DACs with texture

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pweg

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I have what i think is a pretty good DAC - its a Vitus MasterPiece, fed by a Vitus MasterPiece transport.

The other day i had a loaner valve based DAC from that famous valve based DAC company.

The biggest difference in the sound presented by the 2 DACs was the level of texture offered by the valve DAC. It was quite substantial especially on acoustic instruments.

has anyone come across DACs that they feel offer extraordinary texture?
 
Lampi - and the tube you use will make a big difference on the texture. not to mention I prefer it to all my other compares on soundstage width, depth, holography, and dynamics, and on decay so that during tuttis individual instruments stand out more due to having their own harmonics, tone and decay in a 3d stage.
 
pweg said:
I have what i think is a pretty good DAC - its a Vitus MasterPiece, fed by a Vitus MasterPiece transport.

The other day i had a loaner valve based DAC from that famous valve based DAC company.

The biggest difference in the sound presented by the 2 DACs was the level of texture offered by the valve DAC. It was quite substantial especially on acoustic instruments.

has anyone come across DACs that they feel offer extraordinary texture?
Click to expand...

I read a review and the the reviewer noted that the DAC you have " The sound of this unit is a deep, saturated and warm. It is a big, expansive sound with huge soundstage, tightly wrapping the listener in on all sides" So you really want, neutral , detail ?
 
I have not heard most of the DAC's mentioned here. I have heard about a dozen or so lower to medium range DAC's that are fairly highly rated. The new W4S DAC-2v2SE is definitely of a different level. During a recent club meeting several members commented on how "analog" the DAC sounded. By the way, DAC's I have had in my system range from McIntosh, Marantz, Benchmark, Teac, Denon, NuPrime, among a several others...
 
I've now lived with the MSB Select II for 2 months in my system. previously in the last 2 years I had the Trinity Dac, the Golden Gate, the Nagra HD and the Aqua Formula.

agree that tubes of both the GG and the Nagra HD bring image tone saturation to the table; the Nagra the more liquid of the two, and the GG (depending on the tube) more bloom if less refinement and less separation in the soundstage in my particular system.

however; none of those approached the texture and inner musical nuance of the MSB Select II in my particular system. and I do think my system seems to penalize tubed dacs as having artifacts when compared directly to the linearity and refinement of 'uber' solid state dacs such as the Trinity or especially the Select II. the Select II resembles my vinyl and tape more than any dac I've heard. and those are my 'texture' references.

possibly my SGM server is also a variable.

likely plenty of systems synergize better (the +'s and -'s are different) with tubes and maybe the equation would be different. and I most definitely enjoyed both the Nagra HD and GG in my system. both were great to listen to. my comments are only what I found when I directly compared them. and when I compared the Nagra HD to the Aqua Formula the first time I preferred the Formula. but after some software upgrades to the SGM server 2 months later, that ranking switched and I slightly preferred the Nagra HD. with digital there are lots of variables.

I've ordered the 2nd power supply (3 weeks to a month away) for the Select II and that should take things even further.
 
Nyquist, Empirical Audio ODSX (had the SE and it was special), Davinci mk 2 (buddy loves his), Ayre QX5/20.
 
Paul, if you want the Sultan of tube dacs, my vote goes to the Audio Note Dac 5 Signature. There is also the Dac 5 Special if your budget doesn't quite extend that far. Audio Note gear does tend to take a big hit on the used market, so a good recent pre-loved example can be a relative high end bargain if sourced through a reputable seller such as a Dealer.

In solid state, the Boulder 2120 dac/streamer and Soulution 760 dac would both be outstanding. If you were contemplating selling your transport and dac for a pure dac, the Boulder could be a good option as it gives you an excellent streamer as well which gives you the ability to stream off a HDD or NAS.
 
In this system, the Wadax DAC replaced Vitus. Absolutely wonderful texture in orchestral music.
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thx everyone for responding

David - do u think the Boulder would be to my tastes? Anytime i have heard there amps they have been too fast and lean for me. Haven't heard their DAC though.
 
pweg said:
thx everyone for responding

David - do u think the Boulder would be to my tastes? Anytime i have heard there amps they have been too fast and lean for me. Haven't heard their DAC though.
Click to expand...

I don't know your tastes but having owned the 1021 and a bunch of other uber 1 box players.... the soulution(even 540) is much more relaxing. The boulder is cut from the same cloth as the 1000 series. I.e. Fast and bass heavy. It was a product well ahead of its time but not really the best performer when speaking of super DAC's of today. Functionality is incredible for a 10yr old Dac. I like a 2020 quite a bit better. Don't get me wrong, the sound is great (better than most everything praised by the press) but taking it to another level.... soulution/msb etc. are quite superior. Have not heard or seen the new 2120 but that kind of money for a tech. Progressing quickly(not always in the right direction) is asking for a headache.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
One of the Aesthetix models or the Modwright Elyse would be worth an audition. I have just bought a Romulus Signature. Rich, textured and detailed a very accomplished sounding DAC/CDP
 
interesting call myrman - my dealer carries both those brands
 
I loved the Rom sig a few years ago. Was told the Eclipse takes it to the true ref level. I just sold my Rhea this week. Jim white is just a great designer.
 
I'm sure you are very happy. I have to get out of vinyl finally. Can't just keep gett No up and down to change sides anymore. About to list my cables, ultrasonic cleaner, albums and SR powercell as digital has finally gotten pretty close to vinyl.
 
I am another fan of the Lampizator. The other exceptional option would be the Totaldac especially if you are or were biased towards records and turntables.
 
thx Caelin and Nikhil.

i had an Atlantic (?) dac in my system for a demo. The texture was great but overall not quite as resolving as i am used to u. Soundstage was deeper and more layered too. I assume it would step up with the Golden Gate?

also, which Total Dac? I just checked their website. There sure are a lot of models, covering a wide price point.
 
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