But, what we want to know is….. how did YOU first get into DSD and purchase a DAC? Comment below and help us help the new folks find their first DSD DAC!
Hi. A couple of years ago I needed a new SACD-player. I looked for one which could up-sample regular Red Book CD's to SACD before executing the digital-to-analog conversion with the DSD64 DAC. There aren't many brands/models around with such a feature. I ended up buying a British dCS Puccini SACD player. The internal DAC can also be used for DSD files stored a harddisk by using a streamer and interfacing that streamer to the Puccini U-Clock with its USB interface.
Feb 19, 2023·edited Feb 19, 2023Liked by DSD-Guide
I simply went out and bought a McIntosh D-150 digital preamp and a pair of Beyer-Dynamic T1 headphones and jumped right in. The D-150 drives a modified Dynaco ST-35 running a pair of Kendrick Sound modified JBL 4301B monitors and a REL 212SE subwoofer.
It was a Sony DVD player that got me hooked. I bought a Sony DVP-S9000ES. This was way back in 2001 when my TV was part of my stereo system. The Sony played DVD's, CD's and this thing called an SACD. I bought a couple of SACD'as and was blown away. At the end of 2001 we moved into a different house where I set up a separate audio and video systems. I bought a Sony SCD-1 for the audio system and the 9000's went into the video system. I bought it because Sony was big in SACD's at that time.
In 2014 I went to a Head-Fi meet up and heard a PS Audio DS DAC. I love it, but there was no way of playing my SACD's into it. When PS Audio brought out an SACD transport ( 2016 I think ) I bought the transport and the DAC from PS Audio. I now have their second generation transport and DAC which sound even better than the original stuff.
slowly - one step at a time - 24 bit stuff 1st - then higher sample rates - finally what was the sound diff each step of the way. Inexpensive DAC's to start - then the curiosity about their capability - then final step up to PSA Direct Stream....
Looking to improve the sound quality from my stereo system beyond vinyl and CDs, I decided to try DSD music sources some years ago. My first DAC was the OPPO 105D, which also is an SACD/CD player. I still use it for playing SACDs, and old CDs, in my collection. I was blown away at the improvement in sound quality from DSD when I started purchasing and playing some of Blue Coast's DSD downloads, in particular my first album- Keith Greeninger's "Close to the Soul". Since the OPPO only played up to DSD128 and couldn't play DSD in native format, later, as more DSD music in higher resolutions was produced by Blue Coast, I decided to purchase a stand alone DAC, the TEAC UD-505 and that is now my primary DSD DAC in my system. It plays virtually any high resolution DSD and PCM format, including up to DSD 22.5 and PCM 768 (DXD files) all of which I wanted to be able to try playing for improving sound quality. I find the TEAC to be a bit warmer in sound than the OPPO, given that they use different DAC chips, but the difference is very subtle. The TEAC is also a good headphone amp and can transmit PCM 48 via Bluetooth to wireless outdoor speakers should I want music outside on the deck. I use JRiver Media Center to play the DSD files through my laptop, off of my dedicated DSD music storage hard drives. (JRiver will also convert all my DSD files to PCM 48 for Bluetooth transmission.) At last count, I had 248 DSD albums, mostly from Blue Coast, and some other sources! Given that, I hope I am helping to make Cookie rich-- she deserves it!!
As I wanted to playback DSD audio in its native form I bought a Holo Audio Spring 3 v2 DAC that has a specific DAC for native DSD playback via its USB and 12S inputs. My Lumin U2 mini streamer allows DSD native playback via its USB output. I have an SSD external hard drive containing all my DSD files connected to the Lumin via USB and the Lumin app allows me to access the files and play them through my Spring DAC.
Absolutely Recommended: Denafrips Aires II or Pontus II. Direct ordered from Singapore. Check out the reviews!
I was getting started in Pro Audio when the first commercial digital audio recorders hit in the late 1970s. I recall the early Soundstream system sounded best/smoothest to my inexperienced ear when I heard it at an Audio Engineering Society convention. Our studio owner brought a Sony PCM-F1 back from Japan, which was an ADC/DAC that used video tape as a recording medium. I’ve worked with (and owned) a whole lot of digital systems since then. The first DSD I bought was in a Sony CD/DVD/BluRay/SACD player. Then an Oppo player, which was more “audiophile”. Following a few pro audio PCM only DACs, I bought a Pono DAP and later a Chord Qutest. The Pono had an appealing warmth and smoothness to it which made me realize the importance of the analog side of DAC circuitry. The Chord was good, but I felt like I was hearing the “DSD softness” that some forum contributors were writing about.
