I listened to a Topping E70 (AKM4499EX) at friend’s house. One very well may end up in my system. 
Would replace my Cary Xciter. 

++++++1 for Denafrips. I am a long time Denafrips owner, and have tested all of their DACs up to the Terminator (not the Terminator Plus). They've all been brilliant in their price range. I'll be replacing my DAC this year, and the Denafrips Terminator 15th or Terminator Plus 15th will definitely be in that mix.

I didn't see your price range, but here would be my recommendations. Denafrips Ares 15th for $1,2000. If you can stretch to $2,000, the Pontus 15th.

i think someone else mentioned chord in the discussion. but i'll say it again, any of their DACs in the line-up would be a good choice.

for your use case possibly the qutest is the best option?

@sls883 

+1 Yes, it is all in the implementation.

I've been through a number of ESS Sabre dacs and they're not for me.  IMO, they lack a certain transparency

IME, transparency is their strong point.

Nothing worse than sibilance.  Makes me want to turn it off.  My amp sounds sweet , has great detail and has great bass .   Not thin sounding at all , great mid bass .  I sold my RME DAC  (akm), not that it wasn't a very good DAC it was, but the internal DAC just sounded better to me.   

My dac has four ESS9039SPRO chips and it's not at all edgy. I absolutely hate bright, harsh, and edgy sounds. My tinnitus probably doesn't help. It replaced an r2r dac which are typically warmer and less bright. 

One of the things that I like about my current setup is that recordings that I had written off as sibilant, etc no longer are. With my previous gear, I wouldn't play some of my favorite music because the sibilance or edgy sound drove me nuts.  My system is very clear and detailed. I didn't get rid of the sibilance by rounding off the upper frequencies. That doesn't really work, anyway. 

My Integrated Amp has the ESS9038 chip and digital  sources sound great through it.  Firm believer that it is the implementation of the DAC chip, but more importantly the analog stage.   

DACs seem to be a balance of detail vs. musicality which are both attributes which can be good or bad. I personally haven't been able to tolerate the ESS chip based DACs I've heard so far as the detail gets edgy and digital. High sounds actually hurt my ears even if I can't distinguish the top edge. It isn't just ESS chip based DACs that cause problems for me. 

Right now, I'm using a PS Audio Directstream mk1 DAC which was modified in a couple of ways to sound close to the mk2. This is a FPGA based DAC which converts all incoming files to DSD. So far it is the perfect blend of significantly more detail than my previous DAC without edgy or bright sound. 

I think ESS chips get a bad rap because they are used in a lot of inexpensive dacs. 

I had a SMSL VMV D1SE dac with ESS chips. A nice dac for $700. I went to a more expensive r2r dac and it was better.  I went to an even more expensive dac with ESS chips and it's notably better.  With it, my system sounds better than ever.  If you look at the design of my current dac, the chips are important, but as others have said, it's the overall implementation. 

I have been through a few DACs.  Different chip types do have a certain sound character, but the same chip type can sound completely different, depending on the implementation and output stage (I may not be using the correct technical terms, I am not an engineer).

I will say that if I were to rank the different chip types I've heard, it would look like this in terms of descending sound quality.

FPGA
AKM
R2R
ESS

If you're going to limit yourself to a "starter" DAC (a budget might be more helpful to qualify what that means to you), then you're going to get different sounding starting DACs.  They will have less drive, dynamics, detail, and musicality than the better DACs.  

The MHDT Orchid is a good recommendation in what I would consider entry level.  It has a nice "analog" like sound that is very easy to listen to.  It's an R2R DAC with a tube.  You can roll the tube, as well as the chip to change the sound and there are other ways to modify it if you're so inclined.  Customer support is top notch as well.

I like the sound of the DAC in my TEAC NT-501 streamer/DAC, but there have been reliability issues with the network cards.  If you're using USB input, that would be a good option and you could probably find a reasonably priced used one.  I would not recommend one if you want to use an ethernet connection.  It has more drive and detail than the Orchid.  

I think you're better off saving up for a higher end DAC, which in my case ended up being a Rockna Wavedream Signature DAC, which is FPGA based.  It was a significant improvement in sound quality over the Aqua La Voce S3 FPGA DAC I previously owned, which in turn was better than the Orchid or the TEAC. 

