@stuartk , no worries at all. Like @jjss49 mentioned, every reviewer has an opinion. For me, Steve us a influencer. So, while he does not get paid by the DAC manufacturer, the more hits/views he gets on Youtube, you know the rest. Recommendations by longtime posters or posters who have listed their systems here get my most attention. This is because these posters have genuinely owned and experienced the component. For example, there is a brand new poster on the Teac 701 DAC thread who joined yesterday and is claiming that the Mola Mola or the T+A DAC200 were not noticeably better. This is a complete red flag for me, based on the many posts from many long time posters here as well as on sites like AudioAsylum, AudiophileStyle, etc.
@lalitk , Thanks for the recommendation. This DAC reminds me of so many DACs in similar price range that measure very good, but many users complain of being sterile.
@ghasley , I will take that with a pinch of salt. That is because he has not responded to the very specific question posted for T+A DAC200 by 3 posters. Strange that he has done a pick-n-choose reply 😉 on his Youtube Channel.
But I will also mention that there is a genuine poster on this site who has his own Youtube channel and loved the T+A DAC200. But he has sold that off and went with a Ayre DAC which he says makes poor recordings listenable. While he did not respond to my query directly, I know he is genuine because the DACs that he mentioned he owned, were sold on this Site and on US Audiomart. So, for me, while home auditioning might not be possible, I do a lot of background research before I finalize a component and go for an audition. I might get a chance to visit some dealers next month.
