DAC questions

So I'm plotting my next moves in upgrading my system. I currently have a Rega Brio-R, which I really like, and don't necessarily want to change. I'm targeting my cd playback next. Currently I'm using a Cambridge cd player as a transport, which again I like however the open/close button is dying, so it needs replacing. I've pretty much made up my mind on an Audiolab 6000 transport. But the Dac is something i'm struggling to figure out. I have a Musical Fidelity V-90, great little dac, but I can spend more now to get to the next level. I have and play a lot of cds, so I want the best sound I can afford. I prefer warm, smooth sound as opposed to bright and sterile. Budget is under $1k used or new. Some things I am pondering:
1. Are used dacs from say 5 years ago that cost $1k eclipsed by much more affordable options now
2. Is the Audiolab 6000a amp internal dac a good one; worth replacing my amp and dac for all in one
3. Is a Rega Dac-R still a good dac, will the synergy with the Brio mean anything
I don't need usb connection, the Bluetooth on the 6000a would be handy but not a must have.

 

I bought a Rega Dac-R off the board recently and have it paired with a Rega Apollo. To me the Dac-R sounds better than the Rega Apollo as a CD player. I did this to keep the Rega sound if the Apollo ever dies out, as it sometimes exhibits that flaky behavior that a lot of Rega CD players display.

I would imagine if you paired with the Brio you would catch some nice synergy.

 

Im in the market for a DAC myself and stumbled upon this brand https://www.vinshineaudio.com/product-page/denafrips-ares-r2r-dac
I haven't read a bad review, and the DAC I linked is suppose to have a "vinyl" sound. Prices shown are in Singapore dollars, the conversion is less than $730 US.

 

I've seen some positive comments regarding Denafrips. There are soooo many different ones out there, its so hard to choose.

 

Are you planning on doing any streaming? Most DACs in the $600-$2000 will do both.

The Rega DAC and DAC-R are good performers in the less than $800 used market. I have tested my Rega DAC against an older but much more expensive Proceed and it held its own. I think there is good system synergy with Rega. I used my Rega DAC with an Elex-R amp. They pair well. Even with a Sonos Port as a source.

Another better level to look at would be a used Linn DSM.

Be sure to include a decent interconnect cable in your budget.

There are several warmer sounding DACs at the $1500-$3000 arena...

 

I have a tablet that i use Spotify on, it connects via bluetooth to a small receiver that connects to my dac with an optical cable. I'm fine leaving this part the way it is, its simply for background noise or discovering new albums.

 

Is your long term plan playing CDs directly or will you rip your collection and play your archive via a server?

Are your musical tastes distinct and rare enough (ie: not found on services) that using streaming is a no go? If not I would rethink your whole system philosophy and do some listening to what Tidal/Qobuz can sound like on a decent but not crazy money system. You might be surprised...

 

Just to play cds. The biggest thing for me is collecting the physical medium, cds and vinyl. The system is to enjoy my collection, my collection isnt tailored to hear the system.

 

I really enjoy the Musical Paradise MP-D2 MK3 Deluxe, which comes in right at your budget in the stock configuration. It's a interesting almost modular design that you can make upgrades to over time. Tube upgrades, chip upgrades, cap upgrades, UBS upgrades if you ever get into that, Bluetooth built in. If I was in the market today I think I'd be getting Musical Paradise or Denafrips.

 

Nothing wrong with that! Still, having experienced Tidal via Roon at several dealers, that sure is nice! If you're spending big $$$, I'd sure want to get something that could stream at better than Bluetooth quality, because why not get more enjoyment out of stuff you're exploring?

This site Audio DACs, Streamers, Servers, Players, ADCs might interest you. As an engineer, I certainly don't believe measurements tell everything about the sound, but I also believe there is no excuse for poor measurements these days.

 

I use a Musical Fidelity x-ray v3 cd player at the moment. I wonder if it has the same dac inside as your MF V90 dac ? I think both use a Burr Brown chip....
I prefer my Denafrips Ares over the dac inside the MF cd player. It's a very noteable difference.

 

Reading lots of people recommending the Denafrips, going to check them out

 

USB has become a "must have" input with DACs ever since Windows 10 stopped supporting SPDIF audio output.
The cheapest way to achieve HiFi "end game" sound at this point is to scarf up an older legacy DAC that is left out in the rain with ONLY SPDIF inputs. And is priced cheap because of it.
Then go out and for $100 bucks go buy a cheap Topping D10 and use it to get USB to SPDIF conversion.
For less than a grand you should be able to play with the big boys.
Heck for two grand you could probably buy up a used Berkely Audio Alpha Dac.
Good grief!
Talk about value!
My two cents.