Around this time I read several reviews by Stereophile writer Herb Reichert, glowingly praising the analog quality of R2R DACs, including Denafrips. After I wrote Herb complimenting him on his writing in a review of the Mola Mola Tambaqui (way out of my budget at $13,400), Herb graciously replied and said “Denafrips Ares II is a 'get it and forget it' base for a fine digital system at $799. It is the NAD 3020 or GFA555 of our time. Today more than ever, magic appears even at the lowest price levels.”
I bought a Denafrips Pontus II, the next model up; figuring since its price was very near the Chord I should go like for like. It’s way more analog sounding than all the other DACs I’ve worked with, which is a Good Thing. The Aires II is the same circuitry, so I’m sure it’s great as well.
Echoing Cookie’s suggestions, Herb’s reply also said:
“Please explore. And don't laugh, CanJam Headphone meets are perfect for auditioning DACs. That's were I discover new products.”
6 months ago, looking for information about HIFI audio, I came across the DSD format. I took the free format to listen and see the differences directly on the PC without a dedicated DAC. So I decided that I have to look for one that supports native DSD. RME Adi DAC2-FS caught my attention and I bought it after listening and reading reviews about it.
If you are talking about a purpose built, stand alone DAC and not one that came built into a receiver or transport, it was a relatively recent purchase. I decided to take the plunge with a Schitt Yggdrasil. I found it to be reasonably good for what it was built for: PCM. However, I purchased some music in DSD and also became very interested in upsampling software (Signalyst HQPlayer) and decided to take the plunge for a DSD capable DAC. In the end, I ended up purchasing two mid level units from Topping that I am extremely satisfied with, the D90 and the DX7 Pro.
Thanks everyone! Great information and I'm sure it will be helpful to those that are ready to take the plunge to DSD!
Hi. A couple of years ago I needed a new SACD-player. I looked for one which could up-sample regular Red Book CD's to SACD before executing the digital-to-analog conversion with the DSD64 DAC. There aren't many brands/models around with such a feature. I ended up buying a British dCS Puccini SACD player. The internal DAC can also be used for DSD files stored a harddisk by using a streamer and interfacing that streamer to the Puccini U-Clock with its USB interface.
I simply went out and bought a McIntosh D-150 digital preamp and a pair of Beyer-Dynamic T1 headphones and jumped right in. The D-150 drives a modified Dynaco ST-35 running a pair of Kendrick Sound modified JBL 4301B monitors and a REL 212SE subwoofer.
It was a Sony DVD player that got me hooked. I bought a Sony DVP-S9000ES. This was way back in 2001 when my TV was part of my stereo system. The Sony played DVD's, CD's and this thing called an SACD. I bought a couple of SACD'as and was blown away. At the end of 2001 we moved into a different house where I set up a separate audio and video systems. I bought a Sony SCD-1 for the audio system and the 9000's went into the video system. I bought it because Sony was big in SACD's at that time.
In 2014 I went to a Head-Fi meet up and heard a PS Audio DS DAC. I love it, but there was no way of playing my SACD's into it. When PS Audio brought out an SACD transport ( 2016 I think ) I bought the transport and the DAC from PS Audio. I now have their second generation transport and DAC which sound even better than the original stuff.
slowly - one step at a time - 24 bit stuff 1st - then higher sample rates - finally what was the sound diff each step of the way. Inexpensive DAC's to start - then the curiosity about their capability - then final step up to PSA Direct Stream....
