What the Best Dac have you heard or owned. How could you tell it was that good.

@everyone we are all in different places audio wise. Wherever you are in this journey. Enjoy it. Listen to all the stuff you can. Gain as much experience as you can. Trust your ears. Get the best gear you can and don’t over extend yourself doing so. Some of us have more disposable income than others. But don’t worry about it. Just get what fits your system. Do it all in moderation. Some people it’s watches. Some people it’s cars. Some it’s audio. That would be us. If anyone is going to Axpona this month hit me up. I would love to see some of you guys face to face. Infigo will be there. I’m not hiding.  Come hear for yourself. Also I would just like to meet fellow audiophiles to out names to face and talk audio.  

I am late to the show on this subjective topic … but here is my 2-cents.  
Best DAC in my system - Wyred4Sound 10th Anniversary DAC.  Why … Best attributes are excellent micro and macro-dynamics, staging width and depth imaging, bass, treble, and most important- timbre.  Very “analogue” even though I do not like that term but I will since all pro reviews used it.  It is competitive to the best I have heard in all of these areas in a head to head comparison.  It gives up a little in detail retrieval, staging and imaging, but not to a degree commensurate with the increased price of the best I have heard.  
 

best I have heard in order of my preference…

Mola Mola Tambaqui.  Why … best dense imaging, space between images, and staging width and depth.  Uncanny three dimensional presentation while excellent in all other SQ attributes. 
Bricasti M1S2.  Why … best timbre while excellent in all other SQ attributes.  
DCS Bartok Appex.  Why … excellent in all SQ attributes and like the Tambaqui three dimensional but less dense images and more laid back presentation not to my personal preference.  Fans of a more laid back presentation  (you Denafrips fans), this is the DAC for you if you have the means. Not my cup of tea.  But I respect it highly. 

So I am trying to save my pennies for a Tambaqui. Until then, the 10th lets me go to musical induced euphoria.  

@jetter Not sure why you disagree with me and then provide your own evidence why it is in the ditch.

@jetter excuse me I should not have been insinuating, I should have been more direct: apropos, you are correct that the guy with the smallest yacht at the posh yacht club doesn’t care what I think since I don’t own a yacht and don’t belong to his club, but he ABSOLUTELY CERTAINLY cares what the dudes who are club members that have bigger, fancier more expensive yachts say and think about him, it’s human nature given his proclivities.

As to my point about pecking order, Life as currently ordered in a capitalist world and more directly by evolutionary biology is a pecking order whether we are talking hifi systems, girlfriend’s looks, size/quality of yacht* lol or bank account. Those who denigrate expensive hifi gear or yachts or rich folk for being rich folk etcetera are wasting time and looking some combination of envious/foolish/pathetic.

However, I will concede that you might be living in your own world as a Buddhist monk who is free of these considerations/constraints, if so you have my respect 🙏 let us leave it at that?

One last thing. If I paid for a 35k it better be damn well one of the best I have heard. Ah duh.