Here also is a gut shot of the Ladder Schumann.
It also is a 2 ladder DAC.
So a fair comparison is between Aries, Ladder, and R26. Pontus is in a class above with 4 ladders.
What was not fair in the test I did was using Lumin U1 Mini, Innous Pulse Mini, and Pi 2 Design Mercury 2 streamers all with LPS against the R26 built in streamer. That may be the issue not so much the R2R DAC itself. But then why buy the R26 if not for the combo DAC / streamer.
I should not rain on anyones parade who is enjoying this DAC. It is still better than many. Just not to the level of the hype IMHO. Your mileage may vary.