Let's Talk DAC's

I’d add the Musician Pegasus to your list as it does all the things you’re looking for very well. It comes from the same factory as the Pontus II and shares many of the same parts/technology, but the Pegasus seems to be a little more detailed up top than the Pontus (and probably a lot of other R2R DACs for that matter) that I thought might appeal to you given what you’re looking for. And at $1045 it’s considerably cheaper as well. Here’s a good review, and I own the Pegasus and think his assessment is spot on.

https://soundnews.net/sources/dacs/musician-audio-pegasus-r2r-dac-review/

I should also note you can get a significant performance boost by adding a DDC and utilizing the Pegasus’ i2S input.  I bought a used Iris and was surprised and impressed with how much the sound improved (and this using a $6 HDMI cable from Monoprice).  If it’s in the budget the benefits are such that I’d recommend getting the DDC right away, but if it’s not it’s definitely something to look forward to down the road.  Musician offers the similar Pisces that is likewise cheaper than the Iris.  Hope this helps, and best of luck.

Maybe not to throw the baby out with the bath water here, if you buy through Amazon I believe you could still try a Musician Pegasus or Draco R2R DAC and can just return it within 30 days or so I think.  Not a fan of returning stuff here, but if you’re seriously considering and are genuinely interested in the product, well, that’s why there’s a return policy.  Just a thought. 

Not at all. A digital-to-digital converter, which initially sounds superfluous, but what it does is both re-clock the data and give you the option of using different inputs on your DAC. So if you feed the DDC a USB input from your streamer you now have the option of using superior AES/EBU or i2S outputs to your DAC. The benefit of this can vary depending on how the DAC’s inputs are designed, but in the case of my Pegasus the improvement of the DDC and going to i2S was substantial, and I’ve heard similar results from others who have the Pontus II. @vthokie83 can maybe attest to and expand on that. Incidentally the reviewer of the Pegasus also reviewed their Draco DAC and found very little difference sonically between it and the Pegasus and only costs $750 (but a current $38 coupon on Amazon knocks it down to only $712), so that and a DDC could be a relative bargain.

https://soundnews.net/sources/dacs/musician-audio-draco-r-2r-ladder-dac-review/

https://www.amazon.com/Musician-Draco-Entry-Level-Decoder-DSD1024/dp/B096S6HBQY/ref=sr_1_3?crid=2R4BYMIO9U0NQ&keywords=musician+draco+r2r+dac&qid=1696194343&sprefix=musician+draco%2Caps%2C701&sr=8-3&ufe=app_do%3Aamzn1.fos.2b70bf2b-6730-4ccf-ab97-eb60747b8daf

Something worth thinking about is you could have a Draco and either a Pisces or Iris DDC for not much more than a Pegasus alone. Definitely an attractive option.

If you are only interested in DACs that you can buy from a local source and test drive, then you can ignore both Musician and Denafrips.
 

Can’t speak for Denafrips, but you can buy Musician products through Amazon and I believe you have a return window where you can easily return if it doesn’t work out for you.  That’s why I bought my Pegasus there although I never considered returning it after hearing it.  Worth doublechecking though just in case. 

No, you can run a USB cable from the computer to a DAC with a USB input, but you’re much better off getting a dedicated streamer because a computer is a very noisy and low-quality source for music. Even a cheap streamer like a Bluesound Node or iFi Zen Stream will be a huge improvement over a computer.

DDC? For what.? Digital to Digital converter? These were introduced as a band-aid when DACs had horribly implemented USB inputs to overcome bad cables, noisy PC ports, ground loops, and using the PC clock in synchronous mode. Those issues were identified and solved long ago. You can buy entry level DACs immune to these issues. As in sub $100!

This is simply not true. Several of us here have added DDCs to our highly-regarded >$1000 DACs and have experienced significant (i.e. not small)  improvements.

After a short time enjoying it I knew I was keeping it.  I spent that money on a SOTA Escape turntable and Sutherland KC Vibe and got back into vinyl 

@oddiofyl  Nice!  Bonus!!!  And congrats on your great new DAC.  Love hearing stories like this cause they’re pretty rare. 

@bikefi10 That’s weird. You didn’t break any rules so I wouldn’t sweat it.