Experience with SoulNote Dac2?

And sorry for hijacking, but it sounds like we are both looking for answers to the same question.

@zlone - We seem to be on a similar quest. I actually came on here this morning to write you directly. I’m listening to the SoulNote D2, Luxman 590axii, Buchardt s400 mkii and Innuous Zenith combination in my office this morning with some coffee before jumping into work. 

I’m still very new to the audio world, so my experience is limited compared to so many of this forum... With that admission, the SoulNote D2 has blown me away. It’s bringing an energy, nuance, shading and propulsiveness that I’m finding absolutely addicting. It’s only day 3 for the audition, but very impressed. 

There is some high-frequency energy that, in the wrong system, could be heard as sibilance. I think it's therefore all about system matching. If the amp/speakersare already cool or neutral, the result could be very different. I'll test with the QLN and let you know how things go. 

@zlone - I've not yet carried all my office components to the living room to test with the QLN speakers. I did want to share my impressions after having the SoulNote D2 in my office for a week... 

Where the Merason dac has a natural smoothness, the SoulNote brings a vivacity, energy and gentle but muscular sound to it. It's been absolutley transformational. All genres sounds more engaging and real now. And this system sounds much better than systems I've auditioned at high-end audio dealers where I live. 

I honestly don't know how it would sound with another amp, but with this Luxman class A amp, I've now reached the "I'm done. I'm satisfied. My audio nervosa can subside for awhile." 

Again - I'm going to keep the Merason Dac1 mkii for the other system, but SoulNote has produced an exquisite piece of equipment. Little known brand, but amazing product. 

Wanted to pass my experience along. 

Thanks @bluethinker, I appreciate the follow up. I will do some more research. 

@zlone 

Your description of the Meitner sounds a lot like Merason, I would be a little worried it would not be a significant change. I never thought I would say it, but I think I want a bit more edge, but certainly not bright. 

I owned Meitner for over a year and have listened to Merason MK1 in a friend's system several times. I concur with your impressions. Both are polite to fault. After living with the Meitner MA3 for some time, I found that I was getting bored with the overly polite sound to the point that I stopped listening to digital altogether. Yes it was nice and smooth, but sometimes you want to hear that certain edge or energy (not to be confused with bright) when the fingers hit the keys on that piano or pluck the guitar strings. It was only after owning other DACs that I realized what I was missing.

Another point (not related to your post) I want to make is that the sound quality of a dac has very little to do with whether it's using a delta sigma, R2R, tube, or FPGA. After owning several dacs of every type, I firmly believe that it is the designer's skills, part quality and selection criteria, analog output section, and the fidelity of the clock that makes the biggest difference, regardless of whether it's ESS or R2R or tube or whatever. Just my two cents.