DAC Question: Delta-Sigma vs R2R

At a little more than your $1500 price range, another well reviewed denafrips r2r is the pontus ii.

Since your gear may not be up to hearing the differences, (your human hearing gear that is) you may be served just as well by their ares ii. 

Both r2r, they are often described as the 'analog of digital' giving you that smoother presentation that your hearing will probably respond best to. I'm in similar situation with my aging metal drummer ears and recently ordered the ares ii for similar sonic reasons. 

I don't have standalone dac experience, this will be my first adventure so I'm total newbie if that helps at all. 

Theoretically, R2R DACs are more analog sounding and less detailed than their delta-sigma counterparts. This is driven by some of the more popular R2R DACs sound profile. It is not universally true as I have heard some miserably bright R2Rs and some that can rival any delta-sigma in terms of detail.

The actual tech is not of huge importance and the implementation of the resistor ladder or chips and the output stage dictate the sound and refinement levels of the DAC.

If you are looking for a warmer sounding unit that will give you good detail and a big soundstage I would look at the Border Patrol you mention above and the Questyle CMA 12. I know it is more headphone oriented but it is not bright and works wonderfully as a standalone DAC.

The Border Patrol might sound a hair more "raw" as it is NOS while the Questyle will be a bit more refined.

Good luck

The Border Patrol you are looking at is a good bet.  Whether with a tube based system it will go too mellow I can't say, but it would certainly not present any 'bright' audio issues.   I have tinnitus, and hyperacusis in the top end (hyperacusis is a sensitivity to loud noise in a frequency, and to  me it is in the treble wnd of things - for example a live piano is intolerable to me if I stand nearby).  So I appreciate a system with no aggression in that top end and no exactly what you mean.

back to the OP's question.

R2R DACs run each of the 16-24 bits through a specific resistor pair combination to create the analog counterpart, then sum and filter the result.

Bitstream DACs use pulse density modulation on a single resistor. The more "1"s the higher the voltage. It too is summed a filtered. This is also how light dimmers work and how your car's fuel injection works.

depending on how technical you are you can get the original paper from Philips online.  R2R goes back to Bell Labs for t-carrier.

There are benefits to either.  in general i would argue that the DAC chip itself is th least important component of the system. Just as i have made tubes, FETs and BJTs sound basically the same, those two can sound very very similar until you get to ratified air of quality. Its all abotu power supplies, filters, I/V converters (amps), timing contorl, isolation, blah, blah.

G