Who Are Your Favorite DAC Designers?

[Audire]

I’m really enjoying our EMM DA2V2 DAC. It is excellent. It bested everything we heard when we purchased it sometime back.

But we will probably be upgrading either to a Lampi Horizon or Ideon Absolute E + Time. So, far the Ideon is in our top spot. But the Horizon will be here soon for a demo.

 

[KrellFan1]

Bruno Putzeys, Mola Mola

I agree completely. I've become a huge admirer of Bruno and in particular the Tambaqui DAC which I just acquired within the past two weeks. All I can say is WOW. Game changer

 

[godofwealth]

As someone who has owned a lot of DACs over the past 30 years, beginning with Theta Digital and going over numerous other ones (dCS, Esoteric etc.), and now having half a dozen DACs in the house, I have learned that I need to have multiple references to calibrate my ears on their colorations. Every DAC is colored in some way, but you can’t hear its colorations if that’s the only DAC you listen to. It’s like listening to only loudspeaker. You don’t hear its colorations because you listen to it each day and you get used to the way it sounds.

 

[Lee]

Great replies here. Let’s not forget John Siau at Benchmark who creates innovation on a tight cost frame.

Or Andy McHarg and Chris Hales who did an amazing job on the Apex upgrades at dCS.

 

[gleeds]

That is an easy one for me! In tube based circuits, Lukasz of Lampizator and for solid-state Omata San of Sforzato. As soon as Sforzato completes their latest series of updates I expect them to be ready to take on the big boys at a more approachable price. I have experienced Sforzato's $20k two-box DAC/Clock solution and next to the Lampizator Horizon I have not heard better digital replay.

 

[andromedaaudio]

Past Madrigal ( i still use the Mark levinson 360S)
Present Wadax

 

[Steve Rowan]

Lukasz Fikus - Lampizator

 

[Jazzjunkie]

Another one isn’t with PS Audio anymore, Ted Smith.
Does anyone have background information or knows what he’s doing?

 

[KrellFan1]

Interested in you favorite DAC designers, and to a lesser extent Transport/Server/Streamer designers.

Designers and brands that come to mind include, to name a few, Odeon, Trinity, Zanden, Audio Tekne, Kondo, Audio Note, Esoteric, Cees Reutenberg, Stavros Danos (Aries Cerat), Lukasz Fikus (Lampizator), Slawa Roschkow (SW1X) Bruno Putzys (Tambaqui), MSB, EMM, Wadax, MBL, Burmester, APL, etc, etc.

I'm loving the Kassy and Tambaqui, but could use another winning horse.

Any thoughts on a short audition list to compliment the above two thoroughbreds?

Thanks

Kerry.

All I can add is that I am a HUGE fan of the Mola Mola group and in particular the Tambaqui DAC - as well as the Makua preamp - two components that for me have "made a difference."

 

[PYP]

All I can add is that I am a HUGE fan of the Mola Mola group and in particular the Tambaqui DAC - as well as the Makua preamp - two components that for me have "made a difference."

both designed by Bruno Putzeys: https://purifi-audio.com/about

 

[surfing_dude]

Dustin Symanski - MSB
Lumin engineers

 

[hongkongfoufou]

Past Madrigal ( i still use the Mark levinson 360S)
Present Wadax

Like me...I love my Mark Levinson N360S...

 

[Amir]

Past Madrigal ( i still use the Mark levinson 360S)
Present Wadax

Mark Levinson around 2005 produced very good looking products.

The interesting thing about ML NO.32 reference pre is the power supply has an internal ac regenerator (400hz). It seems the ML NO.33 and 33H both use internal ac regenerator before output power stages.

I never like ML sound but I like their look.

 

[J007B]

Another vote for Stavros Danos and Aries Cerat. For the past month I spend my days smiling while listening to my new AC Helene....

 

[VPN]

I had many dacs over the years: Levison 360S, EMM Labs DCC2 SE, Playback Designs MPS-5, and several from Totaldac. I currently use the Totaldac Sublime. My vote goes to Vincent Brien for the Totaldac Sublime.

 

[Birdwatcher]

@hongkongfoufou Do you like the ML360s more than the DAC in your Esoteric, even if it is still the AKM Chip-DAC and not compareable with actual discrete Esoteric DACs?

And generally: Are the actual Esoteric Grandioso discrete DACs, mono version, clock, this and those, (or just in the big Esoteric DACD players integrated) just nice on the paper and in advertisements, but not really sonically outstanding and musical?
I don’t read so much about them from users.

 

[gerihifi]

Hi,

as also someone quiet DAC-addicted and lot's of tests and ownership the last 7y+..

Number 1 Elco Grimm (FPGA): Grimm Audio MU2 (beats in my chain contenders twice the price, it is so not-digital-fatigue which you can stream/listening for hours) ... replaced my Rockna, Mola and Weiss 501MkII

Number 2 Abbas Zulfugarov (Tube Vintage): Abbas Audio HERMES Signature (PCM63P-K) and Abbas Audio 3.2SE (TDA1541A) ... replaced my Audio Note, Lampizator DACs

Rgds
Gerald

 

[A-Line]

I first got into digital in 2006 with a new McIntosh CD player: MCD201. I like and use McIntosh digital CD players. I currently use a McIntosh MCD12000 CD player.

 

[mtemur]

Mark Levinson 360S dac is ok but real gem among Madrigal era ML products is no.390S Cd player in my opinion. A very similar one is Bow ZZ-8.

 

[Ron Resnick]

Lukasz Fikus of LampizatOr and Stavros Danos of Aries Cerat