Take look at the Wyred4sound 10th anniversary DAC It's $4,500, one of the reviewers put it up against his VPI turntable with a $5,000 Japanese cartridge and he said that the 10th anniversary DAC was every bit as analog sounding, on that review I bought it and I totally agree, The best DAC I've ever had in my system, and a bonus is that they give you a 30-day trial period, if you don't like it you can send it back and get your money back, I didn't it was so good.
UPGRADE PATH FROM CHORD QUTEST DAC
Seeking to purchase a new DAC from my current Chord Qutest which has a S Booster Power Supply. I prefer to work with a dealer and am looking for a DAC that can be serviced in the United States. Thus far, I have been recommended by a dealer to go with the Weiss 204. I believe that to maximize the Weiss Dac I must purchase a linear power supply to replace the switching power supply that comes with the DAC. The Modwright upgrade for the Weiss 204 has been suggested at a cost of $1000.00 and has received really good reviews. The total cost for the Weiss 204 with Linear Powwer supply would be $4500.00. Any other suggestions would be appreciated to aid me in my search. Don't wish to exceed $5000.00 and not looking to purchase used. Thanks in advance.
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I know you said "serviced in the US" - but you could always try a Gustard from Amazon just to get a comparison unit. This would enable you to have at least 2 DACs in your possession at one time. I have an X26 Pro (which I consider a great value) and I think they may have upped their game with the R26. There are upgrade paths with the Gustard such as an external DDC an external clock (which admittedly results in more boxes and interconnects) but the power supply is internal. I do prefer the I2S input on my X26, which requires a DDC (mine is a very inexpensive Douk Audio with an LPS)
Not sure if you have Whole Foods where you live, but that's how I do my Amazon returns. They also do returns at the UPS Store. Pretty low risk and an easy way to get another "point on the curve" |
Find a used Chord Dave, you shuold be able to get one in your budget or very close to it, then you will never need another DAC upgrade. I sold mine a few months back for $6500 canadian under your $5000usd budget. Thats a world class DAC ($15000usd retail) for a fraction of the cost new and you wont be disapionted. Chord is not replaceing the Dave this year/next year acording to my dealer so its still current. Now that i have moved i'll be saving up for another one. |
@boulder_bob Gustard has a newish model, the X30. Looks really interesting. It's $3k, but seems like a lot of bang for the buck. There are rumors of a R30 which would be an upgrade to the R26 r2r dac. Not sure when it might be out. I have a R26 with U18 ddc and LHY ock-2 clock. I'll probably ride with that for the unforeseeable future. |
@kjl1065, after I had become infatuated with the sound of my Chord Qutest, the logical next step up for me was to acquire a TT2, which I got at a fantastic price by trading the almost new Qutest for a floor model TT2. Shortly thereafter the motherboard on the TT2 had to be replaced, and luckily it was serviced in Texas and returned to Minnesota in a little over a week. So no problems with overseas repairs. |
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