So audition a load of DACs and see which one you like.
Alternatively get any DAC (see @Graeme_Finlayson’s posts) and equalise/room correct until you can get the sound that you like.
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No one is denying the emotional perspective of music.
We’re discussing DACs that won’t break the bank for a tube integrated amp. I think a neutral sounding DAC would be a better option than a warm sounding DAC, given that it’s feeding a tube amp.
Others disagree. In the end it’s up to the OP to choose from the conflicting advice given.
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So you want to hear your speakers, not the music? Speakers are also different, some measure very nice, but the sound is terrible.
BTW I am using Audio Note speakers…
Hi Eric, Obviously I want to hear the music - I just don’t want to spend ages auditioning different source equipment to reach the right level of “system synergy” or as I see it taking a bunch of equipment with different colorations and trying to match them up to something that sounds “right”. Speakers and their interaction with the listening room have by far the biggest effect on sound reproduction in the hi-fi chain.
It depends what you measure with speakers - if you only measure frequency response, then it’s very easy to get a well-measuring, but terrible sounding speaker. You have to measure a lot of different things with speakers. I haven’t bought a pair of hifi speakers since maybe 1994. I build my own. Too many expensive hi-fi speakers sound just bad in my experience, and measure even worse.
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Graeme makes a lot of sense to me. I had valve (tube) amps and ran chord front end into it. My amps were accurate for valves but I wouldn’t want to put a ‘syrupy’front end with them.
I have also bought the best speakers I can afford (until the lass and a new house and aesthetics) for the sound that I liked, I then tried to get the most neutral equipment behind them so the sound signature remained.
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Hi Eric,
have a look at German Stereoplay 4/21 page 52 !
Cambridge Audios new DacMagic 200M could fit to
your needs at „only“ 500€ !
regards
Bassmann Ralph, Paderborn Germany