Best DAC ?

Is hi-res important to you? What is your budget? With your system, you could certainly go super high-end. Stahl-Tek (one for sale here) often exhibits with Peak Consult and the results are stunning. Check out Albert Porters thread where he swears by the Stahl-Tek as the closest digital to master tapes he has heard. I have heard it myself (Vekian version, below the newer Opus version).

Again, lets start with budget, hi-res and whether you are looking for computer inputs or inputs from transport.

First of all, Thank you very much for your interest. Yes, it very important to be hi-res. Price is important but I want to have a serious DAC SO balanced. I can pay but no for overprice. I will check them.

Thank You

Nickodavidoff,

You are going to get some good suggestions here, but I would urge caution
when considering high priced DACs. "High priced" is clearly a
relative term, but I think anytime you are going to spend as much as you
might on a car, caution is in order.

My ears and experience indicate that spending more than $5k on a DAC
in 2014 is a risky proposition if you want to maximize bang for the buck.
Consider this: John Atkinson of Stereophile recently wrote that he was
"hard pressed" to hear much difference between hi-res files on
the latest $3500 Marantz streaming DAC and the $43,000 MSB flagship
DAC. He wrote that it was "uncomfortably close."

He is not the first respected reviewer to acknowledge the hair splitting
differences between DACs once you reach the $4k summit. I do not mean
to suggest here that there are *no* differences, just that the differences get
smaller and smaller the higher up you go and are often no more than a
matter of personal taste and system synergy. There is also the pace of
change to consider. I predict that there will be DACs unveiled in the
coming months that will embarrass some very high priced competitors: it's
the nature of computer advancement.

If anyone here writes that one respected DAC "literally blows
away" some other well-reviewed DAC, take that view with a very, very
large grain of sea salt.

People will have very justifiable preferences and you may find a DAC that
satisfies those tastes, but you really need to share what sort of
"sound" you like in a system. For example, some DACs are
highly revealing, while some are quite romantic in their presentation of
music. Other designers strive for neutrality. What do you prefer?

Look at Bryston components.
Their DAC 2 is supposed to be amazing and it's not crazy money.
They also have a digital media player (for computer hook up) and a drive for playing CDs, SACDs, etc.

Hi Nickodavidoff,

I agree with Vhiner that many people will not wish to pay the premium for the upper end DACs. At the same time, I admit that I promised myself years ago to go with the best digital I could afford...and NOT go for vinyl or master tapes and split my resources. In the end, I went with Zanden 4-box (second hand)...after having tweaked it considerably...have never looked back. It has been 6 years, and against many of today's leading digital, I have felt no desire to switch...and some of that digital has come to the house for shoot-outs.

nevertheless, since you wish for hi-res, here is my personal list of digital I have heard which may interest you.

COST NO OBJECT
- Metronome Kalista Ref/C2A...personally, I am [a lot] more impressed with the Transport than the D/A...so if u only want a DAC...I would look elsewhere

- DCS Vivaldi DAC...delivers it all, organics, incredible detail, detail, and more detail, dynamics (macro and microdynamic shadings)
- Audio Aero La Source DAC - not well known, this is their extremely pricey flagship...but delivers a surprisingly organic sound that was more like a Zanden in its tonality than I would ever have expected.
- I have not heard these but have it on good account: Trinity DAC, Light Harmonic Dual DAC
- Have heard and liked but did not love: Meridian 808.2...beautiful for classical, did not find it as propulsive in bass as I would have preferred; Krell 505 - very solid performer...expensive; ARC DAC8...excellent and good value for money, not quite as detailed as the best of the best but balanced and with good system matching you may be 'done'...subjectively like CD8 more DAC 8...could have been transport or connection?
- Also heard Wadia s7i...exceptionally clear, natural but the modern clean variation vs ARC

- Next Price Point...have not heard but have been told on good account
- MSB Analog DAC or their Platinum DAC...which can become pricey if you start adding up add-on modules like power supplies, etc...but Andy Payor uses it at Rockport, and Martin Colloms raves about it...both good signs in my book
- Total DAC. Could be a relative steal in the high-end...read on Whatsbestforum. Very similar in organics and detail to Analog DAC and people seem to shoot out between these two often

My personal findings are to be more careful of the midpriced DACs than the super high end ones...I went from a %50 DVD player to my Zanden...I was often approached by dealers with great players from $800-$2000, and when I played my little DVD player, they were surprised (and still talk about it years later)...you end up paying for expensive casings, better power supplies (which matter), and name...but I did not find my DVD player embarrassed.

...but I DID find there was NO comparison once I moved up into that upper tier...its just that the cost is so extraordinary...but for me, i'd rather pay up (second hand!) and be 'done'...than pay in small increments of still meaningful money and find out I come home and go 'really? that's what $1000 got me? I cannot tell the difference?'

YMMV.