12ax7 tube in it which I found responsive and with positive results to tube rolling. If you have a local dealer they may allow you to take it home to try it out.  I did, and was very impressed.

sfgak
114 posts
 

My path so far has been from the built-in DAC in the Bluesound Node 2i, to the Schiit Modi Multibit, and now to the Denafrips Pontus II, which is in the price range you specified. I am sure I will get the itch to upgrade at some point, but right now I am quite satisfied with the Pontus II. Because it sounds slightly different depending on which input you use, I opted for sending the USB output from my streamer to a Denafrips Gaia DDC to be able to drive the Pontus via its I2S.

 

I'm considering getting a streamer that natively supports I2S, like Magna's Manus mkIII or the new Mercury V2, eliminating the USB to I2S conversion. If anyone has experience with these or similar, I'd welcome feedback. 

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