The DAC Advice Thread

What can I get that will out resolve a dac2541 under $2k (new or used)?

I need something simple: iPad/Tidal - USB - Dac -> Amp. No cinemags or HQplayer etc...

 

I know nothing about the dac2541. The Cyan 2 is very resolving indeed. It’s performance in dsd with hqplayer is pretty much on par with the Spring 3…

 

I currently own an Auralic Vega gen 1. What EUR ~500 (new or used) multibit DAC should I buy?

 

I've never tried Vega. I can speculate that some Soekris offering would be closest in character but likely less resolving.

 

I'm afraid if there is something it is in camp SD and the difference would be small.

 

Soekris DACs also respond well to custom filters. The factory filters sound rather polite and non-involving to my ears. On diyAudio there's a whole thread of custom filter brewing for those DACs though, that can really spice it up. I liked the "quasi-NOS" filters more by a lot.

I've moved away from Soekris DACs because their bottleneck is the clock implementation. It's a PLL-based synthesiser, implemented in a way such that its error is proportional to the error of the input signal, even though there's a FIFO in between. Søren dismisses that, but there's measurements on diyAudio showing it. Beyond measurements, having built a dam1121 myself I can vouch that the quality of the input clock is of baffling influence to the sonic qualities of the DAC, though it still remains limited by its synthesiser and implementation.

That said, this Soekris dam1121 was my first journey in R2R territory also, so it might just be yours as well.

 

Yeah, I get the impression that going from the Auralic to something much speaker would be a downgrade so I'll likely postpone this.

 

While I still reserve the right to sell everything but my Pietus/ESS card, I am still thinking about the best "upgrade" from my Bifrost 2 OG to pair with my MJ3 and HD800SDRSBAF and ZMF VC Blackwood. I'd like more refinement, especially in the treble - on occasion, the treble is just a bit too much for my ears. More big boy stuff like better plankton, resolution, clarity, etc. to push the MJ3 as well. I thought about Yggdrasil GS2, but from what folks are saying, that might not be the answer if BF2 treble is a little too much for me. Now that it is on the Schiit site and some folks have started hearing it, maybe the Gungnir 2? I don't want to lose too much bass, as I very much enjoy a healthy bottom end to my music.

Thanks to @ogodei , I was able to test my HD800s with his MJ3 fed by a Gustard R26 and a Holo Spring 2 to try out. The Gustard was pretty good, but not wow. If anything it reminded me of a big boy version of the Schiit Modius. Very even throughout the range, with nothing standing out positive or negative other than its overall competency. The Holo Spring 2 shocked me with how meh it sounded, so maybe I needed to run it some other mode or with different software (was playing PC Tidal via a USB fed through some fancy USB thingy that I can't remember at the moment). Ogodei did warn me that I was in just one particular mode and that there are settings that could have improved it, but the bass was bloomy and the treble was surprisingly recessed and a bit cloudy. It almost worked with the HD800, but I couldn't imagine it at the time being good with other headphones without tweaking (something I really am not interested in anymore).

I have a PI2AES as a streaming source. I listen to a fairly wide range of things, with classical/orchestral soundtrack probably 50%, with a mix of electronic, classic rock, classic hip-hop, and on occasion, some heavy metal filling in the rest. Oh, and Yggdrasil GS2 is more than I want to spend, but I am still considering it (along with the Gungnir 2). I have a ton of low-mid fi stuff to sell that should get me what I need.

Any other suggestions?

 

Maybe a Prism Callia? Prism dacs tend to have a lightness/airyness up top which might suit you. The same company also makes the dScope. Their usb drivers can be a bit persnickety, but if you can feed it spdif from the PI2AES then you should be fine.