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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!

 

cooper52
alvin1118
130 posts
 

Thanks for the kind words and supports, gentlemen! 

 

Indeed, there are many choices of high performance R-2R DACs on the market right now. Let me start by saying this - we have great respect to other brands. We welcome and value healthy competitions. The positive drive of the healthy competition pushes us to a greater height. Ultimately, it is the consumers who will be benefited most - as the manufacturers forced to up their game to improve the products' performance. Agree? :)

 

Cheers,

Alvin Chee @ www.vinshineaudio.com

cakyol's avatar
cakyol
940 posts
 

Get the Chord Electronics Qutest or if you have the budget, the Dave.  They use specialized FPGAs and are better than R2R DACs.

chaos333
6 posts
 

halo spring 3 is the newest r2r dac and it is amazing.

you should try to listen on youtube to see the video from differnet tester.

 

jjss49's avatar
Ag insider logo xs@2x
jjss49
6,612 posts
 

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...

soma70
153 posts
 

+1 Holo Audio Spring / May - I am tempted to buy one (£3-4k?), even though I have not heard one and my current pre/amp DAC retails at nealry £10k (Ayon). There is a huge amount of positive feedback on this product.    

 

 

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