If you get the chance to hear a dCS Bartok give it a go... mine might be up for sale soon.I've not heard the Denafrips Terminator or Holo May personally. My friend and I were considering both, but fate had another plan.
Mac
If you get the chance to hear a dCS Bartok give it a go... mine might be up for sale soon.I've not heard the Denafrips Terminator or Holo May personally. My friend and I were considering both, but fate had another plan.
Thinking of moving up the ladder?If you get the chance to hear a dCS Bartok give it a go... mine might be up for sale soon.
Mac
Ouch.
Do you not think hifi is a journey? Within my price point I am always looking for “better”Its amazing how a sedentary hobby can include so many ;journeys'
No, it’s a process, a means to an end. I can go a decade or more without doing anything.Do you not think hifi is a journey? Within my price point I am always looking for “better”
I very briefly had a Topping D70 Dac - awful, thin and unmusical. It was very hyped up in reviews, but in practice was rubbish.
A dCS Bartok would make for a great all in one streaming solution. But money-wise - just a tad too much for me despite being a possible end game bit of kit. Nice to know it's made and developed in the UK too.If you get the chance to hear a dCS Bartok give it a go... mine might be up for sale soon.
Mac
Without leaving his doorDo you not think hifi is a journey? Within my price point I am always looking for “better”
Its amazing how a sedentary hobby can include so many ;journeys'
It's funny how tastes and systems vary. I've heard a few Topping dacs right down to the teeny little SU1. They are so clean and clear. Remarkable for the money, Thin and unmusical? Not in my system..I was actually looking at a Topping DAC, the highest range or 2nd top model sometime last year after reading all the glowing reviews. Fortunately I didn't proceed with it.
I stuck with my trusty Chord QBD76 which is currently my main DAC, and Luxman DA-06.
It's funny how tastes and systems vary. I've heard a few Topping dacs right down to the teeny little SU1. They are so clean and clear. Remarkable for the money, Thin and unmusical? Not in my system..
I've no doubt you can do better. The question is how much better, for how much money.
If I had to associate it, the Topping sounded most like the Benchmark DAC2, although more clinical, bland and soulless. If I had never heard the better DACs, I might be more accepting of it, but there was so much lacking.It's funny how tastes and systems vary. I've heard a few Topping dacs right down to the teeny little SU1. They are so clean and clear. Remarkable for the money, Thin and unmusical? Not in my system..
I've no doubt you can do better. The question is how much better, for how much money.
When my M-DAC (v L2 Toy, etc.) packed up a couple of years ago, I bought something similar to a Topping, a Loxjie D40. It was fine but classical violin music did seem even glassier than the MDAC, and so I largely remained listening to cello- and viola-emphasised classical music, exactly as I had found myself doing during my years with the MDAC. Scratching an itch to try R2R, after a few months of Loxjie ownership I bought the Denafrips Ares, and a few months later again, the Pontus. My classical music choices changed: I was listening to, and buying, predominantly violin-emphasised music. The glassiness was gone and the notes had a palpable fullness to them.I think other parts of the system are far more important. Get the speakers & amplification sorted & the rest will fall into place. Sources are so good now.
I find the Topping D70 Pro Sabre excellent. Excellent enough to sell my Chord dac.I was actually looking at a Topping DAC, the highest range or 2nd top model sometime last year after reading all the glowing reviews. Fortunately I didn't proceed with it.
I stuck with my trusty Chord QBD76 which is currently my main DAC, and Luxman DA-06.
I forgot. May I ask which Chord?I find the Topping D70 Pro Sabre excellent. Excellent enough to sell my Chord dac.