Absolute top tier DAC for standard res Redbook CD

richfield_hunter, 
Do you know if he is moving the MV servers to linear power supplies or sticking with switching PS? 

Steve N,

I am so happy to see someone as respected and knowledgeable as yourself mention Wells Audio here. I purchased the Inamorata Signature this time last year and can not be happier with it! I am actually surprised Wells Audio does not get mentioned more often. 

Also, very interesting to see you have a Plasmatron. I have been interested off and on over the last three years...but there continues to be very little spoken about them since I was first made aware of it during its beta testing. I wish owners would come out and speak more about them --like what changes they hear to their systems. 

and great adventure thread, Matt!

Thanks!

Hi Matt, 
long time reader, first time poster (I think... actually maybe I have posted in this thread once already?).
So glad to hear you love the Wells Audio Innamorata. They truly are good aren't they? I own the Innamorata Signature. It's twice the price but talk about special. So clean and so musical with absolutely no transistor artifacts to speak of,  yet with all the tube like harmonics one would ask for... I too am surprised the Innamorata amps are not considered more. Just another excellent audio company that not a lot of people are aware of, I guess.
I hope you enjoy it for a long time.
Jason

So glad you got the rack moved back befor the Lampi demos! I hope the XLR adapters don't hamper performance or perception to much. Adapters IME have always added a level of degradation. 

@audiolabyrinth
Not to take away an answer from ct but I think it’s “The Memory Player”, the one with the lil elephant logo.

@audiolabyrinth 
try: thememoryplayer.net 

Vinnie Rossi has the L2 Signature Preamp ($17k), a full function DHT preamp, with optional DAC module. The DAC add-on is $3500 and I’d say performs well for that price range and above. So, certainly better DAC performance can be had with an external.. Point being and same as mattnshilp is saying, it depends on what level of DAC performance you are after. If you’re fine with good performance from a price point between what we mention, within a great preamp, then cool. Personally, I’d go preamp w/ separate DAC and/or DAC w/ internal pre or vol control. I do both and have the DAC straight to amp option for a pathway with excellent unaltered-by-preamp transparency. But ya gotta really like your amp/speakers combo (and cables) for DAC to amp to be pleasing. 

Yep, ct, you will say as often as you can that there are great DACs of both types. But there will always be people like George (and seemingly me, too) that will always hear something we like better in an R2R... 
 A DAC I like upgraded the model and in turn also went from R2R to DS. It sounded “better” within some typical audiophile categories, like tone, timbre, harmonics, among other, and it gets closer in to the Instruments inner details...but something was also lost. There is just something out on the edges of the information that sounds more natural when it’s R2R. Some of us will gravitate towards that and others will want the ‘more obvious’. But regardless, you are right; there are great DACs for all tastes and ears. 

That’s good to know, George. My unknowledgeable brain interpreted it and has been calling it “proper volume scaling” of everything.