DAC shopping - Trying to sift through the Hype. Can I trust the reviews these days ??

@bunkertoy ...You know how this stupid hobby is... It sounds great, but maybe I can change it up. What’s the deal with R2R...? everyone is talking about it. :).

When comparing a good delta sigma dac to an equivalent quality R2R resistor-ladder dac, some people tend to focus on these topics. Sharing a few of my own notes, and I learned not all R2R dacs are created equal. There are other members here on Agon who’ve tried far more dacs than I have, and they will likely chime in more. Sharing some of my prior Industry notes and comments collected fwiw:

The preference for R2R (Resistor-to-Resistor) DACs over Delta-Sigma DACs often comes down to sound quality and personal preference. There are a few reasons why some people favor R2R DACs:

Sound Signature: Many audiophiles feel that R2R DACs produce a more natural and musical sound. They often describe Delta-Sigma DACs as sounding a bit more clinical or sterile in comparison.

Linearity: R2R DACs are known for their high linearity, which means they can reproduce audio signals with less distortion.

Simplicity: R2R DACs have a simpler design compared to Delta-Sigma DACs, which use complex algorithms and filtering. This simplicity can translate to a more straightforward and transparent sound.

Resolution: Some listeners believe that R2R DACs offer better resolution and detail, especially in the midrange frequencies.

@freediver @tkrtrb125 You're both misunderstanding the effect of noise (EMI or RFI) on a digital component. You won't hear noise as audible static or hash. Instead, it affects how music is reproduced. Noise makes digital music sound more edgy and less smooth. Some people perceive this as not sounding as smooth as analog reproduction via a turntable or R2R tape deck. Others "hear" noise only when they listen to the same recording with noise filtered out.

I'm all about analog. low fatigue sounds. full sound with timbre, holographic,tubey,warm.

@bunkertoy The Pontus II is great at conveying timbre and sounding warm. Is it better than your Bel Canto? The only way to tell is to have it in your system and try it out. Perhaps get a used Pontus II so you can resell it if it's not an improvement. One suggestion for the Pontus II is that it sounded best to me with a Supra LoRad power cable at about US $91. I've tried 11 power cables on the Pontus ranging from $15 to $1400 and the LoRad is the one that sounded best to my ears.

The Denafrips Pontus II DAC is not hype nor a promotion. It is most likely one of the best selling DACs for at least 3 years, with hundreds and hundreds of positive reviews. I've had mine for 3 years, and it has held it's own as I've upgraded the rest of my system a couple of times (new amps, preamps, speakers, cables, power input, CD tranpsorts, etc.

The Pontus II is one of those special products that hit a grand slam upon release and remains one of the most musical, enjoyable, listenable, and fun DACs I've heard....at an amazing price of $2,000 for the 15th for the current release.....I think I paid $1,450 for mine when I bought it.

It is not the most detailed, the quickest, and is of course not perfect. I will replace mine next year, and move the Pontus II to a second system.....as my system now is good enough for a better DAC. Yes I2S does make a difference, it's the best way to drive the Pontus II (and I'd suspect any DAC that supports it)

An anecdote about how much I like the sound of the Pontus II. I decided to listen to much more expensive DACs over the past two years, because I was curious to figure out what spending a LOT more money in a DAC could get me.

Note as context for my impressions: I listen to a lot of acoustic and vocal music (jazz, classical) so an organic tonal quality is important to me. Detail and resolution is important as well, but secondary to tonal quality and a sound that conveys air and space well.

I listened to the dCS Bartok APEX, dCS Puccini Apex, and the Linn Organik DAC in their Klimax DSM. Of these three network music players that I heard, the only one that I would want to replace the Pontus II regardless of price was the Linn.

1. dCS Bartok APEX, $14.5k: Not only did this not clearly sound better than the Pontus, my impression is that I liked the Pontus for the music I prefer.
2. dCS Puccini APEX, $32k: Really good from an "objective" standpoint on your typical audiophile measures, but didn’t seem to engage me. The tonal quality of the sound also seemed a bit synthetic.
3. Linn Organik DAC in the Linn Klimax DSM: $40k (but Organik DAC is also available in the Selekt DSM unit starting around $20k): Definitely better in all ways than my Pro-ject streamer/ Pontus II DAC, but the improvement in resolution (and tonal quality to a lesser degree) is only a marginal gain.