exploring DACs
I'm sure this topic has been well covered on these fora, but....
I am wondering if folks have any advice for my situation. I currently have a chord qutest DAC. I do like it but I was intrigued by R2R so I bought a MHDT Pagoda. I lived with both for over a year. There were a lot of things I liked about the Pagoda. Huge soundstage, beautiful saturated timbres and nice 3D imaging BUT it was much less detailed than the Chord and also I felt that it really colored the sound a lot. It was interesting how different it sounded but it felt less neutral than I wanted. I kept coming back to the chord and eventually I sold the MHDT. However, there's still a little voice in my head that's saying you can have the best of both worlds: Detailed and transparent but also with an analog-like presence and body.
I'm a DIYer and I'm tempted to buy the ANK 2.1 Signature DAC. I'm worried that I'll spend hours building it (which wouldn't be horrible bc that part would be fun) and then realize it's kind of like the Pagoda in how it sounds.
I've also been tempted by offerings from Denafrips such as the Pontus.
Am I barking up the wrong tree if I preferred the sound of the Delta Sigma DAC in the Chord? Or is there some flavor of r2r that I might like?
thanks
@adam8179 “Detailed and transparent but also with an analog-like presence and body.” - You’re describing exactly the sound of Audio Mirror’s Tubadour V DAC. Try it, they have a two week return policy. I got one a couple of months ago and love it. It’s a tube-based R2R design. I have its picture on my system’s page. |
The Pontus sounds like a good candidate as it should give you more of the detail of the Chord while preserving much of the soundstage/imaging and timbre/tonality of the Pagoda — could be that best of both worlds DAC you’re looking for. And you could add the Iris DDC now or later to take advantage of the i2S connection and get a significant performance boost (I did this) and still be under your $2500 limit even if bought new. Best of luck. |
@adam8179 Chord makes great DACs. I owned Qutest and loved it. In your price range fitting a description of the sound you’re looking for is the PS Audio Directstream DAC MkI. I have it in my system and it is incredible for the price. Check TMR they’re running a special. If you want to move on from Chord that is. PS Audio is a good step up from the Qutest in my opinion. |
The simple answer is no or, I doubt it. I had a MSB Select II (ladder) and loved it, but ultimately preferred my present dac which is d-sigma (Ideon Absolute E). BTW, it’s OK (legally) to prefer the delta sigma, it’s just not fashionable to do so. Since you are a diy-er, why not purchase an inexpensive d-s and mod it further (i.e. improve the power supply & components thereof, better rectification, etc)?
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You might want to try the Wyred4sound 10th anniversary DAC the reviews have been stellar, one of the reviewers put it up against his VPI turntable with a $5,000 Japanese cartridge and he said that the 10th anniversary DAC was every bit as analog, on that review I bought it and I totally agree it is so three-dimensional warm and open and the most analog DAC I've had in my system and they also give you a money back guarantee if you don't like it you can send it back and get all your money back so no risk in trying it. Not cheap though It's $4,500 US. |
