Lumin X1 or dCS Bartok

I carry Lumin and have the X1 here, and was just at a client's place last week who has a dCS Vivaldi stack. I'd say the sound character goals of Lumin and dCS are probably best considered as different, so you'd need to hear them to decide which direction best matches what you're looking for.

@mayoradamwest I think you meant to say the dCS approach does not have the hint of brittleness that you heard with the Mytek?

@david_ten well, Lumin is using output transformers as part of their analog stage which adds some color but otherwise retains the detail provided by the ESS DAC chips.

To a large degree the goal and result is similar to that of the DAC I designed, which also uses output transformers combined with PCM1794A DAC chips.

dCS is not aiming for the same thing with their products, although with multiple filter settings you can influence the sound.