Sony HAP-Z1ES or NAD M51?

Thanks for all the feedback on the NAD, folks! Seems like a lot of fans out there....

Still curious if anyone has compared to the Sony HAP-Z1ES purely as a DAC.

I have ordered both and will let u know what I end up keeping.

To be fair, you can't really compare these two products "purely as a DAC". The Sony has no digital inputs, so you are always using it as a complete product providing file storage, playback, and DAC functionality and cannot use these functions independently. It is designed as a complete solution and not as a stand alone DAC.

Second that, if the HAP-Z1ES has digital input and a decent digital volume control, I would be all over it.

How is the DSD Remastering Engine on the HAP-Z1ES?

Gfcf, I have owned the HAPZ1 since april. The DSD remastering engine works very well. I have 900 plus albums transferred to the machine. One can turn on and off the DSD engine, and to my ears, conversion to DSD results in a noticeable improvement over flac, ALAC, AIFF, and wav files played back without conversion pretty much across the board. I can't compare the HAPZ1 to other similar devices.

Bill K is correct. The HAPZ1 was not intended to fulfill the function of a DAC. It is my understanding from Dan Wright and others that the HAPZ1 design precludes digital in, unless one is willing to accept a significant sonic compromise.

However, a digital volume control certainly could have been added. That might have been a nice feature for those who are building single source systems around the HAPZ1.