Dark Horse DAC

@audioman58 

You stated "The Gustard R2R26  is a very good dac with exceptional Japanese build quality" I was simply pointing out that staement is absolutely incorrect and as you like to sound as if you are the last word perhaps you are but in this case own the error; no big deal. Many hold Japanese built gear in high regard and may mistakeningly purchase this Dac being under that assumption based on your statement.

op

the doge is old news, was dac of the month a few years back

sonically it is quite good sounding but despite all the tubes in the output section, the output stage and level was relatively weak in my experience and presented some background noise in use when turned up to feed adequate output if used directly into a power amp (which, with its remote and volume control, is something the unit purports to be able to do well)

Maybe old news for some, but perhaps not so much for others. Also, the current version is a MKII. Can't comment on the direct to amp performance, but the 2.6V going to the preamp through the RCA connections is higher than any other DAC that I know of.

@brauser

sure you can read posted specs all day... or you can own the unit and report experiences gained, which i just did

and yes i am sure the mk2 version will have it all fixed... 😉

hope you buy one, find out for yourself, and report back - my suggestion is to have a proper line stage at the ready to supply gain and impedance matching so the next stage receives suitable signal

WOW...tough crowd with Alot of First World issues...

Cograts @brauser on your purchase. I trust it will be all you hoped for...