A DAC that crushes price vs. performance ratio

Teajay,
 I echo David_ten's comments regarding your contributions to fellow Audiogon members. I believe that quite a few people appreciate you discovering exceptionally good audio components and bringing attention and exposure to them. Keep it up.

It's bewildering to me why some people take such offense to the idea of affordable, high value components that are capable of providing high quality sound. This really seems to bother some people for some odd reason.  While I subscribe to the idea (in a general sense) that you get what you pay for. I've learned that in High End audio there are clearly exceptions to this axiom. 

There is not a strict  linear relationship between price and performance in the realm of audio products.  When someone such as teajay who has  vast experience with upper tier products and then touts a lower cost product as competitive,  this should be greeted with joy and appreciation. 

What is particularly peculiar is the immediate derision and negativity from people who haven't heard the product at all but dismiss it due to its affordability.  An unreasonable and unjustified reaction in my opinion. 
Charles 

Though I remain unconvinced about the usefulness of those VU-meters. Pretty gimmicky on all audio equipment. 

Agree with everything that you said Charles. It's very human to share your knowledge and excitement, and that is one of the main purposes of these forums. 
I contacted Mike Kay on Saturday via email, and received a prompt response. I am really interested in this DAC, and I'm getting ready to sell a few things in order to get it.  

Hello Roxy54, 
 Teajay used the Concert Fidelity DAC as his reference source for quite a long time and consistently preferred it to other highly esteemed DACs. Granted it's just one man's opinion but it does provide some means of a comparison/reference  point. I've heard the Concert Fidelity DAC in several different systems and can attest to its terrific sound quality, 

That teajay finds the Lab 12 DAC1 SE equal or even better sounding is at the very least a notable development given that  it is roughly 1/5 the cost. If you do decide to purchase this DAC let us know your listening impressions. 
Charles 

Regarding Teajay's credibility as a reviewer, I can add a data point based on actual recent experience.  I very recently purchased a Pass XA25 amplifier (from Mark at Reno Hi-Fi, who of course was completely wonderful to deal with), motivated in part by the glowing reviews and comments it has received from Terry and many others, and in part by the fact that my VAC Renaissance 70/70 amplifier developed a problem and is back at the factory for repair.  Although I've had the XA25 for just a bit more than a week I can say that in my system, at least, the detailed characterization of its sonics Terry provided in his review were absolutely spot on in every respect.  And in fact were more focused, meaningful, and accurate, IMO, than the comments in the comparably glowing review Herb Reichert provided in Stereophile.

Thanks for your excellent review, Terry; I expect to enjoy this amplifier for many years!

Regards,
-- Al