When you get to the level of the Rockna or similar DACs, I think you're in the "sweet spot", where your extra investment provides a significant and easily noticeable improvement in sound quality, while when spending more you start to get into the land of diminishing returns and/or audio jewelry.  

Though not R2R i figured I would just ask in this thread first...Does anyone have any experience with the Fezz Audio Equinox tube dac.."Empowered by Lampizator"? 

Any Fezz Audio product users in this thread? 

Oddiofyl doing god’s work to turn a generation of South Korean salarymen and their children against audiogon forums. 

It’s not transparency you’re after as Sabre chips and well built dacs that use them are transparent beyond human audible range. 

@hilde45 thanks for clarifying your point of view with me

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)

re: "preference" vs studying technical specs of components to decide. Here is an artificial intelligence response to a related query. Love it, hate it, or debate it - enjoy. I posted this since five of my audio friends prefer different audio systems.

----------------------------------------------------------

Why is it that humans lean to "preference" to what they hear versus studying technical specifications to decide what sounds best in a home audio system?

Great question! There are a few reasons why people might rely more on their ears than on technical specifications when choosing a home audio system:

1. Personal Preference: Sound is highly subjective, and different people have different tastes. What sounds good to one person might not sound as appealing to another. People trust their ears because they’re ultimately the ones who’ll be enjoying the system.

2. Complexity of Specs: Audio specifications can be complex and difficult to understand for the average consumer. Terms like frequency response, total harmonic distortion, and impedance might not be meaningful to everyone. It’s easier to just listen and decide what sounds best.

3. Perceived Quality: Often, listening to music or other audio can convey a sense of the overall quality and performance of a system in a way that specs on a sheet can’t. Hearing the clarity of vocals, the depth of bass, and the richness of tones can provide a more tangible experience.

4. Real-World Performance: Technical specs are measured under controlled conditions, but real-world performance can vary. Listening tests can reveal how a system performs in your own home environment, with your specific setup and acoustics.

5. Emotional Connection: Sound can evoke strong emotions and memories, and people might choose a system based on the emotional response it elicits. If a system makes their favorite music sound amazing, that’s often a more compelling reason to buy than any technical specification.

Listening experiences help people make a choice based on enjoyment and connection, which is ultimately the most important factor when it comes to home audio systems.

Lots of recommendations for Denafrips and I agree with those. But nobody has mentioned Musician Audio which is another brand designed by the same people and built in the same factory as Denafrips. They all use R2R conversion and have a lot in common with Denafrips but with some unique designs to take them in their own direction.

They aren't as well known but I've read a few users who after trying equivalent priced units from each one tend to prefer the Musician Audio model. I've only heard their little Draco which is well under $1,000 and I thought it was much better than the most budget Denafrips which is the Aries. 

@mattw73

I’m just more open to trying something that may be deliberately not as transparent or without the lowest THD.

I agree. I have an R2R DAC and a tube amp. I had a tube DAC and it just muddied things up too much. I had another DAC that was not R2R and it was just too bright, most of the time. So, on to a more expensive R2R DAC.

And of course I totally agree with you and with @decooney when he says it’s up to your preference. But that's like saying, "I'm for goodness." Who can disagree with this? Can’t fathom someone saying they want someone to tell them what their experience is. Pretty much impossible. So the real lesson is to not be railroaded about a particular approach to an engineering problem. Trust your ears. Ok, that's an easy lesson but maybe easy to forget in the fog of audio shopping.

Just to clarify, my point is perhaps best stated with an analogy:

A cast-iron skillet is better for pancakes.
A saucepan is better for poaching chicken.

No one is ever asked to choose one tool for different jobs!

So, when it comes to different kinds of music, different preamps might be better. That’s what I was attempting to illustrate. In other words, the false choice is the "either/or" rather than the "both/and."

And notice: this has nothing to do with you choosing what you prefer because of course that’s what we’re all doing! It’s about you (or me) recognizing that we might get more of what we prefer by having more than one preamp (or cooking pan).

@decooney thumbs up to that. 

