A DAC that can make digital sound analog?


Hi All,

I have a ModWright Oppo 105D. It’s excellent....but it sure don’t sound like vinyl or tape.

What DACs have you heard that really work like magic on digital audio files? 

I am interested in DACs that kill that digital glare/blare, that gives you that sense of ‘blackness’ or ‘darkness’ to the audio soundscape, really letting you hear into the mix...ya know that layering, space and depth that is very evident on tape.

Very curious to hear your thoughts.

Thanks!
128x128brettmcee
I can see why they are naming DAC's R2R, because that's the only way you can get CD's to sound like LP's; that's by recording them and playing back on a good 2 track; in reality, you have transformed digital into analog, because there is nothing digital about the playback from tape.

Technically, they're R-2R DACs, not R2R, and they have that name because of the resistor ladder circuit that they employ.  It has nothing to do with reel to reel tape.

To go where no audiophile has gone before; past the vinylsphere, beyond the CD zone, and into the far off R2R quadrant. This is the destination one reaches when he records 2 track at 15 IPS and plays it back. No longer do I equate audio in terms of frequency and dynamic range, but in terms of "travelocity"; that's what kind of trip the music is going to take me on this time.

With a bigger source signal, your speakers actually sound bigger, and 3D like you never heard it before; instruments popping out of space, this is what one hears in the far off R2R quadrant in the 15 dimension.
The one DAC I've come across that makes digital sound as effortless and relaxed as analog is the Lab12 DAC1 SE. It does it without sacrificing holographic imaging or detail, pretty darn incredible.
Interesting thread, there are a ton of days out there and clearly no real concensus.

For any future posters making recommendations, it would be very useful if you also listed what days you've heard in the same system as your recommended product.  Tough to make much of simple "this one's the best" statements without any context (or concensus).