@eddy1 There are a number of great options in DACLand.
Since I have the Wadia 121, the Exogal Comet Plus, and the Schiit Yggdrasil...I figured my comments may be helpful since these products have been discussed in this thread.
First, you are getting great advice from everyone. And I mean that. All are making good points and recommendations.
Second, I would like to second (or is it +1?) @dlcockrum posts here. I haven’t read the review he mentions, but I’d say that the Comet with the optional power supply (which makes it the Comet Plus) is hands down superior to the Wadia 121. I like the Wadia, and have kept it on hand, because it is good. And I’d be happy to recommend it, especially at the prices it goes for used now, for a simple starter system. It also happens to be very well built. The newer Wadia products are certainly also worth considering, and are going for far below what they are truly worth.
The point about bringing in the ISOREGEN is an important one. It will improve the performance of your DAC. And it will likely improve the performance of your replacement DAC, whatever that might be. A spend on it is easier to justify this way, as long as you are using USB. If you want to start at a lower price point go with the Regen, used options at very good prices as many have upgraded to the Iso.
I have this configuration running before the Yggy:
Sonore microRendu 1.3 > Uptone Regen > Schiit Yggy
And yes, @dlcockrum the Yggy also benefits from the Regen. I was in the first wave for the ISOREGEN, which had a bum board. I decided to wait until the finalized corrected boards were in, and I just got notification that the ISOREGEN is on it’s way to me. It should take the performance up a notch or two. (NOTE: I don’t have the new GEN5 USB board, so this may make something like the Uptone products less impactful with the DACs with the Gen5 boards, just something to know and keep in mind.)
Good luck and all the best in your choices.
