???Anyone Here UpGrade From Yaqin/Cayin/etc... To Another Tube Amp Considered Hi End???

@freediver for my personal taste, I don’t find Sabre chips to be as natural-sounding as say Burr-Brown or other R2R DACs. I don’t listen to hi-rez and the times I did, I kind of felt the same way.

Metrum DACs I’ve owned:

NOS mini
Musette
Menuet
Hex
Amethyst
Onyx

MHDT:

Havana
Paradisea
Orchid

All of these DACs sounded more natural to me than others I’ve had.

I know what you’re thinking... "If they all sounded so natural then why did you sell them?" Lol. With each one I was trying to move up a little bit more, as we all do.

That being said, no DAC I’ve had at in house beats my current Yamamoto YDA 01.

As I mentioned, I don’t do hi-rez so take what I say with a grain of salt.

This is just my own personal taste... Not bashing any manufacturer or anyone.

Like I said before:
It all sounds fake. You just have to pick your favorite kind of fake.

Freediver asked,
"So how do you feel they are just ok?"
I don’t believe that devilboy was questioning Burson’s engineering competency but was referring to the sound quality which is what obviously matters most. As most of us recognize sound quality is a subjective and individual call/choice. Citing the parts list can be impressive (Chips, receivers etc.) but doesn't ensure excellent sound quality. 

I don’t believe that the DAC chip utilize is the dominant factor of determining sound quality. The quality and execution of the analog circuit and power supply of the DAC has more impact on the ultimate audio performance and how good it will sound.

This is my opinion based on many listening comparisons over a number of years. Two DACs could use identical chips and yet sound quite different. Numerous variables are at play.
Charles