Besides writing a rave review on the Orchid, for details see the Six Moons.com, I have now received over six Emails from individuals who purchased the Orchid because of the review and find it superlative in their systems.
I have had in-house three very highly regarded DACS, all much more expensive then the MHDT piece, that were quite good, and all did not use a tube in the analog conversation section.
As Jayctoy stated it's really a matter of personal taste and system synergy. In my system the Orchard offers beautiful tonality, 3D imaging, and great layered sound-staging. All the solid state DACS sound slightly washed out and flatter to me in my system. Do they offer more micro-details? Maybe, but I don't enjoy the music as much.
Finally, if you figure in the price and you can audition the DAC for 30 days, I would suggest you audition one before you spend more money.
I have had in-house three very highly regarded DACS, all much more expensive then the MHDT piece, that were quite good, and all did not use a tube in the analog conversation section.
As Jayctoy stated it's really a matter of personal taste and system synergy. In my system the Orchard offers beautiful tonality, 3D imaging, and great layered sound-staging. All the solid state DACS sound slightly washed out and flatter to me in my system. Do they offer more micro-details? Maybe, but I don't enjoy the music as much.
Finally, if you figure in the price and you can audition the DAC for 30 days, I would suggest you audition one before you spend more money.