Looking to improve the sound quality from my stereo system beyond vinyl and CDs, I decided to try DSD music sources some years ago. My first DAC was the OPPO 105D, which also is an SACD/CD player. I still use it for playing SACDs, and old CDs, in my collection. I was blown away at the improvement in sound quality from DSD when I started purchasing and playing some of Blue Coast's DSD downloads, in particular my first album- Keith Greeninger's "Close to the Soul". Since the OPPO only played up to DSD128 and couldn't play DSD in native format, later, as more DSD music in higher resolutions was produced by Blue Coast, I decided to purchase a stand alone DAC, the TEAC UD-505 and that is now my primary DSD DAC in my system. It plays virtually any high resolution DSD and PCM format, including up to DSD 22.5 and PCM 768 (DXD files) all of which I wanted to be able to try playing for improving sound quality. I find the TEAC to be a bit warmer in sound than the OPPO, given that they use different DAC chips, but the difference is very subtle. The TEAC is also a good headphone amp and can transmit PCM 48 via Bluetooth to wireless outdoor speakers should I want music outside on the deck. I use JRiver Media Center to play the DSD files through my laptop, off of my dedicated DSD music storage hard drives. (JRiver will also convert all my DSD files to PCM 48 for Bluetooth transmission.) At last count, I had 248 DSD albums, mostly from Blue Coast, and some other sources! Given that, I hope I am helping to make Cookie rich-- she deserves it!!
Cookie made me do it = ). As ever, no regrets.
As I wanted to playback DSD audio in its native form I bought a Holo Audio Spring 3 v2 DAC that has a specific DAC for native DSD playback via its USB and 12S inputs. My Lumin U2 mini streamer allows DSD native playback via its USB output. I have an SSD external hard drive containing all my DSD files connected to the Lumin via USB and the Lumin app allows me to access the files and play them through my Spring DAC.
Absolutely Recommended: Denafrips Aires II or Pontus II. Direct ordered from Singapore. Check out the reviews!
I was getting started in Pro Audio when the first commercial digital audio recorders hit in the late 1970s. I recall the early Soundstream system sounded best/smoothest to my inexperienced ear when I heard it at an Audio Engineering Society convention. Our studio owner brought a Sony PCM-F1 back from Japan, which was an ADC/DAC that used video tape as a recording medium. I’ve worked with (and owned) a whole lot of digital systems since then. The first DSD I bought was in a Sony CD/DVD/BluRay/SACD player. Then an Oppo player, which was more “audiophile”. Following a few pro audio PCM only DACs, I bought a Pono DAP and later a Chord Qutest. The Pono had an appealing warmth and smoothness to it which made me realize the importance of the analog side of DAC circuitry. The Chord was good, but I felt like I was hearing the “DSD softness” that some forum contributors were writing about.
Around this time I read several reviews by Stereophile writer Herb Reichert, glowingly praising the analog quality of R2R DACs, including Denafrips. After I wrote Herb complimenting him on his writing in a review of the Mola Mola Tambaqui (way out of my budget at $13,400), Herb graciously replied and said “Denafrips Ares II is a 'get it and forget it' base for a fine digital system at $799. It is the NAD 3020 or GFA555 of our time. Today more than ever, magic appears even at the lowest price levels.”
I bought a Denafrips Pontus II, the next model up; figuring since its price was very near the Chord I should go like for like. It’s way more analog sounding than all the other DACs I’ve worked with, which is a Good Thing. The Aires II is the same circuitry, so I’m sure it’s great as well.
Echoing Cookie’s suggestions, Herb’s reply also said:
“Please explore. And don't laugh, CanJam Headphone meets are perfect for auditioning DACs. That's were I discover new products.”
Hello all.
6 months ago, looking for information about HIFI audio, I came across the DSD format. I took the free format to listen and see the differences directly on the PC without a dedicated DAC. So I decided that I have to look for one that supports native DSD. RME Adi DAC2-FS caught my attention and I bought it after listening and reading reviews about it.
PS Audio. Initially a Stellar Gain Cell Dac, then graduated to a MK 2 dac. Such great soundstage and musicality on my system.
If you are talking about a purpose built, stand alone DAC and not one that came built into a receiver or transport, it was a relatively recent purchase. I decided to take the plunge with a Schitt Yggdrasil. I found it to be reasonably good for what it was built for: PCM. However, I purchased some music in DSD and also became very interested in upsampling software (Signalyst HQPlayer) and decided to take the plunge for a DSD capable DAC. In the end, I ended up purchasing two mid level units from Topping that I am extremely satisfied with, the D90 and the DX7 Pro.
I bought an inexpensive Sony sacd player to try out the format and the sampler sacds hooked me