Eight DAC's in 16 Minutes. Chord, Nagra, Weiss, Lampizator, iFi, Denafrips & More! $799 to $15,000

#HiFi #Audiophile #Stereo

Instagram: @stevehuffofficial

Today I talk about eight DAC's in sixteen minutes! DAC's have come a long way from just a few years ago and we have a plethora of different models, brands and price points to choose from. I list out the DAC's I have heard over the last year and pick my fave.

DAC's from Chord, Weiss, Lampizator, iFi, Nagra and more. The DAC is one of the most important pieces of gear in a well set up Hifi Audio system. They do not all sound alike. Rather, a DAC can really boost the performance of your system and take it to the next level just as one of these did for me!

Enjoy, and always enjoy the music!

Enjoy!
Great Audio Buys 2021:

[michaelcorlet]

Wow a man who tells it as he hears it. No waffle just concise and to the point cheers brow.

[audiorick]

Glad to hear about Weiss, not many reviews out there. Thanks!

[jakus]

Where does the pontus ii land in this lineup? Surprised you didn't mention it after liking it so much a month or two ago :)

[silentm]

Would love to see a streamer/transport comparison. Having a separate DAC means a separate streamer, and yet so many include a DAC. Great comparison of the DAC's as all your reviews/comparisons. TY

[robh]

A friend in printing was given the nugget; 'quality = comparison' - so thank you for comparing this little lot!

[TheCangle]

Enjoyed your impressions of the dacs you've tried. If you are looking for other ones in this range some that come to mind are Schiit Yggdrasil OG and Bricasti M1. The Weiss is really cool, that form factor is a bonus too

[shokrykhaledful]

Thanks for the review, I had a $10k budget for a Dac, after intensive research I decided on the Musetec 005 @ $3.3k delivered, I’ve had it 14 months now, I believe it can compete with those top level Dacs, really worth a try

[robertoruizantonetti]

Currently using a Rupert Neve headphone amp with a Cayin RU6 and Focal Elegia headphones. My summit Head-Fi system will be the Weiss 501 with Focal Utopia 2022 headphones.

[robertgood]

Nice to have one reviewer who can compare so many different DACS.

[Zuignap]

Have seen, read & heard a lot about de Mola Mola. Very curious how they compare to your top picks.

[epi]

I did the same journey… listened and tested DAC’s from $50 to $20K. Two best regardless of price:

German built RME ADI-2 $1, 200, Best
Nuprime DAC9/10 $999-1, 600, Runner up

Both are found at many recording studios. Both have superb DAC architecture, quality volume controls, and output analog stages (basically they can be pre-amps directly outputting to a power amp).

[robertm]

I have the Holo Audio Spring 3 KTE and it is just sublime… everything you described for the Weiss can describe the Spring 3 DAC IMO….
I think you should review it someday.

[steverino]

Unfortunately the Weiss 501's volume control isn't lossless. I know a mkii version is out but I can't find anything whether this has been corrected or not.

[robertconnors]

I bought a Cambridge DAC Magic 200M before I saw your review. At $499, it is probably not in the league of the DACs you reviewed. However, the VA Medical Center says I can't hear much over 13000 Khz anyway. I am 65 years old. Not sure these high end DACs would make any difference to my listening enjoyment. I connect the DAC to my MacMini M1, using USB B. The MacMini runs Roon Core. The Mac handles the streaming of Tidal. From the DAC, unbalanced output to my old NAD 765 home theatre. NAD has its own DSP modes, but my take is that I should leave the NAD 765 in analogue bypass mode to actually hear what the DAC is sending. Am I right in this assumption?

[Cujobob]

I generally believe that DACs, beyond a certain level, are just acting as tone/distortion controls. I look forward to future products that allow us to fine tune that for ourselves. Allo actually has a DAC that gives you some distortion control IIRC.

[scottbennett]

I really enjoy your videos reviews. I am wondering if you have considered reviewing the Playback Designs MPD-8? Would like to hear your thoughts on this one.

[CogitareEstVivere]

Thanks great comparison. But I heard Esoteric makes some ‘noise’ ?!

[brucecrum]

Wished you could go up the chain on the Lampizator dacs

[ptg]

Great JOB comparing DACs at all sorts of price points ! So many options out there that it is frankly, dizzying. I wonder if you have attempted do blind listening to eliminate any biases ! That would be super interesting....

[kdomster]

Try some mid level Lampi, i heard thier Horizon and it was amazing at Florida Audio Show but at hefty....50Kusd
They have a Baltic model for around 6000usd that maybe significant upgrade over your Lampi.