Smooth sounding DAC?

Great post Audioengr. I would also add that "smoothness" in many DAC's is achieved at the expense of high frequency articulation i.e. controlled roll-off in the treble region. Not only is tonal balance part of what equates to "smoothness", so does transient response. I think that this is what Audioengr was getting at in terms of "dynamics". A component that lacks transient response will demonstrate a "softer" presentation. While the combination of soft treble response and reduced amplitude of peaks may present a "smoother" presentation, it isn't very accurate or nearly as good sounding as what a well designed digital system is capable of. Sean
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Well around $1500 used is not a problem.
I like my Theta Gen 3 and GEn 5 very much.
Slam and its smooth sounding actually.

so..........hope this helps

Thanks and keep it comming
Ravi

Tvad: I found solid state DAC's that offered all of the benefits of the tubed DAC's but with even greater speed, dimensionality and control. As such, i moved onto the next level. Having said that, most tubed gear sounds much better than most budget or reasonably priced mass produced digital SS gear. As such, i would recommend that someone looking to upgrade their lower cost SS digital gear either check into a tube based DAC or look for a used SS DAC that didn't come off of a mass production assembly line. Sean
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