DAC recommendation

[Marco]

Ah, ok. Thanks for that. I'd defo like to hear it

Marco.

[Floyddroid]

Interesting, not a mention of Chord electronics.

[zzag]

I have been using a Topping D90 for a while now and can recommend it.
Sorry just noticed your requirement the Topping only has 1 usb input.

[MartinS]

A quick update, after much thought, and having got the Innuos where I want it, the choice of a DAC to replace the CXN became more important. I would like to thank everyone who contributed their thoughts, in the end I decided on the RME DAC2, as well as the basic converter it has a lot of additional facilities and all the reviews are outstandingly positive, I hope I haven't made an expensive mistake but I think not. Should be arriving on Monday so once I've had a play I'll post some thoughts.
Martin

[Bonky]

It's a wonderful DAC!

A quick update, after much thought, and having got the Innuos where I want it, the choice of a DAC to replace the CXN became more important. I would like to thank everyone who contributed their thoughts, in the end I decided on the RME DAC2, as well as the basic converter it has a lot of additional facilities and all the reviews are outstandingly positive, I hope I haven't made an expensive mistake but I think not. Should be arriving on Monday so once I've had a play I'll post some thoughts.
Martin

[MartinS]

The RME arrived at 4.30 on Monday afternoon having been ordered around 9 on Saturday evening, staggeringly good service. It replaces a Cambridge CXNv2, which I have absolutely no complaints about. It works very well and had I not felt that using it's DAC stage for the Innuos Zen could be bettered, I would have gone no further.
Well to say I'm staggered by the improvement doesn't begin to express my delight. Everything has got much bigger but at the same time more detailed as well. Vocals are now in front, there is a real distance between them and the band, strings sound as natural as you would want, the tonal balance across the frequency spectrum is spot on, and I suspect the exceptionally low noise floor has improved the bottom end, I can certainly hear the bass much clearer, and possibly a bit lower. Some might find the sound a bit too analytical, it certainly isn't warm and fuzzy and I'm feeding a pair of big valve mono blocks.
There are a load of features that I haven't begun to explore, and of course in the rarified world of high end hifi, dsp might be seen as heresy, I don't. At the end of the day I think it's brilliant and I would highly recommend it. I guess it's only rivals might be Chord or Benchmark but at under a grand won't look at either of those. Quite possibly the best hifi purchase I've ever made.
Martin

[BultyBoy]

Where did you buy it from please?

[MartinS]

I bought it online from Scan, they offered the best price at £840 and are also an authorised dealer so when the purchase is registered with Synthax there is a 5 year warranty. There are units on Ebay however I don't think that for a secondhand item without warranty the discount is adequate, so caveat emptor, as they say.
Martin

[BultyBoy]

Thanks, think I will get one, been debating it for too long...

[Edward]

The RME arrived at 4.30 on Monday afternoon having been ordered around 9 on Saturday evening, staggeringly good service. It replaces a Cambridge CXNv2, which I have absolutely no complaints about. It works very well and had I not felt that using it's DAC stage for the Innuos Zen could be bettered, I would have gone no further.
Well to say I'm staggered by the improvement doesn't begin to express my delight. Everything has got much bigger but at the same time more detailed as well. Vocals are now in front, there is a real distance between them and the band, strings sound as natural as you would want, the tonal balance across the frequency spectrum is spot on, and I suspect the exceptionally low noise floor has improved the bottom end, I can certainly hear the bass much clearer, and possibly a bit lower. Some might find the sound a bit too analytical, it certainly isn't warm and fuzzy and I'm feeding a pair of big valve mono blocks.
There are a load of features that I haven't begun to explore, and of course in the rarified world of high end hifi, dsp might be seen as heresy, I don't. At the end of the day I think it's brilliant and I would highly recommend it. I guess it's only rivals might be Chord or Benchmark but at under a grand won't look at either of those. Quite possibly the best hifi purchase I've ever made.
Martin

Interesting. How have you done your audio path? Did you use the RME as a preamp as well or just output to a preamp? Did you go balanced or unbalanced?

I heard a demo of the v1 of the RME adi-2 Dac at Syntax some years ago and was very impressed. For various reasons I did not get one then, maybe I should think again.