I haven't been to an intimate or small club music show in a long time. I'll listen to any live music with actual musicians though. During the summers in my area I'm able to experience a usually different genre in an outdoor kind of a Half Shell event every weekend if we are in the mood. Open walls on 3 sides so with an extremely high rooftop..so not exactly in the room but I'll take what I can get.  I love the sound of live drums/cymbals/drummers. 

"@mattw73 I didn’t mean for my current thoughts of straight wire with a gain to come off like a negative."

Your thoughts and experiments are what matters most. It all comes down to your preference. Never apologize to anyone about what you hear yourself. Just like it did for the audio engineers doing the original recording, adjustments to the sound for emphasis and de-emphasis, mastering, way before you DAC.

If you want the most pure, go to a live performance, and then listen to how it all sounds based on the room and where you are seated in the room. Lots of variables. In the end, you'll end up keeping what sounds best anyhow. 

@hilde45 I agree with you.. & perhaps I worded my thoughts poorly. I certainly wasn't implying that tubes or any type of topology was better or worse than another. As much as I like to switch things up I often find myself going back to the shortest most transparent signal path I have available. At the moment in my digital set-up I'm going straight from Dac to amp. This is where I find myself just enjoying the music & not thinking much at all about the components. 

I didn't mean for my current thoughts of straight wire with a gain to come off like a negative. I'm just more open to trying something that may be deliberately not as transparent or without the lowest THD. I don't mean something broken or with poorly engineered noise. Utmost transparency, neutrality, lowest noise floor, is normally what most try to achieve I believe or thought. I feel that saying I'm open to trying a tube dac or old R2R technology could lead to some people thinking "why?".  It's certainly not because I don't value or appreciate a neutral or balanced presentation. I'm also not saying that all R2R or tube dacs can't achieve that..I don't have the experience to say one way or the other. I do lack experience with different types of dacs.. especially anything outside of what I guess is basic low cost delta sigmas. I had been under the belief that I didn't need anything different or "better" than that.

I agree that ESS isn't for everyone - sometimes it just a chip specific thing. For instance, some people find AKM velvet sound chips too mellow regardless of the implementation.

My setup now includes a Holo audio dac which is my end dac - really like it.

However, I did consider some other R2R Dacs including those from Audio-GD, who have brought many R2Rs to market and are fans of Burr Brown. 

Website: http://audio-gd.com/Products-EN.htm

Not everyone's cup of tea but perhaps worth some research since their price point is certainly reasonable. 

"@mattw73 Straight wire with gain approach doesn’t interest me as much these days."
Agree. A good DAC and good preamp can sure help bring out the sound. Not sure why some folks believe no preamp or a minimalist dac is better sounding. 

At the risk of raining on your solidarity, there are virtues to a non-tube preamp. I have both a SS preamp that adds virtually nothing and also a nice tubey 6SN7 preamp.  I've also spent a fair amount of time listening to a very neutral autoformer based preamp.

What does a neutral preamp give me? 

• For one thing, additional detail. More complex music has better separation between instruments and cleaner highs. It may lack some "warmth" in the mids but if there is a tube or Class A amp coming after it, I get the warmth there.
• Another is, well, neutrality. What is my amp contributing? Or a tube change? Or a cable? There is nothing contributed by the preamp so that variable is removed.
• It stays on all the time, ready to go. Not a big deal but nice. No tubes to worry about or replace.

Then I put the tube preamp back in and a bunch of other enjoyments occur.

It's trade offs, really. But one can have a neutral preamp and not be lacking in many of the things people like about tubes.

"@mattw73 Straight wire with gain approach doesn’t interest me as much these days."

Agree. A good DAC and good preamp can sure help bring out the sound. Not sure why some folks believe no preamp or a minimalist dac is better sounding. Tried it many times and find this approach to be much less engaging. To each his own.

I've become more interested in trying a modern day R2R dac & have been exploring some tube dacs as well. Basically something outside the standard chip sets. I have a budget of $3k but think around $2k would give me the same results. The Lampi's & Aqua's are way outside my budget but look like real winners. There are just a plethora of Dacs to choose from. Dacs for days. 

