The Comet being discussed is quite far from the NOS sound. The two overarching characters of NOS are timing precision(could be called ease) and treble roll-off, the later being addressed by forward correction in many new production units.
The Comet has a slightly bottom up sound, a richness to it, which makes it pleasing to the ear however the timing performance is lacking due to the use of a minimal phase filter. Its worth saying that this trait may only appear in single-driver systems. I'd call it neither laid-back nor aggressive in sound though it definitely falls to the side of intense colors & slight rounding of the bass.
The only NOS DAC I've had my hands on, and its old outdated tech now, stayed in my system for years despite a raw, mean, lean sound. It's magic trick was proper timing. Instant transients. Microdetail.
The debate is going to come down to what you personally find more relaxing. I've heard a number of modern OS DACs pull off tube tropes: color saturation, fullness, laid-back. Think of NOS more like a widebander in that yes they can tame treble nasties but they're more there for the raw textures and timbre picky. Personally I find timing errors more annoying than any frequency abberations so NOS ends up the sound that calls less attention to the fact it all started as electronic pulses.
The Comet has a slightly bottom up sound, a richness to it, which makes it pleasing to the ear however the timing performance is lacking due to the use of a minimal phase filter. Its worth saying that this trait may only appear in single-driver systems. I'd call it neither laid-back nor aggressive in sound though it definitely falls to the side of intense colors & slight rounding of the bass.
The only NOS DAC I've had my hands on, and its old outdated tech now, stayed in my system for years despite a raw, mean, lean sound. It's magic trick was proper timing. Instant transients. Microdetail.
The debate is going to come down to what you personally find more relaxing. I've heard a number of modern OS DACs pull off tube tropes: color saturation, fullness, laid-back. Think of NOS more like a widebander in that yes they can tame treble nasties but they're more there for the raw textures and timbre picky. Personally I find timing errors more annoying than any frequency abberations so NOS ends up the sound that calls less attention to the fact it all started as electronic pulses.