New neutral/transparent DAC

[Panelhead]

On 8/16/2018 at 4:04 AM, RamUwe said:

Hi folks,

I'm looking for a new DAC. The DAC have to be neutral and transparent. I know that this is also a question of taste and subjective hearing experience. But I mean neutral and transparent technically. I have 3 DACs in mind:

Crane Song Solaris

Dangerous Music - Convert 2

Forssell Technologies MADA-2a

 

Which one would you prefer and pick up? And why? Maybe you can suggest others.

  The Fossell would be my pick. But the Crane Song seems to get the most love.

  If someone thinks having only balanced outputs is a liability especially using 1/4” connectors they are naive. A TRS plug for balanced output and a TR for single ended outputs.

  This is the wrong forum to ask about pro units. 

  There used to be a lot of prosumer gear discussion here; Weiss, Metric Halo, Benchmark, RME, and Apogee. Not much anymore.

[Panelhead]

22 hours ago, Sam Lord said:

 

I think this is not the wrong forum to discuss pro units, though it's mostly unhelpful for pros.

 

P.S.A.:

 

 It is vital to connect the shield only at the XLR end (pin 1) and float it at the RCA end.  So either have cables built correctly to order, or mod them.  Ranenotes #110 covers this very well.  

  I build all my analog cables. The balanced with starquad. 

  The 3 pin XLR plugs usually have a ground connection and a neutral. I connect to all four with the starquad cable. No longer has the RFI rejection from starquad cabling. I feel the separate neutral and ground are more critical.

  The unbalanced cables are easier with less options. Always connect 1 and 3 when making a gender changing cables. That going from a four connection plug to a two connection.

  Used used to use locking DIN connectors. They have a ground lug also.