2. digital
  3. 193132-1665

R2R next? Don't like ESS

Can you recommend a good 'starter' R2R dac?  I've been through a number of ESS Sabre dacs and they're not for me.  IMO, they lack a certain transparency that I'm after.  Point of reference:   The *only* dac that I've heard that is decent to my ears is a 10yr old Maverick Audio D3 w/ Sparkos OpAmp swap.  *This* was great.  Alas, I sold it because I thought I could do better with something newer.  

Geshelli's offerings have piqued my interest - the J3 in particular - but it's an ESS chip.  Wondering if I should make the jump to something R2R - Denafrips, Broder Patrol..  thoughts?

martinman

Showing 1 response by desktopguy

desktopguy
401 posts
 

I tired of delta/sigma DACs years ago. Too edgy, bright, and non-musical.

Ever since it has been a succession of R2R (multibit) and NOS (multibit that is non-oversampling) DACs. All are quite an improvement on the delta-sigmas.

My advice is to start low and slow, Keep it at or under $1K and check out the basic multibit and/or NOS sound, live with it awhile and see how it suits you.

Examples:

  • Schitt Bifrost (multibit)
  • Schitt Gungnir (multibit)
  • Musician Audio Pegasus II (NOS)
  • Black Ice FX DAC (NOS)
More to discover