Best Minimalist DAC?

Mordante,

I have an Octave mk I and cannot recommend it high enough. My only source is a very optimized, no-fan/no-motors PC running Win Server 2012 in core mode with Audiophile Optimizer, JRiver, and into an Audiophilleo 2 with PurePower. Two years ago I paid 1k for the Octave and 1k for the AP.

Late last year I was intrigued with all the talk about DSD and purchased the top of the line exaSound e22, at 3.5k, to replace the Octave and AP. The e22 playing DSD fed from same computer but from HQPlayer upconverting 16/44.1 files to DSD sounded as good as my current setup. HQPlayer sounded much better at upconverting than JRiver. So I'm selling the e22.

Bottom line: the Metrum can sound extremely good, but make sure you feed it a very good, clean signal. I know the mk II has USB input, but I remember someone at computeraudiophile saying he tried feeding it from an Audiophilleo vs Metrum USB input and he liked better the AP. Consider buying a used mk I and a used AP with Purepower (this is key!) and you will be within budget and having fantastic sound.

Whew! Turned out to be a longer post than I expected.

Strangely enough, I've not heard from Steve at Empirical.;)

That said, I'm looking for a good price (probably used) on the following :

Ayre QB-9 DSD
Auralic Vega
Lampi Amber
Nad M51
Wyred 2 DSD

Partly this (negotiable) focus is arbitrary -- there's just a ton of good DACs out there like the many mentioned above, and one has to narrow the search somehow. I'm tentatively of the opinion that there is less to chose among competently realized DACs than between some other components.

I realize that not all of these are "minimalist"; not ideal for me, but if I hit the desired pricepoint, I can live with "excess" features.

Anyway, opinions on the above five very welcome.

John

And this one?

http://www.henryaudio.com/

Anyone heard it?

A decision has been made -- for the moment! :)

Embarrassingly, none of the DACs on my short list made it.

A friend recommended I look at the Simple Designs Sonore exD just as one came up used for a good price here, and I went for it.

Defintely minimalist: USB only, the only control an on/off switch. I'd characterize the sound as leaning toward the warm and laid back, which is what I'm usually after in my gear. In a direct comparison, it readily bested the HRT Music Streamer II which I was using as a stop gap -- as it ought, given the price difference. By memory, three of us thought it compared quite favorably to the much more expensive PSA PWDII it replaced -- arguably, a bit more musical.

A link to a bit of press below; I'd rate the Sonore as definitely worth a look if you are shopping along the lines of this thread.

Thanks to everybody for their advice!

John

http://www.audiostream.com/content/sonore-simple-design-exd-dac

Good luck with the Sonore John,

I was just going to attest to the merits of the Bel Canto e.One 2.5 DAC. It does meet the "minimalist" criteria, but more compared to a larger/beefier DAC/Pre combo (such as SS or tubes).

I've been running this Bel Canto for over a year now- very impressive as a DAC, let alone a DAC/Pre with very clean, musical and slightly warm Class D sound, AND built-in 1/4" headphone amp in a small and low-heat unit.... Has many ins/outs despite the small footprint. I'm currently running mine directly into my Pass Labs x150 with Exc results.

These