Most vinyl-sounding DAC?

[Carlosoptico]

In my humble opinion, what is not in the source cannot be fixed later. If you cannot access the Server, DAC and exclusive Wadax interface references, due to their high price, I would first look at the best server at the best possible price, and then look for a DAC that has the greatest possible affinity with that server. Here is a possible candidate.

XACT S1. The music server you've been waiting for

I think it's important to develop your ideas because your first answer implied that you weren't aligned with the whole message. With due respect I also do not share your vision about your mentioned XACT hardware solutions.

www.whatsbestforum.com

 

[andromedaaudio]

Besides Wadax this is the most natural " vinyl " sounding dac imo.
This is probably what i will buy in due time .
Switchable SS or Tube output stage

AQWO // c|AQWO - GB - METRONOME - Hifi haut de gamme made in France

AQWO c|AQWO THE D/A CONVERTER c|AQWO is the most sophisticated digital-to-analog converter of the Métronome brand. It retains the famous Metronome feature allowing you to choose your output mode (transistor or tube) at any time according to your listening preferences. […]

www.metronome.audio

 

[DasguteOhr]

Besides Wadax this is the most natural " vinyl " sounding dac imo.
This is probably what i will buy in due time .
Switchable SS or Tube output stage

AQWO // c|AQWO - GB - METRONOME - Hifi haut de gamme made in France

AQWO c|AQWO THE D/A CONVERTER c|AQWO is the most sophisticated digital-to-analog converter of the Métronome brand. It retains the famous Metronome feature allowing you to choose your output mode (transistor or tube) at any time according to your listening preferences. […]

www.metronome.audio

That dac is soo good , you will enjoy it every day ..promise
P.S put a good cable on it e.g echole oris rca/xlr then thats sounds so close vinyl.

 

[andromedaaudio]

My favorite room at munchen 23.
Massive wide soundstage with brodmann ls .

 

[skinnyfla]

@asegal - so what did you end up buying? Interested, as i`m on a similar journey... won`t go past 10k for the DAC though, as vinyl will stay my main source... looking at smaller Lapizator DACs at the moment...

 

[christoph]

@asegal - so what did you end up buying? Interested, as i`m on a similar journey... won`t go past 10k for the DAC though, as vinyl will stay my main source... looking at smaller Lapizator DACs at the moment...

The Lampi TRP 3 is the bargain of the century for how excellent it sounds

 

[andromedaaudio]

Zanden 5000 sign.

I heard it playing back to back with a TW acoustic TT / Koetsu coralstone / Dynavector arm.
Hardly any difference.....to my ears.
Magico V3 Zanden 3000 / 9600 best magico demo i ve ever heard ( in my top 5 demos of all times )

If that comes along for a nice price i might pick it up

 

[DasguteOhr]

Zanden 5000 sign.

I heard it playing back to back with a TW acoustic TT / Koetsu coralstone / Dynavector arm.
Hardly any difference.....to my ears.
Magico V3 Zanden 3000 / 9600 best magico demo i ve ever heard ( in my top 5 demos of all times )

If that comes along for a nice price i might pick it up


View attachment 129662

sometimes back to roots isn't a bad decision tda 1541 double crown dac nos

 

[morricab]

A friend of mine just got an ABBAS DAC that is using either the Philips 1541 or the AD1865...either way, old school. He likes it better than anything else he has tried.

 

[DasguteOhr]

You must hear a marantz cd 94 with nano camp mod( nos mode+discrete opamps) agreat old machine.
With usb module you can use it for streaming or playback from harddrive too.

Basisgeräte

Kriterien der zu modifizierenden CD-Spieler

nanocamp.de

 

[mtemur]

Zanden 5000 sign.

I heard it playing back to back with a TW acoustic TT / Koetsu coralstone / Dynavector arm.
Hardly any difference.....to my ears.
Magico V3 Zanden 3000 / 9600 best magico demo i ve ever heard ( in my top 5 demos of all times )

If that comes along for a nice price i might pick it up


View attachment 129662

My friend has this dac together with matching transport. I heard it many times and it sounds great.

 

[christoph]

My friend has this dac together with matching transport. I heard it many times and it sounds great.

