In the winter of 2020, another collector of vintage audio introduced me to the DAC difference. Then, my 30-something nephew let me borrow his Shiit Modi. Damn, I thought, for under $100. it made that much difference? So, down the rabbit hole I went. I'm basically a 2-channel, no subwoofer, silver-faced receiver/amp 70's audiophile who enjoys vinyl and the basics that I grew up with. My cd collection was pretty much sitting on shelves collecting dust. A year later and with much research for something in the under 1k range, I bought the Denafrips Ares II (R2R) and the Shiit Bifrost 2. I've been very impressed with the Denafrips, pulling out cds I haven't listened to for years. My jaw dropped. The Shiit has been slow getting here due to parts shortages, but it's finally on it's way. Looking forward to hearing an R2R DAC along with a Delta Sigma type. But, not sure I will be able to tell the difference. All I know is a DAC has definitely made me pull out the cds and enjoy them in a way I never knew possible. I look forward to following this discussion to hear other users opinions and experiences.
Best dac under $2500 - comparing build quality and technologies
I have been in the Audio field for over 4 decades and have owned some pretty exclusive audio gear
I was listening to a 3 years old R2R dac the R7 from AudioGD a 20 year old company which won several awards which is not known much in the U.S yet ,This New R8-MK2 is better still.
it is very well built using 3 R core transformers rarely seen unless spending $$. Their latest and best value is the New R8 mk2 dac. This dac just came out late April 2021 ,over a year went into the redesign the Owner stated this unit has several advancements vs previous designs , and runs much cooler for less money then the previous R7 but better ,their is also a mk2 R7 also as well as a Flagship R7 HE with power regeneration,which I wanted but could not afford .The dynamics and realism is what sets this apart it’s massive power supplies and over 130k uf
of capacitance is more then most amps has a lot to do with it I will be getting my dac next week and put side by side with very well know competitors it was noticeable better in several areas , and it has 7 sonic adjustments all FPGA based
4- non over sampling ,including a vinyl mode, and 3 over sampling other dacs just a minor OS option
you literally can Taylor the sound to your audio system .it weighs 26 lbs ,Underwood Wally is now the U.S distributor and service center . I will give a full rundown once I have logged a week or two on it ,2 R- core transformers go to the pure class A analog output section, the 3 rd transformer -digital is now fully servo controlled and runs much cooler and much better specifications . Check out link below.
http://www.audio-gd.com/R2R/R8mk2/R8mk2EN.htm
I was listening to a 3 years old R2R dac the R7 from AudioGD a 20 year old company which won several awards which is not known much in the U.S yet ,This New R8-MK2 is better still.
it is very well built using 3 R core transformers rarely seen unless spending $$. Their latest and best value is the New R8 mk2 dac. This dac just came out late April 2021 ,over a year went into the redesign the Owner stated this unit has several advancements vs previous designs , and runs much cooler for less money then the previous R7 but better ,their is also a mk2 R7 also as well as a Flagship R7 HE with power regeneration,which I wanted but could not afford .The dynamics and realism is what sets this apart it’s massive power supplies and over 130k uf
of capacitance is more then most amps has a lot to do with it I will be getting my dac next week and put side by side with very well know competitors it was noticeable better in several areas , and it has 7 sonic adjustments all FPGA based
4- non over sampling ,including a vinyl mode, and 3 over sampling other dacs just a minor OS option
you literally can Taylor the sound to your audio system .it weighs 26 lbs ,Underwood Wally is now the U.S distributor and service center . I will give a full rundown once I have logged a week or two on it ,2 R- core transformers go to the pure class A analog output section, the 3 rd transformer -digital is now fully servo controlled and runs much cooler and much better specifications . Check out link below.
http://www.audio-gd.com/R2R/R8mk2/R8mk2EN.htm