i had it, liked it but ultimately sold it to a friend who wanted a dac that drove headphones well
sound wise, wes/neko states it quite correctly -- it is a more analytical less warm sounding dac... some call it more ’transparent’
solid state vs tube amplification is an excellent analogy here... rme, chord, benchmark, brooklyn, topping are in the solid state camp -- lil leaner brighter faster sound ... metrum, sonnet, mhdt, audio mirror, denafrips (and wes's own neko unit) are in the more tubey camp. more bloom body texture of the sound
matter of taste and system matching which to choose
within the leaner camp, i would say the rme is a very well engineered, feature rich piece... does ALOT for the money, its SQ, if there is a failing, is that it images flatter and narrower than some of the others within its own catergory - but for headphone listening this may not matter much
sound wise, wes/neko states it quite correctly -- it is a more analytical less warm sounding dac... some call it more ’transparent’
solid state vs tube amplification is an excellent analogy here... rme, chord, benchmark, brooklyn, topping are in the solid state camp -- lil leaner brighter faster sound ... metrum, sonnet, mhdt, audio mirror, denafrips (and wes's own neko unit) are in the more tubey camp. more bloom body texture of the sound
matter of taste and system matching which to choose
within the leaner camp, i would say the rme is a very well engineered, feature rich piece... does ALOT for the money, its SQ, if there is a failing, is that it images flatter and narrower than some of the others within its own catergory - but for headphone listening this may not matter much