Best DAC?

[sir sanders zingmore]

19 minutes ago, garyjac said:

To follow the theme...if I gave you $10000 to spend on a dac (calm down, that's not happening), you would be inclined to this choice because there would be little improvement, then sneakily spend the rest on a very good bottle of whisky?  

I reckon I’d go for the RME adi-2-4 pro and have change for the whisky 

 

https://rme-audio.de/adi-2-4-pro-se.html

 

But what whisky would you buy?

[garyjac]

Glengoyne 21 y.o. or Macallan Enigma at reasonable prices.  At $10000 we have to start looking at Macallan 30 y.o. or specific years.  A Macallan from my year of birth costs about the price of a medium family car.  I must be old or something.

[garyjac]

Why is there never enough rum? (Cpt. Jack Sparrow).  You might like Domenico Exclusivo Reserva from Venezuela.  If you get the urge to mix try Wray & Nephew white rum, with Distiller's Cola from Fever Tree. Do not drink Wray & Nephew on its own, if you plan on living awhile longer.

Edited November 13, 2024 by garyjac

[aussievintage]

12 hours ago, sir sanders zingmore said:

Ok I'll play.....For me, the Topping d10 is the best DAC.

It's the one that got me off the DOTM merry-go-round

 

Beat me to it.     In this are of hifi,  the technology is very cheap, and it doesn't take much  to produce excellent results.  This biases the curve towards the cheaper, but rock solid end of the market.  IMHO of course.

[sir sanders zingmore]

6 minutes ago, garyjac said:

Why is there never enough rum? (Cpt. Jack Sparrow).  You might like Domenico Exclusivo Reserva from Venezuela.  If you get the urge to mix try Wray & Nephew white rum, with Distiller's Cola from Fever Tree. Do not drink Wray & Nephew on its own, if you plan on living awhile longer.

I know this is off topic, but I was just talking about rum with my mum. I’ve never liked it but I suspect that may be because I’ve only ever tried the cheap and nasty stuff (a bit like DACs perhaps!). Perhaps a better quality rum - but not $10k better - would be yum

[aussievintage]

3 minutes ago, sir sanders zingmore said:

I know this is off topic, but I was just talking about rum with my mum. I’ve never liked it but I suspect that may be because I’ve only ever tried the cheap and nasty stuff (a bit like DACs perhaps!). Perhaps a better quality rum - but not $10k better - would be yum

 

I tasted some very top shelf Bundaberg Rum, and I don't like the regular Bundaberg stuff at all.    Yes, it was very very nice

[MattyW]

Yes, I find it difficult to stop drinking the Kraken though have learned it is wise for me to set limits as to what I consume in an evening on Fridays and Saturdays. My 5 year old waits for no one at the crack of dawn the next day.

[garyjac]

10 minutes ago, aussievintage said:

 

I tasted some very top shelf Bundaberg Rum, and I don't like the regular Bundaberg stuff at all.    Yes, it was very very nice

I will be both off topic and controversial here...Australian rum is muck because of the way it's made, not age.  It turns into old muck.   Jamaican, Venezuelan and Guatemalan rum is the pinnacle IMHO. The secret is that it's made from free run cane juice, not molasses "bottoms". Not outrageously expensive and makes cheap DACs sound 35% better, guaranteed.

[aussievintage]

1 minute ago, garyjac said:

I will be both off topic and controversial here...Australian rum is muck because of the way it's made, not age.  It turns into old muck.   Jamaican, Venezuelan and Guatemalan rum is the pinnacle IMHO. The secret is that it's made from free run cane juice, not molasses "bottoms". Not outrageously expensive and makes cheap DACs sound 35% better, guaranteed.

 

In general I agree,  it was just Bundaberg had just one an award for best rum somewhere (overseas), and we were offered tastings.  I didn't taste the one that one, that was not allowed :),  but probably the next under that.  Can't remember the name.

[sir sanders zingmore]

3 minutes ago, garyjac said:

makes cheap DACs sound 35% better, guaranteed

Ok I’m off to Dan’s

[aussievintage]

1 minute ago, sir sanders zingmore said:

Ok I’m off to Dan’s

 

and it's not even 9 am (here)

[sir sanders zingmore]

4 minutes ago, aussievintage said:

 

and it's not even 9 am (here)

Right there is the benefit of daylight savings!