I guess the Zanden would be more than the 10k that is skinnyfla's budget?

 

[mtemur]

I guess the Zanden more than 10k that is skinnyfla's budget?

AFAIK he bought it around that price, second hand, 13 years ago. A four pieces cd player with many tubes is a bigger problem than price I believe.

 

[Lee]

True, but some people around here (not me) never listen to high-resolution digital, so if redbook CD and DAT were all one is playing, it’s still a pretty fine DAC.

Greetings from Switzerland, David.

What happens if it breaks? Will Stax still service it?

 

[skinnyfla]

... some nice suggestions - that said, some music is only available as digital format and some newer releases even only as download... so there is no way around digital if you want to own/enjoy certain releases (and sometimes the digital master is also better than the vinyl master)... so I would say the question is not how to get digital to sound "just like vinyl" but to get it to sound "just as enjyable as vinyl" in it`s own right (meaning no fatigue during long listening, full bodied and smooth, big soundstage, no digital sharpness, etc), so you can enjoy all possible formats... I recently got a switch form @NigelB from Reiki and think that already made a huge difference in many ways - also taking the "edge" of things... not that digital is sharp or harsh "per se"... considering the quality it already has with so little effort/invest (I have put very little attention to it till now), I think it must be possible to make digital "just as enjoyable".

Cheers

 

[the sound of Tao]

... some nice suggestions - that said, some music is only available as digital format and some newer releases even only as download... so there is no way around digital if you want to own/enjoy certain releases (and sometimes the digital master is also better than the vinyl master)... so I would say the question is not how to get digital to sound "just like vinyl" but to get it to sound "just as enjyable as vinyl" in it`s own right (meaning no fatigue during long listening, full bodied and smooth, big soundstage, no digital sharpness, etc), so you can enjoy all possible formats... I recently got a switch form @NigelB from Reiki and think that already made a huge difference in many ways - also taking the "edge" of things... not that digital is sharp or harsh "per se"... considering the quality it already has with so little effort/invest (I have put very little attention to it till now), I think it must be possible to make digital "just as enjoyable".

Cheers

Perhaps making the experience of music rewarding in different ways even if the ultimate sound quality of analogue has the potential to be even more rewarding.

 

[DasguteOhr]

If you want to listen to relaxed music for hours, I would go for older, great DACs. They cost around €3-6k and have been completely reconditioned. e.g. Accuphase 91, Sonic Frontiers SFD 2, Wadia 9, to name a few good ones. Plus a Mutec Mutec 3+USB reclocker (€1k) so you can connect modern computers and USB streamers.

 

[skinnyfla]

… never

If you want to listen to relaxed music for hours, I would go for older, great DACs. They cost around €3-6k and have been completely reconditioned. e.g. Accuphase 91, Sonic Frontiers SFD 2, Wadia 9, to name a few good ones. Plus a Mutec Mutec 3+USB reclocker (€1k) so you can connect modern computers and USB streamers.

… never thought about buying an older DAC… might also be an option… most music I own on digital format is 44.1/16 anyways…

 

[Al M.]

… never

… never thought about buying an older DAC… might also be an option… most music I own on digital format is 44.1/16 anyways…

If that's the case, I would try an Yggdrasil LIM (Less Is More) DAC. Old style ladder DAC, but modern implementation. It will likely beat the older DACs and, as I have heard in another system, competes well with, or is preferable to, several current DACs 5 - 10 x the price. Very musical, highly resolving. No fatigue, no digital sharpness. Price is $ 2,200, with 15 day trial period and 5 % restocking fee, thus a low-risk purchase.

As DasguteOhr did, I would also suggest a Mutec 3+ USB reclocker. I have it in my own system as well, see my signature (I don't use the USB capability, but it is a better reclocker than the Mutec 3+).

 

[DasguteOhr]

… never

… never thought about buying an older DAC… might also be an option… most music I own on digital format is 44.1/16 anyways…

then all the better, I would look for an Accuphase DC 91. the best low level resolution ever 16x burrbrown PCM 63 k chips for each channel. I only know of one company that goes to such lengths these days and that is Ares Cerat. But they don't have €6k on the price tag.