Thinking about getting a R2R DAC

@fsonicsmith 

I actually know exactly what “bit-perfect” was originally intended to mean, and it has nothing at all to do with what’s being discussed in this thread. 

Bit perfect originally described software that could faithfully play back or pass on a digital signal to an outboard DAC without performing any resampling in the process. This only became necessary when people started using computers seriously as digital front ends and realized that Microsoft’s “DirectSound” resampled everything to 48khz before output. The solution was “KernelStreaming”, then ASIO and eventually WASAPI. 

So, the way it’s been used in this thread, including your post is inaccurate. 

I don't think simply going to an R2R DAC is going to bring you the sonic nirvana you are looking for. 

+1 @dannad — I think you’re much more likely to achieve the sound you’re looking for by going with an R2R DAC with NOS.  Further, going with a tubed DAC will probably be beneficial as well and gives you the ability to further tailor the sound to your liking.  Models from MHDT and AudioMirror among others offer these characteristics and offer a trial period so you can try them in your own system, which is a really nice plus.  Best of luck. 

i have the following outboard dacs in house

sonnet morpheus
metrum jade
metrum amethyst
van alstine fet hybrid
dena pontus
schiit gumby
neko d100-2
audio mirror troubadour se
ayre codex
chord mojo, qutest tt2 with m scaler
mhdt orchid, paradisea and stockholm2
jolida black ice tube
auris d1d

sold the border patrol se-i, schitt yggy and bifrost mb, dena ares2 and term, rme adi2, w4s dac2v2, topping d90, chord 2qute, psa ds, mytek liberty, benchmark dac2

r2r is important to SQ but DS chips can sound very fine if other aspects of the dac are well designed and tuned to sound good

i am not a dealer, not ’in the biz’, not affiliated with any of the above - just want to hear for myself what works well for me in my system my home, lucky to have the means to pursue this

commercial reviews and hearsay comments from keyboard jockeys may be a useful rough screening tool, but if you really wanna know, you gotta pony up and do the work

@cat_doorman,

My vinyl setup is a Rega P3 with all the upgrades (neo psu, white belt, groove tracer everything) and an apheta 2 cart.  Phono stage is an Avid Pellar