I've never put much priority towards a dac in the past. I've had burr-brown, wolfson chips, logics, Lexichip2, AKM's, but not sure I actually ever bought a product based solely on its chip used. I've been using a Sabre dac the last couple years in a RME dac. It's all of the bells & whistles of the RME that has made it hard for me to move on from. PEQ function has been a game changer for me. I much prefer it over the minidsp Dirac boxes I've tried in my signal chain. A good tube preamp has helped me overlook some of my subjective feelings on chip/sabre dacs. 

Straight wire with gain approach doesn't interest me as much these days. I'm not opposed to any components that "color" the sound as long as I find it appealing to my ears. The last few weeks I've been looking over all the regular mainstream R2R dacs that have been all the rage or in the reviewer headlines. Gustard R26, Holo Cyan, Denafrips, Laiv. I'm kind of leaning towards the Pontus 15th. But I always have to consider is this dac just the flavor of the month in its price category. With it's short return window & origin of manufacturing I consider it a product that once you buy it..it's yours. If I don't like it I'll surely end up having to sell it for a loss. 

I've looked into Border Patrol dacs & more recently a company called Prometheus Audio. They sell TVC (transformer) volume control products but have a couple of very good priced dacs using non-oversampling TDA1545 chips. One of their models uses tubes as well. Other tube dacs I that I see getting great user review love made by Lab12 & MHDT. I really enjoy any kit project and the ANK's look interesting. 

With my budget I'm thinking the Pontus 15th might be the safe bet. For like half that price I could give something like that TDA1545 tube dac a try. Though I haven't seen any user reviews. Maybe it's because I don't swim in the ultra expensive end of the dac pool that I don't consider Sabre dacs to not be transparent or lacking information. Objective data on my current sabre dac says to me that it is very transparent. I'm definitely to the point of trying something different..modern tube or R2R. I am curious if modern R2R is truly different than what a good AKM/Sabre based dac can give me. I expect that a tube based analog output is definitely different. 

I’ll add my happiness with the Eversolo A8. It replaced a fully upgraded Schiit Bifrost, an ARC solid state preamp and a RPI/PcP streamer. 
 

Wishing you good hunting.

+1 for Border Patrol - essentially hand-made with R to R chip. Tube rectification may be selected. Well thought out linear power supply a very strong point. Non-tiring listening experience.  May be too simple and effective for elite a-fools.

I don't doubt your experience regarding the E70, I had a similiar revelation with Aune SC9 dac there some affordable dac's that punch way above thier price points.

I’ve owned dacs from many brands including Denafrips, Line Magnetic, Topping, Questyle, Electrocompaniet, Eversolo, Parasound, Musical Fidelity, SMSL and Chord. Multiple models from some of these brands. And I’ve experienced/heard many more than those. 

My favorite among these has been the Topping E70 Velvet, a $400 DAC that can hang with $1500+ DACs all day and better them in many cases. One of its filter settings is filterless, so in a sense it is like you get multiple different DACs in one. You can have that old-school filterless sound with a rolled off top end or ultra-resolving and extended, or something in between. This is one of only two DACs I’ve owned where the filter differences are quite profound (assuming you have a highly resolving system). 
 

If you don’t want a “Chi-Fi” DAC as it goes, the Electrocompaniet ECD-2 is exceptional for the used market price. 

Our club did an informal shoot out between the PS Audio Driectstream Mk 1 and the Holo Audio May KTE.  Output level matching was a little challenging but after we got that dialed in, the actual sound difference between the two was negligable.  I slightly preferred the Holo but for the price difference of picking up a used PS Audio over a new May, it was a no brainer.  I would get the PS Audio and never look back.  

I know Eversolo gets a lot of love but , before buying  type "eversolo problems" in your Google AI search bar....   They fail miserably at firmware support.   No USB output on an A6 since June with no resolve.  This was a unit that worked fine for 11months 

They did something in the last update where it now occasionally recognizes the DAC but still no sound.   That's at least 4 updates since reported.  No response from Eversolo just days before warranty was up.   They are throw away electronics should something go wrong after warranty. 

Buy an Innuos if you have a large music library.    

I would suggest the Audio Mirror TUBADOUR III SE or the TUBADOUR V very nice R2R dacs.  Sounds very close to my vinyl rig.

