Question What would you pay for a decent DAC, and I mean DAC not preamp or headphone amplifier??

[Revolutions]

The Seven oaks price has shot down to £1,119. That makes it an excellent proposition for anyone looking for a DAC streamer.
I know Ruark for their speakers, my work colleague was going to sell top end model for giveaway price £150 because these were massive and she wanted to replace them with wireless Bose speakers, how awful. I showed my wife the photos of the Ruark and it was a NO 🙃
Nice these famous British brands are branching into other things other than their original product base.
Love the walnut and the dial remote control looks pretty neat. 👍

Think I meant to type £1,199 🤣

The little Ruark active PC speakers are great, so I have high hopes for this stuff. Could be a really nice little setup for dining area or similar.

 

[twinkletoes]

One of the best dac's out there regardless of price is also a CDP the teac 701 its also a fully balanced affair. with on board streaming built in with a firmware update. 3k or 2.5k if you look around.

Been thinking about it myself and cutting the box count down.

Many overlook it seems here but its one id add the list for audition.

And to answer your earlier question yes there is a difference but its not a night and day thing and nearly all comes from the output stage and power supply. Some comes from custom code and how well the chip has been optimised for its roll within the unit.

 

[ToppingSMSL]

DACs these days all sound the same unless their distortion levels are very high, which they shouldnt be. The limit of human hearing is way above the level of distortion measured at DAC analogue outputs. Why would they sound different to us if their distortion levels are so low? Would that make sense?

You can spend more and get better build quality but don't believe the marketing stuff! DACs are like cables these days - the differences you hear are down to psychological factors which everyone is susceptible to (including reviewers - who incidentally have no motivation to say there's no difference or they'd have nothing to review and their publications would lose advertising revenue)

 

[Al ears]

DACs these days all sound the same unless their distortion levels are very high, which they shouldnt be. The limit of human hearing is way above the level of distortion measured at DAC analogue outputs. Why would they sound different to us if their distortion levels are so low? Would that make sense?

You can spend more and get better build quality but don't believe the marketing stuff! DACs are like cables these days - the differences you hear are down to psychological factors which everyone is susceptible to (including reviewers - who incidentally have no motivation to say there's no difference or they'd have nothing to review and their publications would lose advertising revenue)

If DACs all sound the same it is strange the variety that are on the market at present.
Surely most DACs have different filter settings so they cannot possibly sound the same.

 

[ToppingSMSL]

If DACs all sound the same it is strange the variety that are on the market at present.
Surely most DACs have different filter settings so they cannot possibly sound the same.

Do the filters really change the sound though apart from perhaps rolling off the treble a bit early sometime?

If cables really sound the same it is strange the variety that are on the market at present.

 

[Friesiansam]

DACs these days all sound the same unless their distortion levels are very high, which they shouldnt be.

Is this account manufacturer or importer run? If it is, you have an obvious interest in steering people towards your products and, staying away from more expensive products, which you appear to be claiming won't sound better.

 

[ToppingSMSL]

Is this account manufacturer or importer run? If it is, you have an obvious interest in steering people towards your products and, staying away from more expensive products, which you appear to be claiming won't sound better.

No it's not. I am totally independent. DACs I own are a Chord Mojo and an SMSL M300SE. I own no Topping gear.