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Best dac under $2500 - comparing build quality and technologies

I have been in the  Audio field for over 4 decades and have owned some pretty exclusive audio gear 
I was listening to a 3 years old R2R dac the R7 from AudioGD a 20 year old company which won several awards  which is not known much in the U.S yet  ,This New R8-MK2 is better still.
it is  very well built using 3 R core transformers rarely seen unless spending $$. Their latest and best value is the New R8 mk2 dac. This dac just came out late April 2021 ,over a year went into the redesign the Owner stated this unit has several advancements vs previous designs , and runs much cooler for less money then  the previous R7 but better ,their is also a mk2 R7 also as well as a Flagship R7 HE with power regeneration,which I wanted but could not afford .The dynamics and realism is what sets this apart it’s massive power supplies and over 130k uf 
of capacitance is more then most amps has a lot to do with it I will be getting my dac next week and put side by side with  very well know competitors  it was noticeable better  in several areas , and it has 7 sonic adjustments all FPGA based 
4- non over sampling ,including a vinyl mode, and 3 over sampling  other dacs just a minor OS option 
you literally can Taylor the sound to your audio system .it weighs 26 lbs ,Underwood Wally is now the U.S distributor and service center  . I will give a full rundown once I have logged a week or two on it ,2 R- core transformers go to the pure class A  analog output section, the 3 rd transformer -digital is now fully servo controlled and runs much cooler and much better specifications . Check out link below.
http://www.audio-gd.com/R2R/R8mk2/R8mk2EN.htm
audioman58
audioman58's avatar
audioman58 OP
4,389 posts
 
MK2 VERSION

This MK2 version of the R-8 has undergone a long period of testing, measuring, listening and adjusting at all levels of the circuit. It uses a stabilized power supply using discrete servos for battery-like performance. The converter stage uses this stabilized power supply, where analog circuits use a pure Class A power supply.

  • Discrete in-house developed 3rd generation R2R discrete ladder technology
  • 4 independent hardware DSD decoders and 8 independent R2R PCM decoders
  • Balanced two-channel push-pull design
  • Ultra low noise Power Supply design (battery performance)
  • Special “vinyl” sound characteristic available
  • USB and HDMI inputs have independent isolators and linear power supplies
  • USB designed with bidirectional isolator that sends the I2S signal to the FPGA and receives the return master clock signal. (single clock approach)
  • Sample rate on display of the input source
  • Two Accusilicon clocks working at 90Mhz and 98MHz master clock implementation.
  • DSD signals use an asynchronous clock for greater accuracy.
  • A port for updating the firmware is available on the back of the device.

R8 is characterized by its coherent, transparent and neutral sound. Rich in detail; high resolution; strong authority and wide stereo image. You’ll forget that you’re listening to a digital source.


jbhiller's avatar
jbhiller
1,446 posts
 
That's a tough question, especially at that price point.  

Of course my next paragraph must deal with what I've heard and recommend.  If you want big, fat, and delicious try the Doge Tube Dac.   Disclaimer--I own one. 
jjss49's avatar
jjss49
6,612 posts
 
many many dacs out there, new and old, with varying designs

many can sound excellent, in the right system

it is about understanding your use case, your preferences and system synergy

sometimes the differences in sound can be rather subtle (heard only in very good systems) - examples
-- audio mirror vs mhdt vs doge
-- chord vs rme
-- ps audio ds vs ayre vs w4s

sometimes they can be rather stark
-- chord vs denafrips vs audionote

the dac is the voice of the digital front end, so it is all about finding the right one with the right presentation to make the music sound right to you (assuming you have a credible, low jitter streaming source) - one illustration is that many solid state very hifi sounding systems can be transformed by using a dac with a well voiced tube output stage...
ghdprentice
8,095 posts
 
My evaluation to choose a DAC for a friend included Ayre, Auralic, Linn, Audio Research. Berkeley, Sim, and Schiit.. I read multiple reviews on all the units I heard and their competition in order to calibrate. I actually bought a Schiit Gungnir multibit and broke it in before recommending the Yggi. My feeling is the reviews that say it’s sound is in a category of two to three times the cost are correct. Sure it is detailed, but the Yggi is also very natural sounding and musical for a solid state DAC. I was very prejudiced against Schiit before my analysis. Who names a company Schiit… someone who does not want to sell stuff. I got interested enough to by a headphone amp. I use it to break stuff in and as backup… but it shows you what you can’t get for less than the cost of a good set of interconnects.
blackbag20's avatar
blackbag20
583 posts
 
I acquired a gustard x16 a few months back ... love it!

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/gustard-x16-balanced-mqa-dac-review.17419...
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