Another +1 for the Schiit Bifrost 2/64.  I originally purchased the Bifrost 2 before the /64 upgrade, but I did upgrade mine when it came out; I was quite pleased with the product.  Recently, however, I purchased the Gungnir 2, well under $2K, for my main system and it made a further improvement in its sound reproduction quality.  I have "retired" the Bifrost 2/64 to my office system, a Mac Mini M4Pro, NAD integrated amplifier (356BEE), Infinity Modulus satellites (ca. 1992), and DefTech Supercube 6000, and it does superbly.  Schiit offers a trial period, with a restocking fee of five percent.

@audioisgr8 I also own the Eversolo DMP-A8 (owned the lesser versions as well) the dac in the A8 is no match for the Pontus 15th. Absolutely love the all the A8 streamer/capability however the Venus 12th (now Pontus 15th) cost 2x the A8 and truly does perform like it.  All that being said the Eversolo A8 dac is great but the Pontus 15th is a night and day improvement in the dac department.

Ditto.

Try a rockna dac, I am very happy w mine.

Good luck.

I’ll make your decision easy. Listen to the Eversolo DMP-A8. You’ll fall in love with the sound and the feature set is fantastic. 

I own the Pontus 15th and I can tell you it is an absolute steal.Denafrips really served us a gem of a deal. I upgraded my system from the Aune Twins (Sc9 Dac & Sc1 clock) if you want to stay under $1,400 this is the setup to consider and yes it sounds much better than an Aries II which i also own (the twins have a very detailed but smooth R2R like signature). All that being said when I understood Denafrips was offering a step up (Venus 12th) at a 50% off discount I pulled the trigger for the Pontus,you cannot go wrong here...grab one now before Denfrips cannot afford to cover the tariff hit which they are doing now.

To follow 1happyman and give my journey over the last few years including some of the entry R2R DAC’s mentioned here that might help with your decision.

TL;DR: After 3 R2R DAC’s(at different points), a Chord 2Qute, and a DACless amp(Technics SU-GX70 which is so versatile), I have settled on the Gustard A26(Dual AK 4499EX chips) for now and am really enjoying it. It has what I was looking for in an R2R DAC and still has detail that I felt was missing from the R2R DAC’s.

I started out using the DAC’s in my PS Audio Sprout and Bluesound Node 2i. I then went to a Raspberry PI running Volumio/Roon with a custom R2R DAC. It’s the least expensive R2R that I have used and also my favorite. I then moved on to an OG Denfrips Ares and had that in my system for a year. I got curious and ended up with a Chord 2Qute. It was a tough choice between the Chord and the Denafrips as they both had their strengths and weakness depending on the type of music I was listening to. I kept the Chord in my system for a year and became curious again. I started looking for an OG Chord Hugo TT, but ended up with a Holo Audio Cyan 2. It’s a solid DAC but I just didn’t do it for me so I went looking and ended up with the Gustard A26 which to me has the a lot of the positive attributes of an R2R DAC combined with the positive attributes of an D/S DAC. I am happy with the sound and synergy with my current system. I still would like to put a Hugo TT in my system as I did like the Chord "sound" and would like to hear a higher level Chord DAC.

A few things that are great about the Gustard A26 is that: 1.It can take a direct ethernet connection and act as a renderer negating the need for a streamer. 2. It can also act as a NAA if you want to use HQPlayer.

I listen about 75% with headphones and 25% nearfield. The main parts of my current system are Sonore Optical Rendu, Gustard A26, LTA MZ3(preamp and headphone amp), Peachtree GaN 400(amp), and Neat Petite Classics(speaker).

I hope my journey and listening experience can help with your decision. Happy Listening!

I had the Gustard R26 Ladder DAC . I replaced my streamer with the Eversolo A8 which has the AK 4499 Velvet chipset. I ended up selling the Gustard because I like the sound of the Ak 4499 better. Maybe just the implementation with the streamer, preamp, DAC combo in this unit

If I was buyng a stand alone DAC, I would seriously consider the Gishelli models which come with the AK Velvet 4499 chipset and XLR outputs. Another option is the SMSL E70 (I think) with the AK4499 chipset and XLR outputs to your amp 

https://www.usaudiomart.com/details/650186437-gustard-r26-r2r-dac/

Gustard R26 dac for $825.  It's an r2r dac. 

