They don't sound the same to me at all even at approximately the same price range. Right now I'm comparing a Denafrips Pontus ll against a Tubadour lll which are both R2R.Initial impression is the Tubadour is clearer with a cleaner attack. The Denafrips rounds the edges off.It reminds me so much of a CJ (tubed) preamp I owned years ago.Quite a surprise.One is not better than the other,just different. It's easy to tell the difference even with my old ears.No way I could afford a 12k dac,even though I'm curious,but not enough to search one out.
How easily can you distinguish between different DACs?
When I read reviews or watch them on YouTube the reviewers talk about the vast differences between various DACs. I haven't compared too many, but found the differences pretty subtle, at best.
Which got me into thinking: Is my hearing ability really that bad?
Do you notice the differences as easily as folks make out?