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What's the best Dac for the money

I've been looking for a Dac , approx to spend $5-7 k here is a list I've tried calyx femto $7000 very good but very sterile , Abington research $4000 but found it had no soul $4500 , then a friend told me about a Dac by audio horizon and a trial program they have with there gear , interested buyers can try it on there systems , so I arranged to get one shipped for trial

This Dac was really something micro detail a lot better than the others soundstage was huge , bottom end better especially for a $3500 price tAg compared to the others , I just want to know if others had the same results , as I forward the money for purchase this Dac this audio horizon Dac is the real deal , it surprises me on every cd
pavpet
ie
36 posts
 
If this dac is the real deal then why list it for sale now so soon after this ?
ie
36 posts
 
If this dac is the real deal then why list it for sale now so soon after this ?
famoej's avatar
famoej
14 posts
 
Your question is as subjective as peoples statements- your on a used audio site where people save a ton of bucks by buying well treated and broken in gear. Most times, we buy blind as we do not get the luxury of testing out product in our own audio chain. Sometimes we win and sometimes we don't. When that happens, we flip it.

By spending the time chatting with others and doing some research, you can get pretty close to hitting a winner as you already know the sonic signature of your current gear.

Price is BS in MANY cases. The parts in a well designed $250 box might be very close to the parts in a $2500 box- Yes, that is not the whole story behind the sound, but I am not a fan of paying for hype.

You sound like a smart guy with some $ to spend. You will likely make a good choice.
mitch2
1,911 posts
 
If this dac is the real deal then why list it for sale now so soon?
Good question, le. Why do you think Pavpet is selling the Audio Horizons DAC? Did he have it listed for sale on 2-3, because I do not see it listed for sale now?

For Pavpet, how about an update on how your Audio Horizons DAC sounds. For some years now, they have offered products that buyers have reported to be a high value for the price. What model did you purchase, the 32/192 Upsampling TD 3.1 Tube DAC? Did you get any extras or upgrades by Audio Horizons? How does it sound now, compared to the others you tried?
audioengr
3,282 posts
 
Overdrive SE is the DAC to beat. Combine this DAC with the Final Drive transformer buffer and Short-Block USB filter for best results. $9948.00 for all of these with the best options.

http://www.empiricalaudio.com/products/overdrive-dac

You will not want to use a preamp with this DAC. The volume control beats all active preamps. Its not a preamp and its not software digital.

There were dCS Vivaldi stacks in rooms on either side of me at RMAF 2013 and although they were very good, I would pick the Overdrive SE over these.

Steve N.
Empirical Audio
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