Bang for the buck DAC 2017 under $1k

[beerandmusic]

On 11/5/2017 at 12:27 PM, AltCtrl said:

I'm ready to pull the trigger on my first hifi DAC. What is the best bang for the buck DAC of 2017 for under $1k? Balanced, DSD and other capabilities are pluses but lets keep dimishing returns in mind in regards to sound quality.

 

I have these on my shortlist:

Gustard X20 Pro
Denafrips Ares R2R DAC
Oppo Sonica DAC

holo spring dsd (releasing in 2018) (don't know if balanced or not?)

nt505 (releasing in 2018)

 

[beerandmusic]

On 11/5/2017 at 2:18 PM, AltCtrl said:

Does a used Chord 2Qute compare to the above mentioned DAC's? I read the sound might be on the fun side.

no balanced

[beerandmusic]

On 11/5/2017 at 4:49 PM, kennyb123 said:

Chord Mojo + microRendu 

not balanced

[beerandmusic]

4 hours ago, Jamesroy said:

My Set Up:
WD usb2 2TB external HD Only Music aiff’s on it + Time Machine BackUp of MacBook Pro ( I only use it for one thing and that to serve music to my DAC)
MacBook Pro 2013 8GB RAM 256 internal Flash drive usb3 and thunderbolt
AudirvanaPlus Always very latest Version
 Regen           
ifi DAC nano latest driver iFiHDUSBAudio_dfuapp5.1A.sh
Oyaide neo d+ Class A USB 2.0 to MacBook Pro from REGEN
MusicLink Transparent Interface (Directional) Cables
Parasound P5 HALO Preamp 
Reference B&K 200.2 S2 Power amp 225W RMS
Paradigm Studio 100v.3 series speakers BiWired
Klipsch Reference R-10SW Sub
Thanks

 

I'm now looking at a trade in at Stellar for there The Stellar Gain Cell DAC a little over 1k hope I'm making a good decision?

i contemplated the stellar gain cell for about an hour...I don't remember why i crossed it off...but the nt505 is still on my list as well as a lumin d2....

 

The paradigm stuido 100s are nice speakers...they were my favorites for over 6 months which is probably a record for any component in my system besides a mcintosh amp.....i will likely die with a mcintosh .

 

If you have the ifi nano, i don't think you will be impressed with the $1000 dac upgrade...i would upgrade your amp to a mcintosh (selling your b&k for 1K and buying a used mcintosh amp) will give you much more satisfaction than buying a $1K dac over your ifi...jmo

 

been there, done that....i have tried well over a dozen different dacs and none made a night and day difference that the mcintosh amp did....

 

going back to a previous response in this thread i made, if you don't like the idea of a mcintosh amp in your system, i would keep your dac and get a sotm ultra..(if your dac will work with sotm)....

 

I believe just upgrading your ifi to a $1k dac, you will be "less than impressed".  That or wait for the NT505...but my suggestion will always be to upgrade to a mcintosh amp before any higher-end dac purchase.

 

If you have to buy now, and don't want a mcintosh, consider the LUMIN D2.

[beerandmusic]

another toy i added to my list in this budget is the new marantz ND8006.

its a DSD streamer and DAC and transport....and i really think i would enjoy using my alexa show with it using HEOS.