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

@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...

I moved from the:

Metrum Octave (NOS)->
Chord 2qute (FPGA)->
Schitt Yggdrasil (R2R)->
Teac NT-505(DAC/Streamer)(OS)

The R2R and NOS DACs that I had were definitely more organic sounding versus the Chord which was laser precise and detailed.  I missed the warmth and analogue sound of the Metrum after buying the Chord then when I moved to the Yggdrasil which was very good but I believe that not feeding it balanced in and out didn't allow me to get the best from it.

The Teac basically bridges the gap - it's natural and organic sounding but it also nails tone and has lots of detail.  The only DAC that I've owned that I miss is the Metrum - it wasn't perfect but man was it fantastic at doing what it did well.

I've flipped quite a few DACs now and although architecture is important I believe that there is a lot more to it than saying that one particular method is better than the rest.

Just to add to @jjss49 that, like all DAC architectures, R2R DACs too have their sonic variations within the type.  There are tubed and non-tubed, and oversampling and NOS types, both of which (among other things) can have a significant impact particularly on how detailed or warm the resulting sound is.  The base R2R characteristics as jjss449 describes likely hold throughout the spectrum, but I just wanted to point out if you want a more detailed sound you can still get it with an R2R DAC.  As an example, the Schiit Yggy would definitely be more in the detailed, white wine end of the spectrum versus an SW1X model that’d be more on the softer, fuller, red wine end.  I’d ask jjss if this aligns with his experience because he’s actually had and heard more of these DACs than almost everyone here so IMO he’d be the final arbiter, but I thought delineating the world of R2R DACs a little further might be helpful.  As always, FWIW. 

Schitt ain’t R2R, some of them are MultiBit and you’ll never get DSD through them.
FPGA all the way. With updates.
Or Soekris if you have to have R2R.
And can get one.  Good luck with that.

I tried the Qutest and thought it was a nice dac but a little thin and hifi for me.  While I had it I tried a RME adi-2 to compare and preferred the RME, just comes across much fuller, better tone  and very transparent and smooth while being very musical. The Chord may sound better in other systems but just not in mine. The sound stage was a little better on the Chord. I added a Teddy Pardo to the RME and that really improved the RME all around so I sold the Chord with no regrets,I would have liked to try a better power supply on the Chord. I did buy a MHDT and find the highs a little rolled off and not as clear and transparent as RME but very relaxing and more analog than the Chord or RME. I still have both RME and MHDT and enjoy both but for different reasons