Holo Audio: one of the best dacs ever? J Atkinson, H Reichert, S Deckert, M Lavorgna, GoldenSound, D Abramson and the Stereophile reviewers think so. Stereophile A+ and POY 2020

Oh brother…

Even within price ranges there are good and not so good DACs and those DACs that perform well above their price range.

So no, not every DAC is “end game” when considering budgets.

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I listened to the Wadax Atlantis Reference DAC at the Capitol Audiofest’21 but came up $142,000 short :grin: :money_mouth_face:

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It just could be a keeper don’t cha know!

It is just too big for my Pangea rack

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Simply by definition adding more money to a project allows for more research, better parts and limited to customers with more cash to painlessly spend and usually ends up being a better product.
You can’t do multiples of price to expect a multiple of performance.
A Yugo, Porsche 911 and a Bugatti are all cars but built to 3 completely different price points and expected customer bases. The Bugatti is clearly the top of the heap of these three. Throw a Koenigsegg in there and you have a new top of the heap. But it is still a car.

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Baldy…you forgot the highly sought after Dusenberg Model J or
a 1931 Packard 840 Sport Phaeton 4D…

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Unfortunately some of those older gold standards have lost value as the age of that collector makes the number of buyers getting lower. My friend had a supercharged Deusy or Cord (I cant remember which) and it lost $100k of value before he sold it.
I dont know much about that era of cars but there sure are some top of the heap no money spared designs.

Another friend used to restore Stanleys and I built a few boilers for him. Another really cool car.

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Yeah but…boy do they ever make a passionate statement coming down the
concourse…and occasional highway cruise!!

For sure. A ride in a Stanley or Cord / Deusy is something you will never forget.

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Hah, must be the Gryphon Kalliope DSD DAC.

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Here-Here speed-racer !!
It’s ALL about the budget; not the Benjamins.

If all it needs to accomplish to be “end game” is to be competitive in its price category, even the DragonFly USB is “end game” for some.

There is nothing wrong with this definition if it resonates with you, but this is not what most mean when using the phrase “end game”.

Again…

I didn’t say just “competitive” in it’s price category. It needs to be the very best and it needs to punch well above its weight!

Search the Internet…it’s quite common to have “end game” tied to a particular budget for DACs, amps, speakers, etc., in posts.

I disagree. Best in its price category and punching well above its weight is not “end game”; it is just an excellent buy.

I understand you see it differently and am happy to leave it at that.

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A lot of people other than me see it differently. Based on your definition most people would never have their end game DAC because most people can’t afford an end game DAC.

No, “end game” can certainly be seen through the lens of a budget. My “end game” DAC is a DAC I can and will own someday. But it won’t be a $10K plus DAC….

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Again, I understand your view - but disagree.

Repeating your opinion many more times is not going to change my mind. :slight_smile:

Have a good evening.

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…and your opinion is not any more correct than mine and you are not going to change my mind. You keep telling me you disagree is a waste of time.

Many people here think highly of the Decware products. Steve makes good stuff. Steve’s opinion of the May KTE is what pushed me over the edge:

https://www.decware.com/cgi-bin/yabb22/YaBB.pl?num=1587527488/41#41

Embrace mediocrity with both flippers.
It’s bargain priced and you know you want it.

Ok so endgane defined by the American Heritage Dictionary :

noun

  1. The final stage of a chess game after most of the pieces have been removed from the board.
  2. The final stage of an extended process or course of events.
  3. The finalstage of an extended process or course of events.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

So for some endgame piece of equipment may well be the very top limit
of the quality of equipment that their budget will allow…and not the absoute
epitome of the extreme whatever that piece may be…

Best wishes everyone

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