The Six Moons.com review on the Mhdt Labs Orchid DAC just went up

Hey celo,

Actually, I had my Magnepan 20s for over 18 years until I replaced them with Lawrence Audio Cello speakers.

I get two major perks out of professionally reviewing:

1) I get to hear/audition equipment in my home environment, which is quite different then at show or store space.  It's a great pleasure to hear gear that I'm very interested in to see how good or different it is compared to my own reference pieces in my own two systems.

2) Yes, a great perk is then be able to purchase at a reduced price a review piece if I'm so inclined.  The cynics would and have accused me of being "bought off" or being payed to write a positive review.  I can honestly say I have never written a review for financial gain.  

I still get great pleasure of finding killer products at reasonable prices and sharing this information in my reviews.

  

@teajay I see no problem even if you receive the review sample for free AFTER you get to audition and love it enough to keep it. However, if you are given a free equipment in return for a positive review, then there is a problem. I think “some” people don’t think there’s a difference and again “some” people who know the difference think you do the latter.

Please keep finding killer products. When I buy a product for $1000 that surpasses 10 times more expensive products, I feel 10 times happier:)

Does this DAC (and this type of DAC) lend itself more to the human voice and unamplified instruments than, say, amplified instruments? So classical, jazz, maybe folk, as opposed to pop or rock. Or does it all work? Have still never heard an R2R DAC, all mine have been Sigma Delta.

Hey jaybe,

For my ears it does justice to all types of music.  Your Sigma Delta based DAC can be very detailed/dynamic, but tends to be more electrical sounding device with out the tonality/color of most R2R ladder DACs that I find much more natural/musical on all types of music styles. 

@ghasley you may or may not realize it, but these audio forums are pretty much inundated with manufacturers and associated influencers with business objectives.  That's all good - especially when they declare their bias and help enthusiasts understand their products. No problem per se, with that.

Where I draw the line is deliberate misinformation.  Sadly, it happens all the time.  In the case of the Lab 12,  the 'reviewer' proclaimed the product as a new model.  Innocent mistake?  Oh please....takes about 30 seconds of Googling to discover the history.  It may well be a lovely sounding DAC that somehow wasn't discovered when it was launched in 2013, but to call it new in 2018 is just a goofy attempt at deception.  And we  - the audio enthusiasts - should call out BS when we step on it.