Do I really Need a Digital to Digital Converter?

@ j_andrews

I appreciate what the BP DAC brings to the table and have heard that the Aries, although  musical, has that little sizzle. Perhaps if you tried an R2R DAC higher up the food chain you might find you get more detail but without the sizzle.

When I was looking at R2R DACs, I discounted the Aries for that reason and went with the Musician Pegasus while also considering the Denafrips Pontus as they both were described as being detailed but without the sizzle as you call it.

Soix used a DDC with the same DAC as mine and such first hand experience makes his opinion valuable to me. However, I don’t know what streamer he was using and how much of a factor your streamer plays into what benefit you get from a DDC. Do some streamer incorporate circuitry such that the benefits of a DDC are less than with others?

I’m using an iFi Zen Stream with their iPowerX power supply — not top line stuff fer sure but reputed to punch above its weight and to compete with more expensive streamers (their customer service is basically non existent however, which really sucks). Since I’m of the opinion everything matters there may be some streamers with design features that may make a DDC less impactful — I honestly don’t know but wouldn’t surprise me — but I’d think the more important factor is the DAC and how its inputs, clock, etc. are designed. That said, the favored input on the Pegasus is i2S and I certainly concur with that, but not many streamers to date offer an i2S output so that points in the direction of using a DDC. Hope this helps.

@j_andrews I don’t think I would sell the BP though, hope that helps.

Yes, Thanks, it does help. Reconfirms what I hear too, and a bit more - maybe. Also, totally related on a thread titled "Do I really Need a Digital to Digital Converter?"

In both of our cases, seems so, yes, we need and like having one, won’t give it up.

Btw, I get plenty of detail out of my Border Patrol SE-I dac, using a Cardas Clear S/PDIF digital coax cable, which feeds a capable 6SN7 dual triode preamplifier out to mono tube amps, all Cardas cable. One thing about the BP, gotta let it break-in though, weeks, not days. Some people really miss this part, and jump to conclusions comparing to sizzling dacs. They pass them on to others get good deals and pick them up and enjoy!

Mine sounds natural, no etch or grain, none, not unnecessarily detailed in any way, just there, full body. As you noted, pure music. Enjoying mine quite a bit now. 

As a result of the design, I can hear a little bit more upper midrange presence than my other R2R dacs in a more natural way. i.e. I can hear the reeds and fine grain tones on a saxophone that I don’t hear on some tracks, with my other dacs, for example. It’s pretty cool, mine is a keeper here too.

I think it takes a revealing system to truly appreciate what it can do. Works well in the right setup.

@soix 

From: ifi Zen stream > Matrix Audio X-SPDIF 2 > Wyred4Sound DAC-2v2SE

To: Hifi Rose 150b

I have an Audio GD DI20HE as my DDC. When I first heard it, there was so much more in my music.

Love it when I hear new details in a recording.