R to r dacs

Calvin,
That was quite a review. Alvin may want to borrow a few lines.
I had the Ares 2 for two weeks and had to sell it. My ears found
it a little too harsh. Great improvement over the DAC in Oppo 205.
I wanted an R2R Dac with a tube in hopes it would soften the sharp
edges enough for me. 

Thanks to George I finally understand the workings of a DAC with
both a chip and R2R. My new DAC uses the AD1865 but did not
cost $20k as the AudioNote Version does. $1,500 Audio Mirror Tubadour
is keeping me happy.

I am looking to borrow a Pontus 2 for a comparison.

As the good stuff just keeps coming I am happy to get another
in a year or two that does even more for less $$.

But meantime I am keeping the AM. Thanks Vlad!

I'm also looking to move to an R2R DAC. I was leaning toward a tube-buffered R2R like the Audio Mirror Tubadour III or the Monarchy Audio NM24 but I have the opportunity to purchase a now discontinued MSB model for a decent price. Has anyone heard the MSB Analog DAC? If so, what were your thoughts compared to other DACs you've heard?

Holo Spring 2 Kitsune Edition 
extremely analog sounding 
great balance from top to bottom.
best I have heard.

Has anyone heard the MSB Analog DAC? If so, what were your thoughts compared to other DACs you've heard?

👍 MBS discrete r2r dac direct to amps.
It has re-invented all my CD's, especially ones I thought were shocking recordings that I thought were harsh and confused sounding, are now for some reason that I've yet to hear why, are now very enjoyable.

Cheers George

A friend of mine has the MSB R2R DAC and it works well with the MSB CD transport. I owned the CD transport for while but it wasn't as impressive w/o the DAC. I can't say how the DAC is as a stand alone unit. I use a Holo Audio Spring DAC which is also an R2R DAC and as others have commented, it is very analog sounding. I will likely post it for sale soon since I would like to move up to the new MAY. My sense is, you can't go wrong with an R2R DAC that is well implemented and that includes the Denafrips and Soekris. I considered both before settling on the Holo Audio. Good luck on your choice.