Au revoir, MHDT Orchid, you're a great DAC but...

I use a Solid state INT and a Tube DAC that is R2R and has a chip.

I like that tube influence but doubling it is more than I want to deal with.

Keep us posted on the new dac.

It sounds amazing, but you think it's too much of something or other.  Could it be you're overthinking the situation?  Would you stop going to a restaurant because the food was too delicious?

I really liked mine and still have it in a second system.

I moved on some time ago, first to a Teac NT-505, which had a similar "warm" sound but more detail, then to an Aqua La Voce S3 FPGA DAC, which was more neutral and transparent and now to a Rockna Wavedream Signature, which I hope will be endgame for me.

The Orchid is a really nice DAC at its price point, but it's not a world beater.

It sounds amazing, but you think it's too much of something or other.  Could it be you're overthinking the situation?  Would you stop going to a restaurant because the food was too delicious?

It's a fair question but not a fair analogy. Those with all tube systems might chime in, here, but I will say that when I tried a solid state DAC in my system, especially with both KT77 output tubes and a 6SN7 input tube on the preamp, I had too much softness and not enough clarity, separation, and top end sparkle. But I really like that amp and preamp and so the one thing to change -- again, for my tastes in my room -- was the DAC. 

@hilde45

I know exactly where you coming from, too many tubes can lead to softness or mask the true characteristics (signature) of a component. A solid state DAC can restore the delicate balance you’re seeking in your system. My advice would be to consider a DAC with onboard streamer like Lumin D2. With a 14 days return policy, I think this would a good alternative to explore and streamline your digital front end, quite possibly a step up from your modified Node :-)