DAC Question: Delta-Sigma vs R2R

@ noske :

The folk at Holo are disciples of certain funky marketing gimmicks which do not impress me.

Could you please specify in detail just what those ’marketing gimmicks’ Holo Audio employs are? Thank you!

I bought my Holo Audio ’MAY KTE’ DAC from Kitsune HiFi, Holo Audio’s U.S. dealer, which is based in Oregon. I had no issues whatsoever with either the dealer, Kitsune, or the delivery of my purchase.

no trail periods her in Thailand.  you buy it, you own it.  no refund unless its defective.  boy do i miss the States in that regard.

@mod_asored I recently purchased a Benchmark DAC3 HGC, and am delighted with it. Just passing along a good 3rd party experience, if Benchmark is on your list to consider. I believe one can buy on Amazon Prime w/30 day return period

Jonwatches,

I have a friend who really loves his Benchmark3. It is a little out of my price range right now. But like all audio purchases, I always seem to end up outside my price range. So I am watching for what pops up.

Thanks for the recommendation.

Hi Guys, An update for those who gave me the great advice.

As I said, I have no audio stores nearby and if I started driving to them I would be wasting a ton of money in gas and still not know what it sounds like with my gear and in my room. I decided the prudent option was to buy used at a fair price and listen for an extended period of time and all transaction fees will be less than gas and travel time.

About 6 weeks ago I was lucky enough to score a Denafrips Ares 2 from a great seller, one of the DAC's on my list. I was blown away, now I didn't want to come on and proclaim the win while in the "shiny new toy" phase, so I waited for a while, kept listening, I can officially say I am blown away. It actually caused me to also go get a Innuos Zen Mini and LPSU to pair with it, like I said wow, even better now.

What happened is a match to how I listen to music, not so much this DAC better than that DAC. What I noticed is when i am really relaxing and listening, I am 50% brain on whole song and the other 50% just tuned into one specific performer trying to experience the song through their performance. I also noticed that is how I listen to live music.

What seems to be the most important to me is not all the detail, but the natural and accurate tone of the instrument I am listening to, if that makes sense. It does to me and I am now in a much better position to know what I am looking for, not just DAC but in all my gear.

So is it the Ares 2 or is it just the high quality DAC?, is it synergy, I don't know, but I think I am gonna continue watching for another of the items on my short list and try flipping the Ares to see, but I am in no rush as I am still paying it off and I am loving it.

Thanks again for all you guys for pointing me in the right direction. It is very much appreciated.