Best Dac under $2k?
 

Anyone been down that road lately?
I like the R2R comeback and a tube or two.

Thoughts?

Just ordered a Doge 7. They are really backlogged because of the good reviews.

Not tube nor R2R but the Chord Qutest is hard to beat for what it packs

Plus there is an upgrade path with the MScaler

That combo I reckon will make the DAVE look a bit silly - if you don’t need XLR or a headphone amp.

Query Ivan, you never know what he may have.

Best Dac under $2k?
 

Not R2R...but interesting proposition RME ADI-2 DAC FS

https://youtu.be/WFJQIPymJGk

If I’m not mistaken, Denafrips has R2R dacs in several price ranges. The Ares 2 is getting good reviews.

The MHDT Labs http://www.mhdtlab.com/ Orchid is an R2R/tube DAC that a few folks here have and think very highly of. One or two of them not only tube-roll, but have gone to the effort of cap-rolling, as well. They also offer other models, all the way up to a fully balanced R2R/tube model that slightly exceeds your budget.

Like MHDT Labs, Denafrips makes R2R DACs, though I do not recall if they use tube(s). In the review of a couple of their models in a fairly recent "Stereophile" the Denafrips models were compared to a 3rd R2R DAC, whose mfgr/model I've forgotten. Easy enough to search the Stereophile archives online if interested. Do recall that both companies, like MHDT, offer a few different DACs.

I would recommend saving a bit more and going for the Schiit Yggdrasil. At $2,500 it is an outstanding DAC for the money. I helped research for a friend. If you are really set on below $2k then I recommend the Schiit Gungnir upgraded to multibit for $1,300... it gets you close to the Yggy. But the Yggy is an outstanding DAC.

Best Dac under $2k?
 

If you can open the aperture to $2.5k then I’d highly recommend the R2R Schiit Yggdrasil as well.

That amount also includes fine delta-sigma products from Benchmark and Mytec.

Agree with this. Chord knows DACs.

Read up on the Doge7. I would love to see your review on this. 8 tubes? Did I read that correctly?