Marvey's DAC Chart of Awesomeness

Discussion in 'Digital: DACs, USB converters, decrapifiers' started by The Alchemist, Sep 28, 2015.

  1. Dino

    Dino Friend

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  2. Thenewerguy009

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    All this reminds me of the Lite DAC60 mod thread by rb2013 over at head-fi. He claims his $600 Chifi DAC with a few caps upgrades & mods was better than a $20,000 APL DAC.

    Other people in the thread agree it sounds good when modded, but I never seen anyone praise it to the moon like he does. A independent impression from a more objective reviewer with it or the Gustard would be great to either confirm the hype or show it is all bullshit to hype & sell stuff.
     
  3. landroni

    landroni Friend

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    I imagine Ric Schultz and Charles Altmann should get together, hold hands, and start a joint venture together... Between the caseless DAC and the cardboard upgrades with wires bypassing fuses, what could go wrong?
     
  4. Psalmanazar

    Psalmanazar Most improved member; A+

    Pyrate Slaytanic Cliff Clavin
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    The Benchmark DACs are all overpriced and don't perform as well as the better pro-audio DS stuff, which doesn't even use Sabres. Sure they are better than Myteks but that's not saying anything. I don't remember if I heard the 1 or supposedly better 2 but yeah, I wasn't impressed and I'm not paying 2k for a Sabre DAC even if I was a millionaire.

    They have multiple models of the 3 and won't tell me what the difference is on the website. Why the hell would anyone ever buy it over the Lynx Hilo which gets you a more neutral and detailed DAC with a great ADC for 200-300 more dollars? The Lavry and Prism DACs are smoother and less one note than Sabres too.
     
  5. Dino

    Dino Friend

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    These names are new to me, so I have been reading a bit about them. Anyone try Altman's DIY tonearm?
     
  6. Rockin_Zombie

    Rockin_Zombie Facebook Friend

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    Yeah they should really clarify the differences:

    DAC3-L - no headphone amp, no AES3
    DAC3-HGC - built-in HPA2 headphone amp, no AES3
    DAC3-DX - no analog input, has AES3

    I have hot heard the DACs you mentioned. Compared to other D/S DAC chips I have listened to - AD1955, PCM1795, I don't find the Sabre to be one note, unless I am not listening to the right music. The other Sabre DAC I once owned (the original Dragonfly) was perfectly fine too.

    Since Benchmark have a 30-day trial with no restocking fee, could be an easy risk-free addition to the chart. I would have loaned my unit out gladly but I am in Canuckland.
     
  7. L1C4

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    Hi All,

    I've gone through most of this thread and didn't see much about Wyred 4 Sound's stuff. Anyone have any impressions? I will be using with various tube amps.

    Marvey - where would this go on the spectrum? Right now I have the Chord 2Qute and am thinking about switching up to either the Wyred 4 Sound DAC 2 DSD, Yggdrasil, or maybe go old school and grab something like the NAD M51. I tend to like a neutral sound - e.g. prefer the HD600 over the HD650 and previously enjoyed the Concero HD.

    Thanks,
    C
     
  8. Psalmanazar

    Psalmanazar Most improved member; A+

    Pyrate Slaytanic Cliff Clavin
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    Neither HD 600 nor 650 are neutral, even compared to a cheap pair of powered speakers. Gungnir Multibit for HD 600, Yggdrasil for HD 650 if you care about synergy of neutralish DACs with relatively neutral FOR HEADPHONES headphones.

    If you're really concerned about too much warmth in speakers or headphones, get the Lynx Hilo especially if you want a great ADC too. All Schiit R2R stuff except for the Bifrost Multibit has fat "ghosty" bass and all the good DACs based around ESS Sabres (fat one dimensional bass here), AD1955, and Wolfsons are slightly warm and once you get past the Emotiva DC-1 and mid level Wolfsons, not price competitive with the Gungnir Multibit unless you need pro audio features. Even Yggdrasil isn't as while slightly better technically, it has its own presentational idiosyncracies and so isn't double the price better and isn't even purely a direct upgrade. Wolfsons also tend to be more dynamic than Gungnir Multibit and Yggdrasil, especially the Gungnir Multibit so you might want to check out the discontinued but on sale now Perfect Wave MkII if that's your jam.
     
  9. L1C4

    L1C4 New

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    Thanks. I think my point was that I preferred the HD600 over the HD650. Yes, neither are super neutral.

    I think that sounds about right. I am going to be using Elears, HEK, and K1000s predominantly.
     
  10. L1C4

    L1C4 New

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    I got one of the places to get a new Lynx Hilo USB down to under $2K. Worked out really well. I am excited for it to come. :Violin:
     
  11. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    That should serve you well. The great thing is that the USB implementation is excellent on the Hilo. No need for USB gadgets. It's Lynx after all.
     
  12. Psalmanazar

    Psalmanazar Most improved member; A+

    Pyrate Slaytanic Cliff Clavin
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    Holy shit, that's an amazing deal. Probably better than the Gungnir Multibit when you include the ADC if you want that, the preamp for the "Cheesy MP3 monitor" outs, and the possibility of just connecting it with thunderbolt.

    Gungnir Multibit and DC-1 are still the biggest bang for buck DACs in audio though.
     
  13. drfindley

    drfindley Secretly lives in the Analog Room - Friend

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    Any chance this was a coupon or something you used? Under $2k is the price I was looking at for one of those.
     
  14. L1C4

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    So I know you can get a demo unit for $1,950 from Vintage King if you push. I will look to see where I got mine. It was either Musician's World or a different place I wasn't familiar with. They have one silver unit left that he'd do the same deal on. They are brand new and were going for $2,250.
     
  15. Armaegis

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    If you want an ADC but don't need all the bennies of the Hilo and want to spend a little less, I'd highly recommend the Prism Lyra. Absolutely fantastic converters both ways.
     
  16. iDesign

    iDesign Almost "Made"

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    The Yggdrasil is very interesting in that burn in and perhaps temperature (internal and ambient temps) seem to greatly impact performance. The Yggdrasil is noticeably more detailed and enveloping after 48+ of use. I'm astonished by how much the sound the has changed and it is only now that I can appreciate the Yggdrasil's Class E+ ranking.
     
  17. gixxerwimp

    gixxerwimp Professional tricycle rider

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    Ordered this for a colleague after he heard my micro iDSD. Decided to give it a another listen 2 years later w/ Andros and iEMatch proto-pigtail. Before re-reading Marvey's impressions, I felt the main difference between the nano and the iDAC2 I use at work was digititus, mainly with cymbals and "S"s. Also a lack of cohesiveness and punch with Get Lucky. Maybe the digi-harshness is easier for me to hear, or just expectation bias of how it would sound worse.

    I could hear a (positive) difference comparing my micro iDSD DAC/amp and Bifrost > iDSD amp, and then more betterer with Bifrost > Mjolnir 2/Jot, so I can hear differences. But the nano iDSD didn't sound that bad to me.

    Wonder how it compares as a DAC to the S19 ...
     
  18. Yeskey

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    I'm actually using the idsd nano as a coaxial DDC for my Bifrost Multibit. It's a noticeable improvement over straight USB by providing a more-textured bass and smoother decay on high frequency instruments like cymbals. A pretty decent stand-in till w/e schiit decides to cook up.

    The DAC section alone.. well, it's better than my laptop out.
     
  19. Trinity

    Trinity New

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    Like to see the Holo Spring/s on the wall of awesome, where would you put the Kitsune 3?

    Trin
     
  20. Thenewerguy009

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    Marvey reviewed the Holo Springs & didn't like it. He preferred his Gungnir Multibit over it.
     

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