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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 wharfy

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wharfy
375 posts
 

@martinman -Having owned and a number of ES chipset DACs in the past, and been disappointed by the sound, I gave the ES chipset one more go and purchased the LKS MH-DA005, based on rave reviews by many A'gon members. It's an end-game DAC, and with the release of the MH-DA006, an affordable (under $2000) purchase.

It uses two ES9038pro chips, has a beefy power power supply and Mundorf capacitors. I mention the power supply and Mundorfs to echo what others have said on this thread. It's not only the chipsets but how they are utilized.  

https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/musetec-lks-mh-da005-dac?highlight=LKS%2BMH-DA005

 

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