Absolute top tier DAC for standard res Redbook CD

The bass was banging hard…Cant recall if they had stands… probably did and they had other speakers on rotation that did not have the bass issue.

Other than that, the ISIS sounded great.

R-2R ladder:

MSB DAC V
totaldac d1-twelve

Which of these other DACs are R2R ladder?

Aesthetix Pandora/Romulus
APL DSD-S
Auralic Vega
Berkeley Alpha Reference
Boulder 1021
CH Precision C1
Chord DAVE
dCS "Ring DAC"
EMM Labs DAC2x
Empirical Audio Overdrive SE
Esoteric Grandioso D1
exaSound e22
Jeff Rowland Aeris
Lampizator GG
Nagra HD DAC
Playback Designs MPS / MPD - 5
PS Audio DirectStream
Zanden Model 5000

Appreciated, Josh

07-21-15: Georgelofi

Guidocorona if I could chime in while your waiting for Coli's answer.

I find with Redbook cd, all the Direct Stream ones I've listened too are too relaxed/smooth and uninvolving, much the same as 1 bit, bitstream, delta sigma and ESS type dacs.

You notice this once you've heard a very well implemented R2R Ladder Multibit dac's, they have excitement, drive and boogie factor that doesn't seem to be there with the above.

Too bad the manufacturers are trying to phase out R2R Multibit dac's, they are way harder and more expensive for them to make, and they then charge up to 10 x the price for them.

Cheers George

I agree George. I think part of the reason people like DSD is that "analog" blunting of the upper frequencies in particular. It is harder (and more $) to go the R2R ladder route. I know Totaldac spends a lot of time and $ in that regards.

07-21-15: Jh901
R-2R ladder:

MSB DAC V
totaldac d1-twelve

Which of these other DACs are R2R ladder?

Aesthetix Pandora/Romulus
APL DSD-S
Auralic Vega
Berkeley Alpha Reference
Boulder 1021
CH Precision C1
Chord DAVE
dCS "Ring DAC"
EMM Labs DAC2x
Empirical Audio Overdrive SE
Esoteric Grandioso D1
exaSound e22
Jeff Rowland Aeris
Lampizator GG
Nagra HD DAC
Playback Designs MPS / MPD - 5
PS Audio DirectStream
Zanden Model 5000

Appreciated, Josh

Zanden, CAD, Trinity, Phasure, Red Wine Audio (at one point) are ones I know of...

Matt, first of all, thank you for this wonderful and very informative thread. I have been following your thread from day one and I must say this is by far the best thread on any audio related forum that I have come across:)
Anyway, I don't know if you have heard about Coincident Speaker Technology. Their speakers, although normally associated with low powered tube gear, can also be driven by powerful transistor amplifiers. The floor standing models have 12'' side firing woofers, so are quite narrow in size and flexible in placement. You can place woofers inwards or outwards, it helps eliminate standing waves and can be of benefit in your room. I currently have Antipodes DS Reference, Lampozator, Coincident pre and power amplifiers driving their second from the top floor stander, Total Victory V roughly in the room of the same size as yours, and have absolutely no issues with booming bass. The speakers just disappear, the sound is neutral, but at the same time is very revealing and detailed, the bass is simply amazing. I know, they are rear ported, but side firing woofers may negate the issue in your room.
Given the caliber of the speakers you are looking at, I think, you should give their top model, Pure Reference Extreme, a try: http://www.coincidentspeaker.com/Pure-Reference-Extreme.htm.
The have separate enclosures for the mids/highs and the woofers, are full range and have simple first order crossovers. Another advantage: having separate enclosures gives additional flexibility for placing them in a room. You can even get stands for mids/high module and place them separately from woofers.