Quote:
Originally Posted by jfine
How does the 526 stack up against other DAC's that cost the difference of a 523?
Also 526 phono stage, any thoughts?
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Of the two I’d give the better grade to the phono stage. I could tell very little difference to the built in phono stage of the 526 vs Audio Research PH8. Now that was an older phono stage but still a very good one. The Levinson was good enough that I sold the phono stage.
The dac on the other hand … It is NOT a value as there are many dacs I listened to even at less than the price differential that are much better than the DAC in the 526. Yggdrasil is the first of many that come to mind here …
No doubt these are great preamps … just add the DAC of your choice to get the most out of it and because of that I recommend the 523 which was why I had bought that originally after comparing the two, then upgraded, etc, etc, etc
George