DAC for Aurender N200

@hickamore   What is your system, It isn't ;listed in virtual systems. Sounds like we are close!

@fthompson251 Never posted mine because doing so would be of no value to anyone -- it's a weird room neither worthy nor capable of replication. Also, because I know so little compared to the many experts here, I offer advice only on "beginner" questions, so it doesn't matter "where I am coming from." Your setup, on the other hand, would be very instructive as it is replicable. What you & I share is an affinity for Aurender, Coda, Legacy, Denafrips gear and their potential synergies.

I've heard the Aurender N200 with a Denafrips Terminator Plus R2R DAC, and an N10 with a Chord Hugo in other people's systems. I also have had the N10 and N200 in my system with a Denafrips Pontus II DAC. I must admit that to my ears, R2R DACs are my preference.

I did not enjoy the N10 with the Chord DAC, too bright and sibilant for me.....though I could see it being a good pairing in a "dark" system. I have found the same with other Chord DACs.

The N200 with a Denafrips Terminator Plus was absolutely brilliant, more detailed and revealing; but with all of that Denafrips R2R magic.....fun, dynamic, engaging, involving, enjoyable. I could live with that pairing without hesitation. The new Denafrips Terminator 15th at $6,100 is basically a Terminator Plus, and would probably be a good comparison as well.

In my system I really could not tell much difference between the N10 and the N200, both were wonderful with the Pontus II.....but nowhere as nice as the N200 & Terminator Plus combo my friend has. I did not have the Denafrips Iris DDC at the time, so I cannot comment on how that would've changed the demo if any.

@vthokie83   I think you got a chance to hear what I was talking about. Term 15th is a   T+, so essentially the same. It really works well together with the N200. I have the Hermes between them to go up another step with clock sync and I2s.

The Terminator 15th or TPlus and the N200 make a very nice combo as already mentioned a few times.  Not a bad value for us crazy’s either 🤪. I run mine with USB (no DDC to take advantage of I2s), but I’m thinking of jumping ship and going with an Innuos Pulsar.  The Pulsar has just been released with different output modules, one of which is I2s with a built in reclocker.  I’ve compared the Pulsar (with USB) to the N200 and actually like the Pulsar more.  I’ve found it to be even quieter with better staging and imaging and by the time you eliminate the need for a DDC and additional cables, cost wise they’re very close.  With the I2s module it should hopefully be better yet.