Thinking about getting a R2R DAC

@jjss49 That's an amazing array of DAC's man. Wow. Do you have a spreadsheet where you baked them off against one another? I'd love to have the experience of trying such a range. OP, this is why this forum is so helpful, not to mention @thaluza rich descriptive abilities. I wish I had this post when I was trying to pick a DAC. Cornucopia! 

I've had limited experience with DAC's -- Audioengine D1, Peachtree DAC-IT, Nodi 2i built in DAC, and my MHDT Orchid R2R DAC. The Orchid came with a very nice tube, but I wanted to mellow out the sound a bit, add some warmth. With some good suggestions from folks here, I changed out the tube and now I have a very warm but not too colored sounding system, even when streaming. For further context, I have both a solid state integrated and an all tube setup. When using the solid state, the Orchid is especially helpful. 

@dannad I see how the Stereophile list helps make that narrower point. Agreed.

A lot is involved and way beyond my knowledge -- and beyond certain quality levels, probably my ability to hear. Good, short video, here: https://youtu.be/McoA82-fi9s?t=73

@dannad I’m interested how to read the data point you bring up -- namely that Stereophile has chosen a DAC of the same make for every one of their A+ choices. Very intriguing! It raises a few questions for me.

• Did multiple reviewers all choose delta sigma DACs? Or perhaps this is one reviewer’s listening habits?
• How many r2r DACs do they review -- in other words, is there a rough balance there?
• Do other publications’ "best of" lists also tend toward delta sigma DACs?
• Are delta sigma and r2r DACs similarly positioned in industry prominence?

All these questions are not meant to dispute that the list by Stereophile is significant as a data point, but rather to help interpret it. It could be that r2r DACs are outliers, still; it could indicate that the enthusiasm around them has been whipped up without much basis in fact. It could be that they’re outgunned in getting their products in the hands of reviewers. Or, it could be that Stereophile has come to a certain decision about r2r DACs -- all of them -- such that they simply cannot crack the list. I don’t know enough to do more than speculate. What I know for sure is that I LOVE my MHDT Orchid with an NOS tube. In other words, not much at stake for me in this debate -- other than what other DAC to try next. (I'm coming for you jjss!)

The Pagoda has a tube. Is there much debate about tubes needing break in? Mine definitely changed over first 40 hrs.