[dshlapak]

Good morning. I'm looking to add a DAC to my system and have been researching the matter on the Web. There seem to be a number of good choices, so I'm seeking some advice.

My primary concern is not to waste money buying a DAC that outclasses my system. Reading here and elsewhere, the conversations seem mainly to be among people with much more esoteric gear than I have. It may be that a DAC really wouldn't help me, or that DAC "X" would be wasted with it.

So...

I have a Cambridge Azur 540 v2 integrated amp driving a pair of Monitor RS6 speakers. (I also have a Music Hall 25.1 CD player that doesn't enter into this conversation). I stream to it through an Airport Express, using its analog output. The idea is to stick an off board DAC in between the APE and the amp, connected to the former via TOSlink and the latter via analog.

Probably worth noting that I have neither aspirations nor inclinations to upgrade my gear in the foreseeable future, so I'm not looking for a DAC to grow into.

The two DACs that have surfaced as of most interest are the Maverick TubeMagic and the Audio-GD NFB-3, although I'm sure there are others I should be considering. Again, my concern is not to pay for a level of performance that just won't be apparent when heard through my "low-end" hi-end/"high-end" low-end hardware.

Any thoughts or advice would be very much appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Cheers.

--- das

 

[sphinxvc]

Most of the more expensive DACs utilize balanced connections which you probably don't need anyway.  Some of the other single ended offerings are older models that used to be quite expensive (like the Stello DA100 or PS DL III which use to go for $7-800 but are now $350-500 used).  The NFB-3 or NFB-2 is a relatively new product but from a couple of impressions I've read, manages to match the performance of those older, much more expensive DACs (expensive at retail prices not used).  I've owned the Audio-GD FUN and heard the NFB-12 before and they're quite excellent.  I'll vouch for the NFB-3.  I haven't heard the Maverick TubeMagic or any Maverick products so I can't comment there.
 
Good luck.