@bigfatpaulie, the Meitner MA3 hits your first two requirements, especially the first one, plus it's made in Canada! I personally found its resolution very good but not great, compared to a few other DACs I've also owned. I've owned the Berkeley Alpha V2, a Bricasti, and currently own a Weiss that I think is a bit more resolving than the MA3. The MA3 though definitely has that "Sounds have meat to them and texture. The music feels real." quality, as I replaced a very fine MojoAudio R2R NOS DAC with it and felt like it was a big upgrade.
Advice needed: It's time for a new DAC
Hello People of Audiogon!
I received some help a little while back when I was considering upgrading my speakers so I am looking to the community again for guidance and opinions. It is time to upgrade my DAC.
My current system is Sasha DAW's driven by a Luxman L-509X.
The three DAC's on my short list are:
MSB Discrete
Berkeley Alpha V3
Chord DAVE
One thing to note is that I am in Canada so many brands are difficult if not impossible to audition.
My priority is "musicality" or "soul". What's this? Well to me, it means feeling. The Luxman and Sasha's well convey musical emotion and that is important to me. I don't know how to describe it better beyond that. They have flow (perhaps PRAT, to use another vague term). Sounds have meat to them and texture. The music feels real.
The second priority is three dimensionality.
The third is resolution.
My one caveat is no tube DAC's. Tubes, for me, just don't work well based on my listening style and habits. I love tubes, I've owned tubes and tubes are wonderful, but as things are now, I just don't want them in a DAC. Perhaps they will find their way into my system in a pre-amp in the future.
I listen primarily to Tidal but MQA is not a priority for me. I would switch to Qobuz but they were not available in Canada until recently and all my play lists in Roon are with Tidal tracks so I suspect a switch will be a real headache, but I digress. My point is MQA isn't really important and DSD isn't necessary either.
Of the above DAC's, if you have heard them, what are your thoughts/opinion?
Thank you in advance,
-Paul
- ...
- 63 posts total
Hello @bigfatpaulie, lots of good advice here! @ghdprentice is always spot on. I have had a friend's Dave in for direct comparison to my MM Tambaqui. He sold the Dave and got a Tambaqui if that tells our story. It sounds great buy it self with internal streamer or bridge, but excels when combined with the Grimm MU1 in my case, or another great streamer (Aurender N20 or better). Many great reviews call the Grimm / Tambaqui a match made in heaven (Netherlands). I have one stand alone Tambaqui, and another in the MM Makua Preamp; both are excellent.
|
Hi Everyone! I thought I would pop in and post an update on my DAC journey. First of all, I really appreicate all the help, advice and guidance post here and that I received though PM's. Thank you all.
I ended up audtioning a few DAC's. To name a few (and this not an exhaustive list):
Chord DAVE Berkely Alpha V3 MSB Premier Bricast M1 DCS Bartok APEX Linn Kilmax AudioNote (ANK) Level 5 PS Audio DSD T+A DAC200 Weiss DAC501
I had the majotiy of these at home, in my system for at least a few days.
Long story short the DAC that won my money is the Playback Designs MPD-8. Frankly, compaired to the rest, it wasn't even close in most cases. My second favorite was the MSB (for quite a bit more money). I know it will sound trite but the Playback is the most musical sounding DAC I've ever expericened. It's smooth without being dull. It's detailed without being clinical. It's dymanic without being grating. To me, it's the full-meal deal.
Best, -Paul |
@bigfatpaulie very nice of you to pop back in and share your progress. |
- 63 posts total