Let's Get A Consensus Of The Best DAC's In The Market Today

It's hard to list, unless we go out and *hear* them. Then, should a tubed-DAC be considered ? I always loved tubes, but apparently, cutting-edge sound is coming from solid-state (only) these days.

Europe

Soulution 760
Nagra HD
DCS Vivaldi
Gryphon Kalliope
Totaldac D1 (monos)
CH Precision C1
Trinity
Vertex

U.S.

MSB Select 2
Bricasti M1
PS Audio DS
Berkeley Alpha Ref.
Playback MPD-5 (European designers)

Canada

EMM DAC2X v2
 
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It's hard to list, unless we go out and *hear* them. Then, should a tubed-DAC be considered ? I always loved tubes, but apparently, cutting-edge sound is coming from solid-state (only) these days.

Some have a 'pre' built-in, some don't. What appears to be the best:

Soulution 760
Nagra HD
DCS Vivaldi
MSB Select 2
Gryphon Kalliope
Bricasti M1
CH Precision C1
PS Audio DS
Totaldac D1 (mono version)
EMM 2X

And certainly the Lampizator Golden Gate and Big 7.
 
Since this looks like an amazing game, here is my list of Top Ten DACs, but It should be read in order of preference, at least of the three first positions:
1) Berkeley Reference DAC
2) TotalDAC d-1 Reference twelve DAC
3) Trinity DAC
4) DCS Vivaldi
5) MSB Select
6) CH precision
7) Nagra DAC
8) Playback Design MPD-5
9) Lampizador 7
10) Solution 760 DAC
But to be honest should find a place among the first ten positions also MSB the Analogue DAC, the Total DAC D1 Dual and the D1 Mono, along with PS Audio DirectStream DAC.
 
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But to be honest should find a place among the first ten positions also MSB the Analogue DAC, the Total DAC D1 Dual and the D1 Mono, along with PS Audio DirectStream DAC.

I don't know. I haven't found the PS Audio DirectStream to be in the same league as the Lampizator Big 7 and the Playback Designs DACs.
And then there is the NADAC.... :)

From Bruce Brown on this forum:
http://www.whatsbestforum.com/showthread.php?t=16548&goto=newpost

"Heard the new NADAC for the first time in a "decent" system over the weekend at Philip O Hanlon's lair. I've very familiar with the house sound of Merging as having used their equipment for the past decade. To say this unit impressed is an understatement. I had listened to Philip's system for a while before the NADAC was inserted so I had a handle on what the system was capable of.

Merging has a winner on their hands and a contender for the great Lampi..."
 
Hi Bmoura,
I agree with you, since the PS Audio is out of the Top Ten list. But I've listened to it in Munich Hi-End two weeks ago and, even if the Magneplanar 20.7 weren't amplified properly and the volume was mantained too low, I find it a very good DAC, also considering the value for money. And I listened also the NADAC, but in a system which wasn't at its own level!
By the way it was too bad that in Munich we couldn't listen to Berkeley Reference DAC, to Trinity DAC and Lampizador Big 7 or GG!
 
Those who have heard PS Audio's 'Pikes Peak' upgrade would disagree with you.

I will say, though, that the pricier ones sound better, in the end.

Has Playback been updating their systems ? Like EMM, PS Audio and Bricasti ?
 
Those who have heard PS Audio's 'Pikes Peak' upgrade would disagree with you.

I will say, though, that the pricier ones sound better, in the end.

Has Playback been updating their systems ? Like EMM, PS Audio and Bricasti ?

Playback has been sending out regular firmware updates.
 
Well, they kinda HAD to update their firmware after Stereophile revealed some serious problems with the DAC. The DirectStream's measurements in Stereophile were ridiculous in the lower frequencies. After the software update, they were better but still very poor when compared to all others I've seen. I've never heard the unit, but I bet the bass is flabby compare to other high quality DACs.

Those who have heard PS Audio's 'Pikes Peak' upgrade would disagree with you.

I will say, though, that the pricier ones sound better, in the end.

Has Playback been updating their systems ? Like EMM, PS Audio and Bricasti ?
 
Hi Bmoura,
I agree with you, since the PS Audio is out of the Top Ten list. But I've listened to it in Munich Hi-End two weeks ago and, even if the Magneplanar 20.7 weren't amplified properly and the volume was mantained too low, I find it a very good DAC, also considering the value for money. And I listened also the NADAC, but in a system which wasn't at its own level!
By the way it was too bad that in Munich we couldn't listen to Berkeley Reference DAC, to Trinity DAC and Lampizador Big 7 or GG!

Did you like the Maggie room?
 
Those who have heard PS Audio's 'Pikes Peak' upgrade would disagree with you.

I will say, though, that the pricier ones sound better, in the end.

Has Playback been updating their systems ? Like EMM, PS Audio and Bricasti ?

I found the PS Audio DS within striking distance of the $30K MSB Signature in a direct shootout, one year ago and BEFORE the pikes peak FW upgrade. With the new firmware it is easily equivalent if not better to my ears. The MSB replaced the EMM Labs DAC2X, so this would make the DS superior to that $15K DAC as well. So to me the DS earns a place between the 5 figure top dogs. I also believe the differences between these very high end DACs are relatively small, and all the jaw dropping differences reported are heavily hyped.
 
