Chord DACs .. who has moved across to them from R-2R based DACs ?

i have been through the gamut

short summary:

chord dacs (2qute and qutest and hugo tt2) are very rhythmic/dynamic (tremendous PRAT), superbly clear/transparent/’alive’, throw a highly specific and palpable image - they are outstanding in that they accomplish the above without any trace of grain

good r2r dacs, ideally with tube output (mhdt, audio mirror) sacrifice a bit of the crystal clear and dynamic nature for greater warmth and body, especially with voices and acoustic instruments - the imaging gains depth even if the outlines become a touch softened - overall, many feel the presentation is more relaxed/natural, if slightly less obviously detailed and ’hifi’

so it depends on what you want and (more importantly) what your system needs in order to find the right balance

+1 @jjss49 ... this guy knows his DACs!

jjss49, you have such an eloquent way with words. Always learn from and enjoy your posts. And you never substitute "this vs. that" opinionating for careful, descriptive language. That's the easy way out and you don't do it!

jjss49 So which way did you go? R-2R to Chord or Chord to R-2R? Or in fact a totally different direction?

Certainly your description of Chord having PRAT (which is what we all want) and no grain is I think and excellent endorsement over warmth and body if I were to choose.

@hilde45 @arafiq

thanks for your nice compliments... i try to be of service where i have the knowledge and experience to share 😇

@chopandchange

i still have multiple dacs i keep (i am off-the-deep-end with equipment, been at this hobby/sickness for decades, enjoy variety, and am a shameless hoarder to boot)

i use a 2qute in a secondary system (does what the qutest does pretty much to my ear, for less $), and i've the hugo tt2/m-scaler as one of my main system dacs (though it is a damn expensive combo...) -- i have also kept a number of r2r dacs, from mhdt, audio mirror and sonnet - which frankly, i listen to more often than the chord combo

you can search my old posts in the digital section, somewhere few months back i posted a list of what dacs i have tried, kept and sold off... looong-ass list 🤣 -- ’tis what happens when covid locks you in the house for a year...