New R2R DAC

After 3 months of research, I bought the middle of the Denafrips line, The Venus II. I have been blown away with the detail I am now hearing. Incredible. I am able to use the I2s on the Venus with my OPPO BDP-95 players HDMI with a $45 adapter from Fleabay. I prefer DVD-A, Blu Ray's, SACD's, and regular old CD's. The OPPO is my most prized possession. 

The AN 2.1x signature is excellent , but stretch to the 3 series is you can. Or at least the 2.1x signature balanced. Also remember the 2.1x sig is only balanced and spdif. No toslink, usb,I2s.  

If you will consider a used unit then an old Wadia will provide redbook performance to beat just about anything. My 30 year old Wadia 15 plays redbook only, using the famous Burr Brown PCM63 chip, regarded by some as probably the best ever.

I have listened to modern DACs playing hires files and have heard nothing to convince me to change. Also look out for Wadia 6, or 9  and No, I'm not selling mine. 😁

@ken7, where did you get your Orchid modded?

It sounds like those mods are worthwhile. Finding and S1 or S2 is hardly a given, but upgrading the caps should be a slam-dunk.

to desktopguy: I performed the mods myself. Requires obtaining a chip puller and removing existing chip and carefully inserting new chip. No soldering needed for this step. Removing existing large caps is an exercise in careful removal of existing large caps and soldering new ones in their place. S1 and S2 chips are available on line from e-bay account 'polida2008'. They've been in business for quite a while and seem to be honest