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

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

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

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.

 

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...

+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.