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How do you assess a DAC?

I've currently got an Audiolab M-Dac+ and am now going to add a streamer to my system, a lot of which have inbuilt DACs. I'd like to know whether the DAC in the streamers, such as the iFi NEO stream and others I'm considering, is going to be better than my Audiolab, in which case I'd spend a bit more for an "upgrade" and sell on my DAC.

Is it a matter of taste or can I compare certain specs to get an answer?

side22olto
eagledriver_22's avatar
eagledriver_22
83 posts
 

'opinion' sorry...

side22olto OP
28 posts
 

Thanks again to everyone for their input. After a day of research and reading reviews online I think I’m going to go for an Auralic G1.1 with the 2TB harddrive upgrade and a Roon subscription. I can then sell on the Sonos Port, dispense with the Mac to DAC USB connection for the attached harddrive with my music on, and remove the CD player from the chain and get a USB powered CD ripper for any CDs that I have which I can’t find on Qobuz.

soix
9,549 posts
 

I’d suggest looking at the Innuos Zen that is a streamer and also has an onboard CD drive and onboard storage so you can rip all your CDs directly into it so all in one box and is about the same price as the Auralic. Plus it includes their excellent Sense app that gets high marks for both sound quality and interface and is constantly being upgraded to improve both, and they offer very good customer support if ever needed. Just another option to explore.

https://www.tweekgeek.com/innuos-zen-mk3/

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