 

Audiolab m-dac+ worth an audition? `Schiit bifrost multibit or one of their other models? There’s quite a bit of choice

 

From what I've read and have experienced, it seems like to noticeably better one of today's DACs which sit around the $1k price point, you need to spend over $4k today. In-between those two price points the differences tend to be quite subtle.

 

As a person with a fully patched Windows 10 system that uses SPDIF, I’m curious to hear more about this Windows 10 doesn’t support SPDIF thing.

 

Strong agreement on this point. I’d actually lower the $1k number to about $200. I know that sounds like a bold statement, but I recently took a $1K Mytek Liberty DAC out of my system because it did nothing better then the $100 credit-card sized Khadas Tone Board I compared it to over a few days.

 

None of the laptops OR desktops I recently surveyed come with SPDIF outs anymore since maybe five years ago.
So I bought four new Windows 10 computers figuring a SPDIF card install would be no big deal.
Not one of them would synch properly with any soundcards I bought and I bought a lot of different ones trying to get a SPDIF port. After four tries I gave up.
"It's all USB or HDMI at this point" was the common answer to my predicament."
I did hear from a few computer geeks that could take their computers apart and solder connections and stuff but for gosh sakes I just want plug and play like before.
Anyway I'm now having a great time (pun intended) using the Topping D10 to convert a spare USB port over to SPDIF.
Truly plug and play on all four!
You know an easier, simpler, better, cheaper way?
Splain me, I'm all ears.
By the way the Topping comes complete and displays the actual sampling frequency to verify correct reception is occuring.
Now that I can read it out I have one less thing to guess about.
It sounds clear which matches its test reports.
And it was less than a hundred bucks.

 

Okay, so what you meant to say was that you can't find pre-built computers that have SPDIF built in any longer. That's a far cry from "Windows 10 stopped supporting SPDIF output" which is a false statement. Not a big deal and USB to SPDIF converters are perfectly legit, I just don't want somebody to stumble across this thread and worry upgrading to Windows 10 will break their optical port or something.

 

For use in a stereo system I recommend checking out Schiit, I have one of their mid-line d:a's, and it makes my cd collection sing!

 

Purely for redbook playback (they do come up time to time for under $1K used).

https://www.audionote.co.uk/dac0-1x

Another sleeper DAC (well under budget too): Model_2 TUBE DA Converter
The technical explanation of Model_2

 

I was clear from the get go.
And I immediately mentioned USB to SPDIF converters from my first post on the subject.
Windows 10 no longer supports SPDIF, only USB and HDMI which is then converted to SPDIF.
False statements?
Seems to me you somehow grabbed on to only part of what I originally said.
Meanwhile top of the line SPDIF-ONLY DACs are going for cheap used.
Grab a USB adapter and steal one is my advice.

 

Just to throw a spanner in the works, here are some old school DACs sporting the UltraAnalog DA2400A with the build quality to match - (2x) = one DA2400A per channel. Some of these are unobtanium nowadays. I own an original SFD-2 which still floors me each time I play a well mastered disc through it. Good luck!

Audio Research DAC1-20
Audio Research DAC2
Audio Synthesis DA-X
Aragon D2A2
Classe Audio DAC-1 (2x)
Classe Audio CDP-1
Counterpoint DA10E-UA
Kinergetics Research KCD-55 Ultra
Krell KPS 25s
Manley A TO D
Manley Junior 20 Bit
Manley Reference 20 Bit (2x)
Manley Wave (2x)
Mark Levinson No 30 (2x)
Mark Levinson No 30.5 (2x)
Metaxas MASDAC
Parasound D/AC-2000 Ultra Analog
PS Audio Reference LINK II
PS Audio Ultralink TWO
Resolution Audio Quantum
Sonic Frontiers Processor 3 (2x)
Sonic Frontiers SFCD-1
Sonic Frontiers SFD-1 Mk II
Sonic Frontiers SFD-2 (2x)
Sonic Frontiers SFD-2 Mk II (2x)
Spectral SDR-2000 (2x)
STAX X1T (2x)
Threshold DAC2 (2x)

 

OMG !
Since neither my Hegel HD25 DAC nor my integrated amp (Lavardin) offer a headphone plug, I decided to throw in my old Bereford TC2530 Bushmaster dac in the system, so I could listen to music in the evening when television was on.
There was hardly any difference between the Hegel and the ten times less expensive Bereford (€170) when I listened with speakers !
I believe my system is critical enough to experience the difference.
Or have my ears degraded that much that I can’t hear the difference anymore ? Some occasional guests though are equally impressed by our little Beresford guest.
Putting back in the Hegel after a week didn’t change my observation : the Hegel sounded a titbit differently, but not very much, and was it better ?? Hard to say, just a bit different.
Guess I won’t spend so much money on a dac anymore.