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Thinking about getting a R2R DAC

Dear community,

I currently have a chord qutest DAC. I like it a lot, very full sound, accurate detailed and exciting.  However, whenever I go back to vinyl (with a well-recorded nice pressing) I find the sound so much more satisfying.  There is a warmth, yes, but there is a presence, a 'there-ness' that I just don't get with the digital.  I'm wondering if an R2R DAC would get me closer to that?  my budget would be around the same as the qutest.  I was looking at the MHDT Orchid or the Border Patrol.  Don't get me wrong, I really like the Qutest.  I am thinking of putting it in the upstairs system to pair with the Node2i I have up there.  Any thoughts?  Will analog always just be a different animal than digital?

Currently in the main system I have a Sonore uRendu feeding the Qutest which is going to a LTA MZ2 going to a Pass XA 30.5

thanks!
adam8179
djones51
4,947 posts
 
let me repeat my question again. If you can EQ to get the same impact or better why are we seeing a resurgence of R2R DACs
I think it's called marketing. It's the DAC en vogue. 
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hilde45's avatar
hilde45
4,795 posts
 
@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!)
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fsonicsmith's avatar
fsonicsmith
933 posts
 
I believe that the following explanation makes a lot of sense;
http://sw1xad.co.uk/technology_post/delta-sigma-vs-non-oversampling-r2r-dac-designs/
So the readers digest version is that it is all a matter of implementation. 
Everything matters and simplicity will beat unnecessary complication most times, particularly for most consumers' budgets. Everything must be taken into consideration and impedance mismatches between the digital source and the DAC account for a lot of problems that many listeners complain of. Everything needs to be implemented optimally just as with vinyl playback. 
Now let me acknowledge that I am biased but I am also putting my money where my mouth is-I have a DAC II Special with USB on its way to me. And as I said before, I heard a top tier Audio Note digital rig at Axpona '19 and the sound was stellar. 
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