Thinking about getting a R2R DAC

i am glad the mod cleaned up the garbage in this thread

@decooney 

you mentioned using outboard power supplies with the mhdt dacs... i have three of them, they all have the standard IEC 3 prong plug for power input on the rear panels...

how do you use an outboard PS?

@jjss49
I don’t myself, not yet. However, following up with a friend this morning who’s messing with two different psu units for both his streamer and his dac, the psu is not going to work as hoped for the dac itself. Also validated a few others in the group loop had not gotten it to work on theirs either, not without tearing the whole dac apart. Stopped there...  So I was partly mistaken on this part. Apologize for the premature mis-info. Seemed like a good idea at first. If the psu works in other areas I might order the same and at least try it on my own streamer, and then proceed with possibly piecing together a new streamer myself and use the same psu if it makes a difference. My tube preamp uses a similar large outboard power supply unit, would like to do the same for the DAC.  Nothing confirmed on my end yet on my own system though. Maybe this winter, after the streamer stuff...

@decooney

thanks for clarifying

yes in general, i agree, most dacs short of the gold plated top of line all-in ones can usually benefit from an outboard PS - if the input is suitable for typical good LPS like Pardo, Teradak, S Booster etc..., serving up clean strong 5/9/12/15v DC. These do tend to reduce the noise floor and make the DACs sound more relaxed, some more than others... 

I have a very analog, warm sounding EAR Acute CD player. I purchased a COS Engineering D2v after 15 years. It is probably a delta-sigma type. It has superior resolution. It was compared to the less expense H1 unit. The difference was the H1 had a more open sound rivaling the LP’s liveness and extra deep bass, but thinner mid-range sound. It worked perfectly for my friend’s monitor speakers making them sound louder in the bass and bigger sounding . My D2v rivaled LP’s full bodied mid-range making them extremely listenable for hours but lacking my LP’s open sound on my older speakers which do not have as prominent a high end. Both units are highly dynamic and rival LPs. The main difference I think is that the D2v has a dual switching power supply and the H1 has a single switching power supply. (The twice as expensive D1 has dual linear power supply). Instead of continued searching for a better DAC, I’m in the process of upgrading my speakers for the benefit of both LPs and CDs. I got tired of searching for CD playback in the 2000s after acquiring about 30 different CD players, almost all relative junk compared to an EAR Acute 2005.

@adam8179

My path to satisfying digital began when I purchased a dB Audio Labs Tranquility DAC which uses the old-school TDA1543. It was the first time I can honestly say I was happy with digital. After several years using this fine DAC the high-res bug bit and, wanting to hear it in all its glory, I purchased the Chord Qute HD when it first came out. I was wowed and used it until an upgrade with even higher specs was offered. With future-proofing in mind I shipped it off to be upgraded to the EX version.

In the meantime I re-installed the Tranquility and was surprised just how much I missed the sound quality. It seemed at first to be a bit less resolving but after a while I realized the Tranquility was simply more balanced, retaining all of the detail coupled with a natural, beautiful tone. When my newly upgraded Qute EX arrived I kept both DACs in the system to compare side by side. My preference leaned heavily toward the Tranquility.

Since then my entire system evolved and when I learned of the MHDT Lab Pagoda DAC (dual PCM1704) I took a chance on it. That was about 2.5 years ago. I choose it over the Orchid for various reasons, one being the Pagoda is a 24-bit DAC. I do like high-res and want 24/192 without decimation to 16/44.1 (or 16/48). Would I have been happy with the Orchid? Considering the myriad of accolades from others who seem to be seeking a similar sound quality, I would say yes. That said, I love my Pagoda and it’s not going anywhere. Obviously, I think you might be very pleased with an R-2R DAC. Best of luck to you.

Other components in my system:

Sonore microRendu

Decware SE84UFO

Omega Super 3i Monitors & DeepHemp 8 Subwoofer