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Got Innuous, now a DAC

I worked with the Music Room and purchased an Innuous Zen Mk3. I remember five years ago when I started building my system, I heard many say streamers don’t matter. Well they do. I thought my BS Node 2i was good with the after market power supply. The Innuous kicked dirt in the face of the BS. The Innuous forced me to use USB which probably helps as well. And an added benefit: NO MORE SOFTWARE ISSUES. Yay! Qobuz internet interface is great. The sound of Qobuz is so good it made my $400 BT speakers sound better.

The Music Room associate said I will see another step improvement. I have looked around. I think R2R might be a good try. I would characterize my system as neutral. I have eliminated most glare or listening fatigue. But I don’t know what I don’t know.

I would like to keep this under $2000. Here are some that I found.

Denafrips Pontus 12 $1500

Ali express Denafrips 15 $1518 plus ship

Aqua La Voce. ???

Ayre Dx9. I think these are old but have good rep. I think it s Delta Sigma

Chord ??

Gustard. R26 mixed reviews

Bel Canto ???

i will not be updating amp and preamp. Thank you in advance.

The brands are exploding, but thank you in advance for your suggestions. 

 

128x128daledeee1
sls883
513 posts
 

The Gustard manual isn't bad.  They just fail to cover firmware updates.  Which is bad. Lol. 

It's over your budget, but I'm very happy with my Gustard X30 dac. I'm using a Gustard U18 ddc, but you could use the USB input. I also have an Innuos Zen Mk3 streamer. 

hysteve
82 posts
 

I’ll second the Ayre QB9 Twenty. Sounds great and you can find it used already upgraded to the Twenty. I’ve moved on to a T+A but for the $, the Ayre is hard to beat.

thriftyaudio
53 posts
 

I would suggest one of the Schiit DACs.  I had a Bifrost 2/64 and liked it a lot. 

PS Audio was decent too.

The team at the Music Room could help identify a nice fit for your system.

rtacconi's avatar
rtacconi
12 posts
 

In that price range, Holo Audio Cyan 2 from Ali Express. Otherwise if you want to try some light DIY, iancanada.ca, you can choose different inputs, have a reclocker, I would use an I2S with galvanic isolation.

bassbuyer
218 posts
 

Congratulations on your new equipment.  I did the same moving from a Bluesound Node N130 to a used Zen Mk3 from an excellent local dealer.  I immediately noticed an improvement streaming Qobuz too.  I find the Sense app is even better than the BluOs app which was my favorite.  I use a Blue Jeans cable tested 6a Ethernet cable into the Zen from my router and a Pine Tree Audio USB cable into a Holo Audio Cyan 2 DAC.  The Cyan 2 cost under $1400 US delivered.  It’s a great pairing.  The best DAC I’ve tried for under $2K.  

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