R to r dacs

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. 

I think you should research the Holo May. I own the Spring and a Chord Hugo TT2. They are different but not better than one another. I have also had a Chord Dave in my system comparing it with the Spring and there wasn't much difference. I am expecting the May delivery this month which should be an improvement over the Spring. 

Leaning towards the denefrips Venus.  Very strong reviews.  And if the upgrade bug for the la scalla comes around, the retail loss won’t be a killer at that price 

MSB under $5k is a buy.

@calvinandhobbes Thanks for that review. Before I decided on my Pontus II, the Qutest was the other top contender based on research without the opportunity to listen to it. Your description of what you hear with the Pontus echoes my own experience. You did a great job explaining in detail much of what I'm hearing. Cheers,
Spencer