I have a question about this dac. If one isn’t interested in DSD, is this dac still a contender for redbook and hi res recordings otherwise? I have a Pontus II and I like the NOS sound. Is the Cen Grand dac something I’d like? Or is it so different from an R2R ladder dac that I’d run screaming from the room?
Cen. Grand DSDAC 1.0 (vs Pontus II)
Hi guys,
I made an enquiry with a distributer here in the UK, with a view to ordering the Pontus II. However, he's thrown me a curveball by recommending the Cen. Grand DSDAC 1.0 - another Chinese brand, making FPGA based DACs with PCM to DSD up sampling (from what I can make out). There isn't a lot out there on the interweb - reviews, sound character, presentation etc, much of anything really.
The distributor claims, or suggests that to him the Cen. Grand is "better" than the Pontus II; I've asked him to qualify and elaborate on this, but in the meantime, thought I'd ask here to see if anyone has direct experience of this brand/DAC. Just for reference/context, the Cen. Grand DSDAC 1.0 is the Standard version at £2500 (the distributer has offered me 10% discount, so £2250).
Thanks in advance 👍