Six DAC Comparison

@zmann007 - Let us know when the lotus flower unfolds! 

I have a comment about and experience with a couple of DACs. I have been listening to a NAD 3050 integrated amp that is only a few months old. The amplifier itself is fabulous. The unit contains an internal DAC and it has been enjoyable to listen to the system. However, I decided to hook up a BluMe DAC to see if I could hear a difference with some songs of which I am very familiar. When I played the BluMe DAC, I was amazed at the difference! The instruments sounded much deeper and wider for the soundstage and you could focus on individual instruments with the BluMe DAC. Depth of the soundstage is something that I am striving for as it gives me the best listening experience. Further, some songs have two different base notes playing that are quite close in frequency. The deck supplied with the unit sounded garbled and the BluMe unit allowed me to hear the two separate notes with great distinction. I would have to say that the DAC inside the NAD unit is inferior to the BluMe unit. Due to the three dimensional holographic affect that I get with The BluMe unit, I no longer use the internal DAC inside the NAD 3050. I will be experimenting with other outboard DAC units To experience the differences.

@bluethinker , while we haven't received the Mearason in the shop yet (we're still recovering from having five ( ! ) rooms at Capital Audio Fest), the Mojo X '24 is up at around 150 hours now, and is definitely a keeper. While I don't have anywhere near the "I've tried multiple DACs in my current system" experience as @mitch2 or many of the others posting to this thread, I'd like to think I have a pretty keen ear. I've also heard multiple MSBs and Mearasons at the shop -- often through much finer and far more expensive gear than my own. That said, I believe I'm very much in (or rapidly approaching) the sonic realm I've long dreamt of.  Granted, the YG Carmel 3s I picked up earlier this year are facilitating a fair bit of the overall SQ, but still. There's just so much freakin' air & space around the individual instruments and the notes they produce, yet the whole is as cohesive and engaging as can be.  Now all I have to do is win the lottery, pick up a 2nd gen Vinnie Rossi Brahma II integrated, and call it a day. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to get the door -- I think that's Kate and her Fairlight coming up the walk.

So, first off, right out of the gate I would like to extend a sincere thank you to Mitch for undertaking this huge "six dac comparison"! What a huge undertaking this must have been, not just with the costs involved, but also the enormous amount of time and dedication that you put into listening, comparing and writing up these excellent reviews of each dac! You did an amazing job and I greatly appreciate it very much!

This has been such an amazing thread, I was hoping it might be okay if I could share some of my own personal experiences as of late?

So, after being devoted to vinyl for the last 50+ years, I have curated probably over 1,000 truly mint records (both in jazz and classical) that play without noise, pops or clicks. They have a full, rich, harmonically fleshed out sound with an excellent dynamic structure, but at the same time plays with a natural sense of ease and flow, without being etched or hard. Just truly wonderfully musical in every sense of the word.

However, I have come to know and understand that there is a great amount of music out there that is performed by some really talented musicians that I cannot obtain on vinyl and I don’t want to miss out on hearing it. So, my goal was to try and develop a digital side to my audio system what will engage my mind, my heart and my soul just as my vinyl does for me.

I figured the best way would be to invest in a separate dac and dedicated cd transport. Unfortunately though, I don’t have a huge budget for this endeavor. I’ve had many medical issues over the last several years which has cost me many thousands of dollars each and every year and sadly, I don’t really see that coming to an end anytime soon. So at the moment, I only had about $10,000 ( and preferably less ) that I felt comfortable spending toward this project as I feel vinyl will likely still be my primary and preferred source.

So, I ended up buying a brand new Mojo Mystique X-24AM dac from Benjamin. Oh btw, the 24 simply stands for the year 2024. The "AM" stands for Amorphous Cores by the Swiss Company Lundahl who makes audiophile transformers and chokes.

I had given some thought to other dacs as well, but I would have to buy most of them on the used market and then there would be no return options available. I’d have put them up for sale and wait for a buyer; and who knows what kind of loss I’d take.

I decided on the Mojo, because i have read that many people who appreciate vinyl playback seem to like what this dac does. That it plays music in a way that doesn’t sound hard or etched or thin or lean or "digital" in the bad sense of the word. I know that digital has the ability to sound really, really good. I just didn’t know if I could afford to pay for what is considered the really, really good sounding units.

This brand new Mojo was on sale with $1,000 off and it still cost me nearly $7700 including the shipping! Holy Crap; and I still had to buy a dedicated cd transport yet. Oh my Lord... what was I getting myself into, lol.

I’ve had the Mojo Dac running 24/7, with my cd player on repeat, since I’ve received it and now have over 500 hours on it. I am listening to it right now as I type this message and I am getting very excited as the sound has really opened up now and I am really liking what I’m hearing! (It actually really started to sing quite beautifully at around 150 hours - but amazingly, it continues to keep sounding better and better)

The sound is full; it’s rich; it’s organic; it’s dynamic; it’s got great tone; it’s got detail; it’s got bass; it’s got weight and density...I’m loving that when it plays the "note" that you hear the attack of the note, but it’s not hard or over emphasized. You hear the full harmonic structure of the note (the fullness of sound/ the meat on the bones); and you can hear the decay of the note (ie: ringing of the cymbals/ bells/ or the trailing off of a sustained piano note).

With the Mojo, it sounds dynamic without sounding hard. With the Mojo, it plays in a relaxed and natural way without becoming fatiguing, but yet at the same time it still plays with speed, with dynamic expression and with emotion!

So, I recently ended up taking a look at USa’mart one day and just moments prior to me bringing up the site, a seller posted a used black (which goes very nicely with the rest of my gear) Jay’s Audio CDT2-MK3 dedicated cd transport for sale in like new condition which included the Headquarter Qstab bone cd clamp at a price that was attractive to me, so I bought it!

I couldn’t believe the timing of it getting listed moments before I decided to look at the ad’s! It almost felt like it was meant to be! I paid more for the Mojo than I had originally planned on paying for a dac, but I can honestly say that I’m glad I gave it a try as the Mojo, in my humble opinion, is worth every penny I paid for it. It’s got great tone, body, weight, timing, and dynamics without being forced. There is no glare, hardness or digital nasties. My wife actually comes into my music room and comments on how great it sounds. She often looks to see if I have a vinyl record spinning!!! That’s a huge compliment to the Mojo and is exactly what I was hoping for.

Now with the Jay’s CD Transport, the sound has gotten even better in every respect. The Jay’s does indeed improve the sound very nicely.... so I’m very happy right now with the digital side of my system!

Thank you for allowing me to indulge you all, with my excitement.

Best wishes to you all,

Don

Congrats Don! That is a great dac and certainly sets up your total system up for sonic success!  Well done.