Thanks everyone for this discussion. It has been very informative! I've looked up many of the R2R DACs that you guys have suggested and there are so many interesting-looking choices. In the end, I had to choose something so I went with an MHDT Pagoda DAC. The MHDTs seemed to be calling to me and with my Buddhist tendencies, I had to go with the Pagoda. I listen to a fair amount of hi-res music on Qobuz so the Pagoda's 24bit capability sealed the deal. I'm excited to dip my toe into the R2R DAC world and see how it compares to my Chord Qutest as they are at similar price points. I ordered it today on the LTA website and I'll give an update when it arrives. Thanks again everyone!
Thinking about getting a R2R DAC
Dear community,
I currently have a chord qutest DAC. I like it a lot, very full sound, accurate detailed and exciting. However, whenever I go back to vinyl (with a well-recorded nice pressing) I find the sound so much more satisfying. There is a warmth, yes, but there is a presence, a 'there-ness' that I just don't get with the digital. I'm wondering if an R2R DAC would get me closer to that? my budget would be around the same as the qutest. I was looking at the MHDT Orchid or the Border Patrol. Don't get me wrong, I really like the Qutest. I am thinking of putting it in the upstairs system to pair with the Node2i I have up there. Any thoughts? Will analog always just be a different animal than digital?
Currently in the main system I have a Sonore uRendu feeding the Qutest which is going to a LTA MZ2 going to a Pass XA 30.5
thanks!
I currently have a chord qutest DAC. I like it a lot, very full sound, accurate detailed and exciting. However, whenever I go back to vinyl (with a well-recorded nice pressing) I find the sound so much more satisfying. There is a warmth, yes, but there is a presence, a 'there-ness' that I just don't get with the digital. I'm wondering if an R2R DAC would get me closer to that? my budget would be around the same as the qutest. I was looking at the MHDT Orchid or the Border Patrol. Don't get me wrong, I really like the Qutest. I am thinking of putting it in the upstairs system to pair with the Node2i I have up there. Any thoughts? Will analog always just be a different animal than digital?
Currently in the main system I have a Sonore uRendu feeding the Qutest which is going to a LTA MZ2 going to a Pass XA 30.5
thanks!
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- 158 posts total
@adam8179 excellent choice... enjoy! juin and cohorts @ mhdt in taipei really know what the heck they are doing, and they have great ears... all their dacs have a luscious substantial yet lively sound -- plus if the tonal balance top to bottom doesn’t quite suit your system exactly they can be altered by rolling the tube - if you are buying it new from them be sure to let the tube and whole dac run in for a good month, it will keep improving in that time less zippy less hifi, but more listenable over long stretches than the qutest |
@adam8179 Congrats. Pagoda’s with the Burr Brown dual chipset is nice, XLRs if you need them, and same tube compliment. Save this link for later, may not need it but just in case for "burn in and tubes"...http://www.mhdtlab.com/tube.htm The stock tube works well, if you find it a tad bright (not always, some do), the Tesla is midway smooth, and the WE396 is even smoother yet was a tad too rolled off for my speakers but others love it in some cases with more forward speakers. A good cable from your player and XLR or SE cables back to the inputs on your helps too. Be sure to give it 40-80hrs burn-in for the tube, caps, to settle in and it opens up even more. Thumbs up! |
@adam8179 .. congrats! As others have mentioned, give it some time to settle in. I ran mine with the stock tube for quite some time before changing it out with a WE396A (D getter, JW military version). To be honest, I was somewhat skeptical and hoped the tube change wasn't a waste of money. I wasn't disappointed in the least. In fact, I'll soon be ordering another for backup. Best of luck. I hope the Pagoda brings some of that "there-ness" you're seeking. |
- 158 posts total