Pass XP-30: Any DAC recommendations?
- Thread starter elshout
- Start date
Mr Peabody
Well-known member
This may be a reach as I'm on a smaller scale than you, I like my Levinson with Pass, I still have Pass pre but switched from Pass amp. Brian of Bricasti used to be with Levinson and I like his DAC quite a bit. The way the Bricasti was set up the times I heard it, I found it to be quick and nimble with a smooth presentation, not warm, just a nice musical presentation. I suspect it would have nice synergy for you.
To my ears I found the Direct Stream to lean some more analytical than Bricasti and Lampi fuller than both, warm but not overly so.
I think Lampi would have synergy bringing a fuller presentation. It depends on which way you want the system to lean. In my system I found staying with balanced circuits to sound better. That's not always been my experience, but it was when mixing the Pass & Levinson.
There's a good Pass following here, I'm sure you'll get some good feedback.
Welcome to the Shark.
To my ears I found the Direct Stream to lean some more analytical than Bricasti and Lampi fuller than both, warm but not overly so.
I think Lampi would have synergy bringing a fuller presentation. It depends on which way you want the system to lean. In my system I found staying with balanced circuits to sound better. That's not always been my experience, but it was when mixing the Pass & Levinson.
There's a good Pass following here, I'm sure you'll get some good feedback.
Welcome to the Shark.
BlueFox
New member
The DAC in my Lumin works great with my XP-22. However, I suspect any decent DAC, along with good cables, will work well with your Pass.
lowviz_mcc
New member
Schiit Yggdrasil DAC sounds great in my system.
GSOphile
Active member
elshout, do you have a budget figure in mind?
GSOphile
Active member
To get better recommendations, it would also be helpful to know if DSD and/or MQA are needs and what your preferred inputs are, if known at this point.
Phishphan
Active member
Find a used Bryston BDA3.
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Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Yiggy sounds like your best bet. I had this Marantz NA-11s1 and loved its tone, texture and dynamics. It has a beautiful rich mid range. However it was not a good match with my BAT preamp as the bass was too much. It had the best sounding piano and female vocals that I have heard in a DAC. It is also built like a tank.
https://www.musicdirect.com/network-player/marantz-na-11s1-dsd-dacnetwork-audio-player
https://www.musicdirect.com/network-player/marantz-na-11s1-dsd-dacnetwork-audio-player
Phishphan
Active member
The biggest problem with Schiit is the lack of DSD support. If they had it, I would’ve bought one. I have a couple hundred DSD albums. So lack of DSD support put it quickly in the “no” column
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Yep, forgot that it does not do DSD. You are welcome to stop by my house in Woodbury to hear my Luxman with my Pass X250. They occasionally come up for sale used. It is still a stereophile A+ DAC. Another DAC to give a listen to is this AVA Hi Fi DAC. I had it in my system and did a review on it for Frank Van Alstine. It sounded better than my Luxman DA-06 in some respects. Frank has a 30 day money back guaranty. You can give it a listen at Frank's house in Woodbury. He lives about 3 minutes from me. Tell him Larry referred you. It punches above its price point for sure since my Luxman use to list at $6K.
https://avahifi.com/collections/d-to-a-converters