???Anyone Here UpGrade From Yaqin/Cayin/etc... To Another Tube Amp Considered Hi End???

devilboy. "The DACs inside are pretty nice; far from the last word... But nice. "
Your kidding?There is NO better DAC Chip on the market today.
"

The Conductor uses the SABRE32/ESS9038Q2M DAC and XMOS USB receiver chips, the most advanced and expensive in the industry. Its Customised USB driver by Thesycon Germany ensures low latency bit-perfect audio playback. The result is incredible processing power, accurately playing back DSD512 and 38bit/786khz audio.

It also features a Qualcomm/CSR8675 Bluetooth 5.0 receiver. Playing back at 24bit/96khz with aptX HD audio codec. , it pushes sound quality and ease of use to the highest level."
So how do you figure they are just ok?

@hifijunky Awesome that you have the Art Audio amps. If you ever need anything, PM me. I am the importer for AA now and am always here to help.

@freediver Congratulations on the Icon purchase.  I am sure you will be super happy.  

Regarding DACs, the Burson is lovely, especially for the price. DAC chips though are not the sole driver of DAC quality. Chip and implementation of the Chip have a huge impact. Burson is great at this and for Chip DACs, outstanding.

However, you will find there is more than one way to skin a cat. There are FPGA units from people like Chord and PS Audio that don’t use Burr Brown/Wolfson/Cirrus/Sabre chips at all and use software based solutions. There are R2R Dacs that don’t use chips from brands like Rockna that are brilliant. Like anything, opinions are subjective, but many feel these other approaches are far superior to the chip approach implemented by many manufacturers. These also tend to be a lot more expensive though there are exceptions like the Chord Qutest which is quite affordable. 

In the end, it is a matter of taste, but have faith that in the never ending pursuit of audio perfection (and to get us all to spend more money) someone will find a way to make something that is better or at least different.  

@freediver for my personal taste, I don’t find Sabre chips to be as natural-sounding as say Burr-Brown or other R2R DACs. I don’t listen to hi-rez and the times I did, I kind of felt the same way.

Metrum DACs I’ve owned:

NOS mini
Musette
Menuet
Hex
Amethyst
Onyx

MHDT:

Havana
Paradisea
Orchid

All of these DACs sounded more natural to me than others I’ve had.

I know what you’re thinking... "If they all sounded so natural then why did you sell them?" Lol. With each one I was trying to move up a little bit more, as we all do.

That being said, no DAC I’ve had at in house beats my current Yamamoto YDA 01.

As I mentioned, I don’t do hi-rez so take what I say with a grain of salt.

This is just my own personal taste... Not bashing any manufacturer or anyone.

Like I said before:
It all sounds fake. You just have to pick your favorite kind of fake.

Freediver asked,
"So how do you feel they are just ok?"
I don’t believe that devilboy was questioning Burson’s engineering competency but was referring to the sound quality which is what obviously matters most. As most of us recognize sound quality is a subjective and individual call/choice. Citing the parts list can be impressive (Chips, receivers etc.) but doesn't ensure excellent sound quality. 

I don’t believe that the DAC chip utilize is the dominant factor of determining sound quality. The quality and execution of the analog circuit and power supply of the DAC has more impact on the ultimate audio performance and how good it will sound.

This is my opinion based on many listening comparisons over a number of years. Two DACs could use identical chips and yet sound quite different. Numerous variables are at play.
Charles