Looking for a Solidly good inexpensive DAC

No need to wait for a Paradisea, there is one available with the USB option right now on E-Bay with Buy-It-Now.

Anybody familiar with the Lavry DA10?

At the $1K price point, the Benchmark DAC 1 has been the gold standard for around six years. But the newer-design Lavry DA10 is causing some buzz. Here is a comparison test on a studio forum, performed over a period of several months, where a long time Benchmark DAC1 user compared it head-to-head with a new Lavry DA10. Although the Benchmark had some more convenient I/Os and more substantial build quality, the Lavry beat it on HF resolution and soundstage depth. He ended up buying a Lavry and selling his Benchmark.

TVAD thanks for the compliment re easy flowing sound.

OP: you can email the gentleman behind nhdt directly and buy one. Thats how i did , got it in a few days.....

I dont know if id label this dac simply an upgrade for mid fi products. I think its subjectively "better" then that....but again its a flavor thing

I wasn't suggesting the Paradisea is only suitable to upgrade mid-fi components. It's certainly capable of performing in many high end systems depending on the owner's sonic preferences. I do believe, however, that any mid-fi digital source component with a digital output would benefit by using the Paradisea DAC versus the component's internal DAC.

I agree the Paradisea is a lovely Dac. Definitely worth a listen. The Audio Sector sounds similar just a tad more laid back or not as immediate. The Paradisea may have the edge in resolution the Audio Sector closer to analog sounding. I like both so YMMV.

I never had a problem buying the Paradiseas . I bought 4 of them through the manufacture. Two of the first USB versions and two plus versions. First one from ebay . The other three direct.

A friend tells me the TADAC is another terrific option. No USB port though. So the PC will need a Coax or Optical output to use it.

Good luck with the hunt. You have many to choose from.