[garyjac]

38 minutes ago, aussievintage said:

 

Beat me to it.     In this are of hifi,  the technology is very cheap, and it doesn't take much  to produce excellent results.  This biases the curve towards the cheaper, but rock solid end of the market.  IMHO of course.

I tend to agree having seen a few at the bottom and on or two at the "top".  The rule of diminishing returns strikes with a vengeance.

[Peterbean]

2 hours ago, sir sanders zingmore said:

I reckon I’d go for the RME adi-2-4 pro and have change for the whisky 

 

https://rme-audio.de/adi-2-4-pro-se.html

 

But what whisky would you buy?

I’m waiting on delivery for an OKTO…or is that otko? Its one that Stereophile created a whole new class for, the a+ 

 

[Bunno77]

1 hour ago, garyjac said:

I will be both off topic and controversial here...Australian rum is muck because of the way it's made, not age.  It turns into old muck.   Jamaican, Venezuelan and Guatemalan rum is the pinnacle IMHO. The secret is that it's made from free run cane juice, not molasses "bottoms". Not outrageously expensive and makes cheap DACs sound 35% better, guaranteed.

https://www.mtuncle.com/products/fnq-rum-co-iridium-gold-rum

[muon*]

I don't drink.

[garyjac]

1 hour ago, Bunno77 said:

https://www.mtuncle.com/products/fnq-rum-co-iridium-gold-rum

Ooh...where can I get it?  Ah...online only, Far Nth Qld...I've seen good whisky from up North too.  My previous comment applied to commercial stuff.

Edited November 14, 2024 by garyjac

[garyjac]

57 minutes ago, muon* said:

I don't drink.

Indeed.

[PKay]

I'll add my 2 bobs worth.  My favourite dac and affordable to me on my budget is the Audial S5b dac.  Regardless of price this should be my final dac when it comes to digital music for me.  It doesn't need any fancy cables (other than a power cable @andyrmade for me) or any expensive network switches it sounds great as is.  The Audial runs on a TDA1541A chip.

 

https://www.audialonline.com/s5/

 

My other recent discovery while not a Dac makes a great improvement to Dacs.  It is the Matrix Audio X-SPDIF3 USB Digital Audio Interface - it converts the usb signal to coax, i2s and optical after re-clocking.  This device has taken my Gieseler Gross to a level so close to the Audial and as good as/better than many other Dacs I have heard at significantly higher prices.  At $800 it really is a hifi bargain.

 

https://addictedtoaudio.com.au/products/matrix-audio-x-spdif3-usb-digital-audio-interface

 

Edited November 14, 2024 by PKay

[gemini07]

4 hours ago, garyjac said:

 Not outrageously expensive and makes cheap DACs sound 35% better, guaranteed.

Do you have measurements to support that guarantee? Tests conducted over a long period of time, dare I say 'double blind' .... 

 

As an aside (?) I am very happy with my tube based Doge7 DAC - which doesn't seem to produce any distortion whatsoever..

[garyjac]

Definitely between 0% and 100% improvement depending on the degree of blindness.

[Assisi]

20 hours ago, garyjac said:

This is a typical piece of string. So, let's refine things a bit.  Assuming we plot  performance .vs. price curve and the extremes are "poor/cheap" to "divine" (at a divine price), where is the peak of the curve?  Literally the maximum bang for the buck.

Best DAC relative to what?  The DAC must be matched to the relative quality of the rest of the system and the necessary synergy outcome?  The DAC cannot be considered in isolation.  There is no point considering a moderate level performance and cost DAC for a high quality setup.  The converse would not be sensible to consider a high level DAC for a low quality setup.  To me there is no definitive answer to the question?

John

[garyjac]

There is no definitive answer, but the form of the question (not the title) allows you to state your own conditions, price points, et cetera, so by all means match away.  There is a small sample of opinion here that DACs differ very little from fairly cheap to silly expensive.  If they differ, then what are you paying for?

[aussievintage]

14 minutes ago, garyjac said:

There is no definitive answer, but the form of the question (not the title) allows you to state your own conditions, price points, et cetera, so by all means match away.  There is a small sample of opinion here that DACs differ very little from fairly cheap to silly expensive.  If they differ, then what are you paying for?

 

Feel good factor, prestige,  sate the snake oil appetite.

[Almaz]

The bait has been set, waiting for its next prey. Or dac whatever comes first.