2FlyingYorkies
Member
- Thread Author
- #1
The PS Audio Directstream Jr in my main system (see signature for the other components) has decided to start hissing on the left channel. I've never been 100% happy with it, so this is a reasonable opportunity to start looking elsewhere. I've seen plenty of threads lately discussing DACs in the $10k range (MSB Discrete, etc), but that's too rich for my blood. If we cut the price in half, where should I be looking?
I should note that I do not want tubes, full stop, regardless of how awesome the sound might be. It's just a hassle I'm not willing to live with. Otherwise, I like a nice balance between warm and analytical, but nothing that trends to the overly bright side. The DSJ has always fallen on the overly warm side of the equation for me, as though it's trying too hard to sound analog, and instead ends up being slow and bloated. The ESS Sabre 9038 in my Oppo UDP-205 disc player is noticeably cleaner without giving up too much emotion, but I'm obviously not going to use that as my primary DAC.
I should note that I do not want tubes, full stop, regardless of how awesome the sound might be. It's just a hassle I'm not willing to live with. Otherwise, I like a nice balance between warm and analytical, but nothing that trends to the overly bright side. The DSJ has always fallen on the overly warm side of the equation for me, as though it's trying too hard to sound analog, and instead ends up being slow and bloated. The ESS Sabre 9038 in my Oppo UDP-205 disc player is noticeably cleaner without giving up too much emotion, but I'm obviously not going to use that as my primary DAC.