op
mhdt or soekris, both are excellent, high performance, high value entries
Too many choices for R2R DACS--opinions appreciated
So I've decided to treat myself to a new DAC to celebrate a rather significant birthday coming up, and I'm very intrigued by the new generation of DACs employing R2R technology. Reviews have been unrelentingly positive, but I have way too many choices now, so I'd appreciate some opinions from any of you who may have had a chance to compare some of them. Price range: about $3K (with some slight headroom if the right DAC warrants it). I've looked at reviews for Audio-GD, Denafrips, Sonnet, and the new one from Jay's Audio (which doesn't yet seem to have any reviews that I can find).
I'll be replacing a DAC that I actually really like, an Abbingdon Music Research DP-777 (not SE) which I've had for a few years now, but from what I read about the R2Rs, they appear to produce a sound I might like even better.
Listening preferences: mostly classical, some folk, some Broadway, and I never totally outgrew my taste for the good ol' rock music I grew up with.
Rest of the system: Modwright KWI-200 integrated, Cambridge Audio CXU disc spinner, Ryan R610 speakers, Rel S2 sub. Cables: Audience & Cardas. (This all might be a bit TMI, but let's cover all the bases).
Your opinions gratefully received. Thanks!
Showing 5 responses by jjss49
i would agree, having tried all denafrips dacs, that the pontus is the sweet spot in the line... ares 2 for me had sibilance issues moving up the line, the higher tier ones are nice, but there are many many many alternatives in the 3 grand and up segment, most with more functionality and somewhat better sound |
well done and well said @alvin1118 @chayro to your point about chords, there is a hugo tt2 in between the qutest and dave, it is an excellent alternative as well... those coupled with the m scaler yield some one of the finest digital front end sound available on the market, irrespective of cost... certainly not a value play though... |
grist for the mill -- some points to add given my extensive travels in dac-land in the past couple years -- audio gd may or may not deserve a bad rap... asr b-s aside -- i picked up a master 7 dac for fun for a grand used, it sounds excellent, built like a tank (easily the equal of the pontus 2 in both respects) -- at the 1 grand mark i think mhdt’s dacs, with some tube upgrades, are the ones to beat for musicality and coherency of presentation, with the soekris units close behind (i have not heard the musician pegasus, which i believe is a cost engineered facsimile of a lower denafrips dac), superior to border patrol, schiit, rme, musical paradise, topping etc etc to my ear, in my system -- while i haven’t yet had one in my own system, i understand from trusted sources that the holo may is a major step up from the spring, i would take the sonnet morpheus over the spring at the 2-3k price point if for no other reason than the features set and small form factor, it is best at the usb input though... the may, otoh, fits in well with the 5 grand competitive tier |