I'll add my tuppenceworth to the good advice already posted. I'd consider a modest spend on a bigger hard drive and FLAC encoding to be a wiser investment than $1000 on a DAC, particularly if buying the DAC means sticking with lossy compression. It's entirely possible that adding a $1000 DAC might just reveal the shortcomings of your lossy files. Moving to FLAC will ensure that your source files are the best quality possible, you have a lossless archive from which you can transcode to other formats and you have a good source on which to base future upgrades if you so wish.
It's also entirely possible that a $1000 DAC may not make a significant difference to your ears. If you are happy with the sound of your system as it stands and do not have £1000 then do not listen to a £1000 DAC as it may just lead to dissatisfaction with a system you are currently happy with. If you are happy with your current system and do have a spare £1000 then audition some high end DACs. If it elevates your music to a new level, then you can decide to buy. If you don't notice much difference, then you've saved $1000 and you have a music system you can go on enjoying. Trust your ears. -- Fifer _______________________________________________ audiophiles mailing list [email protected] http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
