Chord 64, ECD-1, Audio Logic, Dodson DAC opinions

I would normally just say the ECD-1 but considering the Krell's (solid states) I would jump to the AL. It's alot more bucko's but worth it.

On the other hand, you could get a good tube pre-amp (Audible recommended) and the Chord for the same money.

I found the Dodson to analytical and the Chord to expensive. Needless to say the AL was out of my budget also. The ECD-1 is amazing at it's price plus the bass and soundstage is to die for.

I was doing some critical listening last night and the ECD-1 is really superior to anything in the midrange.

I had the following DACs in my system. I slightly preferred the Chord 64 to the Audio Logic but I did not get a chance to experiment with NOS tubes in the AL. I thought the ECD-1 was the biggest bang for the buck using my Sony SCD-777ES as a transport. I also preferred using the ECD-1 with the Audiomeca Mephisto CDP and a highly modified Shanling CDP. The ECD-1 is a very good DAC for the used prices. The ECD-1 had the best/deepest bass of all the DACs I listened to. It also had a wider soundstage. The Audio Logic had better separation and placement of vocals and instruments and was clearer sounding. I also liked the mid range better as it was more real sounding versus the ECD-1 which as a SS unit sounded laid back but not real. The Chord slightly bettered the AL DAC in the same areas and has a 4 second delay which took some time to get used to. I also felt that NOS tubes in the AL would better the sound of this DAC and that I could taylor the sound with tubes. It was also cheaper then the Chord although I saw one on Agon for around $1500 yesterday.

I may have posted this on Agon in another thread but overall all three are very good DACs and the ECD-1 would be a good choice for someone on a budget, or an older model AL 34 DAC if you prefer the sound of tubes.

Happy Listening.

I would slightly disagree with Audioengr in that the current version of the Audio Logic, with its transformer coupling, is not really a "tubey" sounding piece anymore in the classic sense--earlier versions, particularly the early Model 34s, could be described that way, and with tube-rolling you could do a lot of tailoring of the sound to your taste. The AL offers excellent bass and detail retrieval, though perhaps not state of the art in those areas, but has a "realness/liveness" factor and dimensionality to its presentation that I haven't heard in any of the pricier DACs like Wadia, Levinson, dCS and Krell. Cannot comment on the Chord, Dodson or ECD-1 (Bigkidz compared the Audio Logic to the EC, check the archives under Audio Logic, you'll see what he reported), although looks to me like you've narrowed it down to some good choices. If there's any way to audition any of the units (if you live in NY metro area, you're welcome to hear my unit) it would be advisable, as your musical tastes and sonic preferences may not match ours, and these units, as all equipment, have different strengths and weaknesses.

oops...sorry, I hit "submit" too early...

Someone at Audiocircle did a direct comparison of the Dodson DA-218 and the Electrocompaniet ECD-1 here:

http://www.audiocircle.com/circles/viewtopic.php?t=11466

We did a shootout between the Dodson DA-218, Audio Logic 24MXL, Orpheus Labs DAC, Empiracal Audio-modded ECD-1, and Modwright-modded Sony DVP-NS999ES. Write-up and discussion of the shootout is here:

http://www.audiocircle.com/circles/viewtopic.php?t=12876

Make certain to add the Benchmark DAC-1 to the list. It is at least as good as any of those under consideration and will be the least transport sensitive. Don't let the plain cosmetics and low price raise any concern - the DAC-1 is an excellent digital decoder and a stellar value. Good luck!