Different R2R DACs

@metaldetektor

Interesting that you write about the accommodation pricing available to reviewers, especially of the more important journals. That he bought the review DAC means nothing, really. Most of these reviews mean nothing. He writes glowingly about a DAC. It slots into the A+ class. It has to or no one will ever buy one. Consider that there is $1450 DAC in that class. The A+ class which was introduced as the better-than-the-best class. Then a post here that he and a friend bought and soon sold the units having been very disappointed. What a surprise!

The accommodation DAC will soon be sold for profit (due to a great review) and the reviewer will go on to another accommodation unit.

These reviews are not woth the paper they’re printed on. I give much more credence to the consensus of acual buyers here. The only thing I take seriously in Stereophile are the loudspeaker measurements. These can correlate with what you might actually hear.

Auditioned the MHDT Orchid and was not too impressed. Although it didn’t have any flaws either. Returned it and took the 10% penalty.

Right now I’m content with RME ADI2 followed by a tube buffer(Ifi itube2).

Equipment: AtmaM60, Zu DruidV

@melm The right review -- to the right reader -- means something. A reviewer with gear and taste that overlap with mine...their take means something to me. The trick is finding the right reviewers for you. That Stereophile reviewer spent time with another piece of gear I own. We both loved it. Evidently that reviewer's take means more to me than it does to you. So be it.

I chatted with the gentleman you mention below. He moved onto a more expensive DAC which personally isn't to my taste. But live and let live. This hobby is about musical enjoyment. System-matching and taste-matching is the entire game.

Back to the topic at hand -- reasonably priced R2R dacs -- I've put the Sonnet through its paces and it's great. Accurate and nuanced timbre, balanced from top to bottom, no digital edge. Is it as good as my reference DAC that costs three times as much? It is not. I could go on at length as to why, but what's the point -- they're in very different price brackets. I have yet to find this mythical thing called a giant killer. If you think you've found one, you're looking at the wrong giant. But if I was searching for a DAC in the $3-4k range, it's a wonderful DAC I could happily settle down with.

@metaldetektor

My main points were simply not to make too much of a reviewer's purchase or of the A+ rating.  Nice that you found this reviewer compatable even though IIUC he has not been reviewing for them all that long.  Enjoy the DAC.  Seems like a nice long-term investment.

@jjss49

"there are r2r dacs that are forward, there are delta sigma dacs that are absolutely pure and musical sounding, there are dacs using both/either methods that sound dull and lifeless"

Wise and truthful counsel from you and @bigkidz. In my opinion, power supply quality, analogue output stage and even I/V conversion are critical and essential factors that determine the overall sonic signature of a DAC.

There’s overblown emphasis on the R2R versus delta sigma issue.

Charles