616Man,
Many the new R2R DACS are getting great reviews. Sadly
the Chi-Fi gear is a one way sale as will any used gear.
So the chance to compare is not an option.
I just sold my Oppo 205 and bought an Innuos Zen 3 streamer.
No DAC inside. I also just bought the Denafrips Ares 2 direct from
Vinshine. $750 all in. Reason I chose it? They resell at full boat in 1-2 days. That is as good as a trial period. Which one of the top 10 above
is best for you? Does it matter anyway? You will likely trade up and out of what you buy now in 1-2 years. Anyway that's how I see it.
Denafrips offers a 3 year transferrable warranty and just arranged for a US service center. Border Patrol has a tube sells for $1250 and has a 1 year warranty.
Our club held a shoot out Aug 2019 with 9 DACs. See AZAVCLUB.com for full review. 25 people blind listened and rated 1,2,3 as that was the input max. We repeated this 3 times. If you added the 1st and second place votes, Yaggy won. Strictly on first place the Jolida won. Chord was up there too. We added the new LM model at the end and it was preferred by those still in attendance. Biggest loser was PS Audio Direct stream which no one voted for!
We had a lot of top brands mostly $1,500-$2500. RME, HoloSpring,
Chord, IFI, Schiit, Line Magnetic, Jolida ice, PS Audio and others.
What do I think of the Ares 2? A full upgrade in terms of fullness and
clarity. Still getting hours on it. My wife sat down the 1st day and immediately said "Wow, this is better"!
Good luck!
Many the new R2R DACS are getting great reviews. Sadly
the Chi-Fi gear is a one way sale as will any used gear.
So the chance to compare is not an option.
I just sold my Oppo 205 and bought an Innuos Zen 3 streamer.
No DAC inside. I also just bought the Denafrips Ares 2 direct from
Vinshine. $750 all in. Reason I chose it? They resell at full boat in 1-2 days. That is as good as a trial period. Which one of the top 10 above
is best for you? Does it matter anyway? You will likely trade up and out of what you buy now in 1-2 years. Anyway that's how I see it.
Denafrips offers a 3 year transferrable warranty and just arranged for a US service center. Border Patrol has a tube sells for $1250 and has a 1 year warranty.
Our club held a shoot out Aug 2019 with 9 DACs. See AZAVCLUB.com for full review. 25 people blind listened and rated 1,2,3 as that was the input max. We repeated this 3 times. If you added the 1st and second place votes, Yaggy won. Strictly on first place the Jolida won. Chord was up there too. We added the new LM model at the end and it was preferred by those still in attendance. Biggest loser was PS Audio Direct stream which no one voted for!
We had a lot of top brands mostly $1,500-$2500. RME, HoloSpring,
Chord, IFI, Schiit, Line Magnetic, Jolida ice, PS Audio and others.
What do I think of the Ares 2? A full upgrade in terms of fullness and
clarity. Still getting hours on it. My wife sat down the 1st day and immediately said "Wow, this is better"!
Good luck!