Did you like the Maggie room?

Hi Bonzo,
The Only "Maggie's room" I round in Munich Hi-End was the room with the 20.7 and the PS Audio DAC. And, as I've already told, I couldn't evaluate the real quality of the system because I disliked the amplifiers and the volume really too low..... the second point, in particular, is a well known matter between Maggies owner: without power Maggies cannot "sing" as usually are alle to do with a Good and compatibile amplifier.
Neverthless the same problem I found in Devialet "top room", where several Devialet were driving a couple of B&W Nautilus. I couldn't appreciate the sound of that room because the volume really low! And You know that you could listen the music of the neighbours if the Music volume of that room where you seat was particularly low!
 
Hi Bmoura,
I agree with you, since the PS Audio is out of the Top Ten list. But I've listened to it in Munich Hi-End two weeks ago and, even if the Magneplanar 20.7 weren't amplified properly and the volume was mantained too low, I find it a very good DAC, also considering the value for money. And I listened also the NADAC, but in a system which wasn't at its own level!
By the way it was too bad that in Munich we couldn't listen to Berkeley Reference DAC, to Trinity DAC and Lampizador Big 7 or GG!
Why not? The Lampi Big7 was there in the Sound Galleries room. http://www.audiostream.com/content/lampizator-hq-player-audiopax-avante-garde-digital-done-right
 
I updated my list and split it into regions (above). There were more than I thought...

With digital this good -and most of it 16/44, is there any need to spin vinyl anymore ? Is Ken Kessler right, that turntables (now) represent a "cult" ? (in one of his pieces last year).
 
Wisnon I was wrong in writing Lampizator Big 7 because I intended to write GG (I wrote Big 7 and GG, probably because I've just ended to list the 10 best DACs ...). I settled down in that room more than once, but honestly I hadn't the same good feelings of Michael Lavorgna and that room was neither my preferred one nor in my Top Ten! Probably it depends on my personal musical tastes, with a huge preference for classical music and the sound of those speakers didn't touch my soul (I listened, in that room, to piano and to strings which sounded completely not natural!).
In any case it remains a bad things not to see a Trinity room in Germany! I can understand the absence of Berkeley, which has no distributor in Europe except in Swiss (and in Poland or another EU country I cannot remember..) but I cannot understand why Trinity was absent just in its own country of origin! Burmester and MSB had, in the contrary, made a great job and obtained a big space for showing and demostrating their products.
 
Trinity was in Warsaw last year. GG debuted in Axpona.

Michael Lavorgne was NOT the only one liking that room. Eleberoth did and also these guys:
http://hifipig.com/high-end-munich-highlights-1/#more-16818

and
http://lautsprecherdesign.de/en/reviews/high-end-2015-soundgalleries-en.html

From CompAudiophile forum:
A review from a German Loudspeaker designer

Matthias visited our room several times each day of the show. He visited just about every room at High End, and shared with me which ones he felt were the best. There were some other rooms that my old ears thought were pretty good, but Matthias' young and professionally trained ears differed

You can read Matthias report here, and you will see that it is a show report in a class by itself :)

berichte/high-end-2015/soundgalleries - Lautsprecherdesign

A big thank you to all those who visited, shared their impressions, and posted their reports
 
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Wisnon thanks for your clarification and for sharing all those links.
Obviously I wrote my listening impressions of that room, and since I am not a professional audio-reviewer, a journalist, a seller or an audio engineer, those impressions are of low value or at least are valid only for myself. I'm not a pure "audiophile" as well, I am "only" a music passionate lover. In any case, just to let you know, last 6 weeks have come to Florence and have performed in several individual concerts the best 10 pianists on the international scene of Classical Music (from Pollini to Zimerman, from Lang Lang to Kissin, except Martha Argerich who performed here in Florence last year). And I attended each performance, from different seats and different positions, and I could hear a lot of different ways to play the same piano (Steinway) and sometimes different ways to play different pianos (Bosendorfer or Fazioli). Once at home I listened again the same pieces on several recordings, and I always felt a "natural sound" of the piano recorded. In that room in Munich, on the contrary, I listened to a complete not natural sound of the piano. The same is valid for the Paganini Violin concert I listened in that room: solo Violin and strings sounded "arficifial" to my ears (and I had attended a live concert with the same Paganini Concert played by a young but demoniac violinist few weeks before...). I spent in that room, totally, less than 20 minutes and I cannot be too "tranchant" in my judgement, I only expressed my very personal and subjective listening impressions, and I'm perfectly aware of my limits!
 
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Simone,

I was just adding perspective. Your opinion is also legit and welcome. Nothing will please everyone, so more "data points" will help people to judge for themselves, if they can align with the taste of one of the opinion givers.

Some people like chocolate better and some like vanilla better, but almost everyone likes ice-cream. LoL

I am not that familiar with the AG Duos either.

At home, I have HEIL folding ribbon tweeter speakers, so-called AIR VELOCITY transformers. The incoming air is at 1x velocity and outgoing is at 4.7x velocity. this enormous speed means that frequency response is ruler flat from 1khz to 23khz and piano is superbly reproduced. To me very few drivers can do piano like that, especially dynamic drivers and horns.
 

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