Looking for a new DAC under 50K$ must be SS with USB that can play DxD, DSD, and MQA.
What should I consider?
What should I consider?
Why must it be SS?Looking for a new DAC under 50K$ must be SS with USB that can play DxD, DSD, and MQA.
What should I consider?
For my ears, SS at a high price point sounds better.Why must it be SS?
Thanks for the info, very interesting.I am partial to dCS. The Rossini DAC and Clock meets all of your requirements and comes in at around $32.5k. If you need a CD player as well, you can get the Rossini Player which is the DAC and a CD player in one chassis plus the clock for around $37.5k. If you need SACD playback, then there is the Rossini Transport, DAC, Clock combination for $56k, which is over your budget. I own the Transport, DAC, Clock combination and I have been extremely happy with it.
Yes, the reference DAC is my top choice. I have the analog DAC now and love it, when I called MSB to ask if I can add 8xDSD to the analog DAC they said no and that I need to buy a new DAC, funny how they are all about future-proofing and modular design and still ask you to buy a new DAC every few years like any other manufacturer out there.MSB should be in the list for DACs at that price point
Good to know thanks, I never liked Esoteric the quality was never there (for me). I'll try to have a look at them again.The Esoteric N-01XD should get a listen as their newer models sound really different from the past models ... you still might not like it but you won't know unless you try it. Also ... bet you could find the D1X mono's for a tad under $50k ... don't know how much under $50k you are shooting for but its a thought.
George
As a K-03X owner who recently upgraded to a K-01XD, I concur. The current Grandioso and XD models are a big technological step up from AKM DAC chips to a proprietary discrete component DAC architecture - yielding a big jump in SQ to my ears. As George says, 'You still might not like it, but you won't know unless you try it.'The Esoteric N-01XD should get a listen as their newer models sound really different from the past models ... you still might not like it but you won't know unless you try it. Also ... bet you could find the D1X mono's for a tad under $50k ... don't know how much under $50k you are shooting for but its a thought.
George
I am not sure about DSD, DXD etc but don't discount dacs from Trinity Audio Labs (their new silver reference one is amazing), Metronome and Orpheus.Looking for a new DAC under 50K$ must be SS with USB that can play DxD, DSD, and MQA.
What should I consider?
The Esoteric N-01XD should get a listen as their newer models sound really different from the past models ..
I'm not so sure. They only recently changed the architecture of their dacs which they had used for 20 years so it was a major paradigm shift and any new models which are a necessity for sales will merely be tweaking that architecture.Given Esoteric's history of frequently releasing the "new and improved" versions I suspect, unfortunately, that the above statement (for the next update of the N-01XD) will be valid one year from now.
They are aware of this valid criticism. Two points going forward:Given Esoteric's history of frequently releasing the "new and improved" versions I suspect, unfortunately, that the above statement (for the next update of the N-01XD) will be valid one year from now.
That is a good question. I am going to have to ask my dCS buddy the answer to that one.Thanks for the info, very interesting.
Since I don't need a CD player and all my disks are files now I can play them using USB. Why not go for the Vivaldi DAC instead of the Rossini? isn't it a step up from the Rossini DAC?
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