dac recommendations for turntable listener?


hi everyone, kindly asking for your dac suggestions. im almost 100% a turntable listener, but recently picked up a DirectStream Dac for those times I cant find the vinyl, its too expensive, or it simply doesn't exist. im looking for suggestions as im not happy with the DirectStream dac, its just not to my liking. its too sharp up top, too thin in the lower midrange, other than that everything else is pretty great. id like to get, if possible, a dac that sounds more like my turntable. I feel like I would get mostly there if the midrange was fuller, and the top end was softer. 

my current system is marantz tt15 , dynavector 20x2, icon audio ps3 mk ii, primaluna prologue premium, and elysian 4 speakers. 

the current dacs I was looking to switch to were lab 12 dac, primaluna evo 100 dac, lampizators entry model, or Merason DAC 1. does anyone have experience with these and can recommend them? 

thanks a lot! 

Anthony 

128x128palutena

For digital, removing noise from your system in the form of EMI or RFI really helps produce smoother sound. You've taken the first steps by getting the Blluesound Node streamer. Other steps that can help are:

  1. Turning off the Wi-Fi receiver in your streamer and using an Ethernet cable. One way to use an Ethernet cable without running cable all through your house is to use a Wi-Fi extender to create an Ethernet access port which then connects to your streamer via an Ethernet cable. That at least gets the Wi-Fi receiver and the RFI it generates away from your streamer.
  2. Local files can sound better than streamed files.
  3. USB cables matter. I'm using a Stordiau Phasure Lush.
  4. An Audioquest Jitterbug noise filter on the USB output of my streamer seemed to make a positive difference.
  5. For streaming, the fairly inexpensive Supra Cat 8 cable works well in my system.
  6. My latest upgrade is an Audioquest Niagara 1200 power conditioner. That seems to have taken out any remaining harshness that was causing listening fatigue after several hours of listening.

I also rejected digital audio for a long time because it caused listening fatigue for me. From 1989 to 2021, I didn't have any digital in my home system. I would stream Qobuz using my laptop or phone and headphones. That changed during the pandemic when I was doing a lot of music listening while doing work and I started building up a digital source for my home system.

I have immense experience in analog (several friends are also remastering engineers).  We use the same cartridge (mine is low output-I love this cartridge for my mono and stereo LPs, 31,100 of them).

I went through tube CD players and hated CD sound for decades.  The EAR Acute allowed my to get a semblance of analog sound.  I tried high priced DACs to no avail for 4 years.

The first DAC that permitted me to share in analog sound quality is the only Toppin g DAC we like, the D70s.  We haven't heard the latest ones.  

I opted for an SOTA DAC with pre-amp in the Lampizator Poseidon.  It is 50X more expensive than the Topping and only 30% to 50% better.  Even the Lampizator Baltic compares very favorably to analog.  I have 16,100 CDs.  

I splurged and purchased the Jay's Audio CDt3 Mk3 to go with the Topping, then the Poseidon.  My best friend purchased the lesser cost Shiit Urd transport.  Great choices like a great cartridge but the lasers should last 10,000-15,000 hours (my EAR Acute for 15 years of daily use-amazing).  

The PS Audio gear-open it up and looked at the components.  You'll know why they don't perform well.  

P.S. 2 out of 3 of the Topping units I mentioned sounded fantastic and 1 was sonically inferior.  For $350 to $500 current going price, it's a small investment.

Brinkmann Nyquist sounded the most like a turntable to me.

I have the Merason DAC 1 MK II and it has that rich midrange fullness that the OP is looking for.

It’s also reminiscent of a turntable.

I have regular access to hear the EAR Acute in use in the system it belongs to, as well as in Systems it is loaned into for demo' purposes.

I also have been present when it has been compared to a Audio Note Valve Based CDP, a Bespoke Built Valve Based DAC with a CDT, SS DAC's (Denafrips Venus II  and Bespoke Built Designs)

I have also been present over a period of time when Tube Rolling was carried out, where selected Tubes were Pairs that were perfect matches and measured improved over Factory Spec'.

Two Vintage Tube Types are now known to offer a little different to each other, but leave the stock Tubes as superseded, as a result of the leap forward discovered in sonic produced.

The Tube Rolled Acute has been compared to a Vinyl Source ( SP10 R > Glanz MH 1200s > Miyajima Cartridge > Bespoke Built Valve Input / Output Phon. Where a variety of SUT's and Head Amp's have been used, in a system using EAR Amp's and Quad TOTR ESL Speakers. 

As a digital to vinyl comparison where the end sound is being compared to have discover if a Digital Source has the capability to impress in a similar manner that a Vinyl  Source can.

The Acute scores as high a mark as I would be willing to give for being able to create such an impression.

In relation to the Laser Longevity, 15000 Hours vs a 1000ish hours for a Styli, with either enablers of a recording replay costing similar monies, leaves CDP's or CDT's with Longevity like the Acute seemingly a Great VFM Purchase.     

Look for a new or used Sonnet Morpheus coupled with a streamer/endpoint and loose the laptop. It's all you'll need to make music.