hi
all
we have been wanting to deal in DACs for sometime
since we do belive that dacs when implemented well can be directly compared and the measurements pretty much tell you how the dac will sound unlike other audio gear
Keeping this is mind
we have been able to get dealership
of SMSL
Gustard
and DenaFrips Ares
we set out with finding the best DAC we could for differnt budget ranges
Normally one particular brand tries to accomodate all price ranges having and entry level to a refernce level
However as we have seen in speakers and electronics this doesnt really work out
We have always noticed that a certain brand performs well only at a certain price point
the other products that they build ( just to accomodate the price segments above and below their actual forte ) dont turn out real VFM
Take for example Dynaudio or focal for that matter
they have been known to be great at a particular price point
whenever they try to build something to inclllude the budget market , those offering never really measure up
its almost a half hearted attempt , or either they dont want to put all theyve got into the budget models otherwise in will canabilise the higher profitable models
conversely
a more economy brand
Say warfedale or boston acoustics or even q acoustics - their forte is a certain class of products
when the try to move UP the ladder with refernce grade items i personally notice that they are not VFM anymore when compared to say a dynaudio or a PMC / focal etc
the same goes for electronics
Keeping this in mind we choose 3 brands for our DACs and instead of marketting their entire portfolio
we have choosen to pickup models according to their forte at the price range that these brands do best
15000 rs - we prefer an SMSL
45000-50000 rs we prefer the Gustard X16 and H16
80000-1 lac - we have preferred the Denafrips
at
1.5 lac we have found nothing better than the Gustard X26 Pro and the higher end dena frips
All the dacs we choose have a built in digital preamp and ( a really good one infact which betters any analogue ones at that pricepoint )
Having this in fact saves costs on a preamp
You could either hookup with active monitors or direct to a power amp , or integrated amplifier ( in power amp mode - bypassing the sometimes noisy preamp gain stage )
i will be uploading some catalgues in the next post - they have review and measurement links - a couple of unbiased options as well
all
we have been wanting to deal in DACs for sometime
since we do belive that dacs when implemented well can be directly compared and the measurements pretty much tell you how the dac will sound unlike other audio gear
Keeping this is mind
we have been able to get dealership
of SMSL
Gustard
and DenaFrips Ares
we set out with finding the best DAC we could for differnt budget ranges
Normally one particular brand tries to accomodate all price ranges having and entry level to a refernce level
However as we have seen in speakers and electronics this doesnt really work out
We have always noticed that a certain brand performs well only at a certain price point
the other products that they build ( just to accomodate the price segments above and below their actual forte ) dont turn out real VFM
Take for example Dynaudio or focal for that matter
they have been known to be great at a particular price point
whenever they try to build something to inclllude the budget market , those offering never really measure up
its almost a half hearted attempt , or either they dont want to put all theyve got into the budget models otherwise in will canabilise the higher profitable models
conversely
a more economy brand
Say warfedale or boston acoustics or even q acoustics - their forte is a certain class of products
when the try to move UP the ladder with refernce grade items i personally notice that they are not VFM anymore when compared to say a dynaudio or a PMC / focal etc
the same goes for electronics
Keeping this in mind we choose 3 brands for our DACs and instead of marketting their entire portfolio
we have choosen to pickup models according to their forte at the price range that these brands do best
15000 rs - we prefer an SMSL
45000-50000 rs we prefer the Gustard X16 and H16
80000-1 lac - we have preferred the Denafrips
at
1.5 lac we have found nothing better than the Gustard X26 Pro and the higher end dena frips
All the dacs we choose have a built in digital preamp and ( a really good one infact which betters any analogue ones at that pricepoint )
Having this in fact saves costs on a preamp
You could either hookup with active monitors or direct to a power amp , or integrated amplifier ( in power amp mode - bypassing the sometimes noisy preamp gain stage )
i will be uploading some catalgues in the next post - they have review and measurement links - a couple of unbiased options as well
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