+ Denafrips. Love my Pontus II 12th with IRIS DDC combo. The entry level Enyo 15th supposed to be a big upgrade. Topping now makes an R2R DAC at similar price point to entry Denafrips. Don’t know much about it, worth a look. I have a D90LE in my bedroom system which has a low watt SEP tube amp and warm speakers so the ESS chip effect is a good match. The Pontus II is superior in my main rig.
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?