Gustardx26 pro vs RME ADI2FS

well said bruce

i have come to believe the same over the numerous years i have spent in this pursuit

whether it is something being lost in the recording and mastering processes, or in the playback chian, the classic notion of ’straight wire with gain’ often does not lead to the most pleasing and beautiful presentations of (even wel) recorded music

the magic of truly great audio equipment and designers is that their gear manages to reshape or reconstitute the recorded sound in a way that adds something back, giving it a dose of magic and beauty

the analogy i sometimes think of is that fresh seafood, once frozen and thawed, does not taste the same as originally...  still may taste good, but something definitely has been lost -- so a great chef then can add something back to make it taste great again during the preparation ... no it is not the same as it was when it is fresh, but it is so tasty nonetheless

something like that is happening here with music reproduction

Hello,
I have tested out several DACs. When I added an SBooster instead of the wall wart the improvements were so great it was well worth the $400 extra cost for the power supply. Some of my tests were on the M2Tech, Mytek Liberty, and the Lumin. Due to the power free flowing all the time it really makes the DAC sound awesome. Get the RME and an SBooster. You have to love a DAC in this price range that lets you customize itself to your system. I am going with a high end DAC by Ayre. If I was going for under $2k I would be going RME with the SBooster. If you are in the Chicagoland area check out this store: 
https://holmaudio.com/
Due to DACs needing different power supplies these typically have to be ordered. The do have a few pairings so you can try it out for yourself before you make a decision. Sorry, I mean before you place your order. Believe me, you will. It’s that good. 

@hshifi i’m curious, do you use a power conditioner prior to the linear power supply or does the linear power supply, innocence, act as a power conditioner?

@recluse thanks for the link to the first article that you cited in this thread. I’m a big fan of Nelson Pass-and it was building and listening to an amp camp amp from DIY that opened my eyes to the comments I made earlier. It really had a tube sound without tubes which pass explains as introducing second order and even order harmonics which we find pleasing and which tubes also do. I suspect that there might be a natural/evolutionary reason for this which I can’t offer but it seems to be the fact that even with live music we find the same harmonics pleasing.
i’m thinking of building the F6 this winter possibly.

by the way when discussions get heated on this subject, as they often do here, I harken back to a comment from Nelson Pass to the effect that “this is the entertainment industry, why don’t you just have fun?“

@jjss49 Great analogy!