I bought it thinking it would be similar to the Naim CDS2/XPS that I owned and admired c 2000-03. It's very good and even better when fed with a high res file. I found the 44.1 sound to be typical Naim, a bi forward and opaque in imaging ie. you hear all the voices out in front and seeming to be on the same plane. This quality was diminished when playing an HRX track via USB. The comparison was for 44.1 was between the Naim and my Boulder DAC. My relative, whose system the Naim was intended, felt the Naim to be a bit bright; we went with an Accuphase DC801 in the end in their system.