"I was the proud and very happy owner of a MSB Platinum Signature DAC (based on a proprietary R2R topology) for many years. I was lucky enough to find it in 2021 for $7,000...  I am back to MSB, this time with their "entry" offering, the "Discrete" [Discrete pricing starts at $12,500.]

Interesting forum -- a fellow posts a question about an "entry level" DAC on a "budget?  as little as possible..." and gets a response that basically says he needs to spend at least $7,000.  I understand budgets are relative to the person, but nothing like bragging about how well off one is to someone who is obviously not as favorably positioned.

I just searched and watched some reviews on the Deshelli Dayzee with stock, Burson and then top model Sparkos op amps which cost approx $2k with those installed.  One review compared it to three more expensive DACs from around $2.8 to $4k, Gustard R26 and LAiV Harmony. "Passion for Sound" is the YT channel, very interesting. The DAC has a lot of inputs and outputs for those needing them as well.

If not for needing smaller gear and many other interests I might of bought one, glad I can be happy with less expensive but well sorted out gear, install, etc. To those that want to go higher, by all means do so, great for you if you can and prefer to:)

Rick

@martinman There is an alternative... If like me you understand that with music playback anything beyond 24bit 48Khz is not going to increase musicality, then you may be interested in the path I have taken with streaming. I use a Yamaha A3000 sampler from 1997 as a DAC. I bought it new as a musical instrument and in today’s money it would retail over $3500.... Now all I know technically is that the DAC chipset is Sanyo and the components used were of a high quality. Yamaha were attempting to break into the pro audio sampler market big time and blow the competition out of the water, so little expense was spared, and we all know how good Japanese high end gear is.

I stream lossless ALAC set to 48Khz max, from Apple Music via a Bluesound Node Nano into the Yamaha via coax and then the output analog goes to a 1960s Japanese tube integrated amp. a Trio W-41. The results are extremely close (almost indistinguishable) to my vinyl set up. (my first love) -- Thorens TD125mkII / Ortofon M2 bronze and EAR 834 phono stage. When I first compared them I couldn’t quite believe it. I am a critical listener by profession as an audio recording technician in Film and Television and I doubted my ears for the first time ever, so I blind tested it to younger ears in a HiFi shop listening room. We were in agreement.... it beggars belief that a piece of audio kit from 1997 was far more pleasing to listen to than a 2025 high end DAC with all the big numbers attached to it’s spec sheet.

If you can find one it needs to have the added digital I/O board which was an after sale option, and also do a resistor mod to the power supply cooling fan to make it ’near silent’ and if it has an internal hard drive like mine then that needs disconnecting also. I have experimented a lot mixing vintage with modern gear over the past 2 decades, and I honestly don’t feel I will ever need to try and better this combo.

Oh and it also has a level out pot and a pretty good headphone stage.

@martinman

Hi,

So if you have no budget problems and want a R2R DAC you would definitely find yourself very well with AQUA - LA SCALA Mk III Optologic Dac, decidedly excellent and analog sound. Certainly not cheap but built with great accuracy and with top components.

Instead if you have budget problems a great solution could be a DIY construction using IAN CANADA cards. It is true that ES 9038 chips are still used but if you add a reclock card and a transformer audio output card (entirely passive) and also use a supercapacitor power supply then you will see that things change a lot. I myself after having various DACs also based on AKM or Philips or ESS chips I had never managed to obtain a sound that satisfied me (in reality I am a lover of vinyl that I reproduce through an SME turntable), so I tried the Ian Canada route. Now I am acceptably satisfied, good sound, transparent and sufficiently analog. With DSD 128 files really great!

Regards

Alessandro

Gustard R26 works for me. Started with a Topping (something) 70, then a Denafrips Ares ll, now the Gustard. I prefer R2R dacs.

Get a Audio Mirror Toubadour IV SE or a LAIV Harmony DAC...both R2R  and never go back!

@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

The LTA Aero is the last DAC I will ever need to buy.