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Best dac under $2500 - comparing build quality and technologies

I have been in the  Audio field for over 4 decades and have owned some pretty exclusive audio gear 
I was listening to a 3 years old R2R dac the R7 from AudioGD a 20 year old company which won several awards  which is not known much in the U.S yet  ,This New R8-MK2 is better still.
it is  very well built using 3 R core transformers rarely seen unless spending $$. Their latest and best value is the New R8 mk2 dac. This dac just came out late April 2021 ,over a year went into the redesign the Owner stated this unit has several advancements vs previous designs , and runs much cooler for less money then  the previous R7 but better ,their is also a mk2 R7 also as well as a Flagship R7 HE with power regeneration,which I wanted but could not afford .The dynamics and realism is what sets this apart it’s massive power supplies and over 130k uf 
of capacitance is more then most amps has a lot to do with it I will be getting my dac next week and put side by side with  very well know competitors  it was noticeable better  in several areas , and it has 7 sonic adjustments all FPGA based 
4- non over sampling ,including a vinyl mode, and 3 over sampling  other dacs just a minor OS option 
you literally can Taylor the sound to your audio system .it weighs 26 lbs ,Underwood Wally is now the U.S distributor and service center  . I will give a full rundown once I have logged a week or two on it ,2 R- core transformers go to the pure class A  analog output section, the 3 rd transformer -digital is now fully servo controlled and runs much cooler and much better specifications . Check out link below.
http://www.audio-gd.com/R2R/R8mk2/R8mk2EN.htm
128x128audioman58
fiesta75
1,378 posts
 
Thanks, very interesting. I would like the hear more once you have burned it in and had time to fiddle with it.
ghdprentice
6,359 posts
 
I recommend a Schiit Yggdrasil. I did a lot of research and listening for a friend and chose the Yggdrasil as definitely the winner anywhere in that price range.~
soix
8,648 posts
 
I did a lot of research and listening for a friend and chose the Yggdrasil as definitely the winner anywhere in that price range.
@ghdprentice — What other DACs did you listen to?

ericsch
750 posts
 
@ghdprentice  -  Also, what type of amplification, SS or Tube?
audioman58's avatar
audioman58 OP
3,838 posts
 
we Directly compared the Denafrips Pontus at the audio get together it was very refined a bit laid back  the pontus  very similar to the Holo springs 2. I  owned the latest Schiit Yggsdrasil last year and bought the latest board very neutral very good dynamics too cool for my taste, but none of these others have the prat and shear scale of dynamics and musical density ,and it has 7 real user adjustments FPGA in its programming 
4 non oversampling ,one vinyl ,and 3 over sampling .a very hard dac to say 
what it sounds like you can literally Taylor to your audio taste. The 3 R core transformers 2 - in pure class A for the analog output stage , and 1 for the Digital with 130,000 uf in capacitance which is more then most amps,gives it a big advantage to most dacs out there ,most certainly in its price class under$2500
And uses with the latest servo technologies so runs much cooler,with lower distortion levels. It is a very large dac and  at 26 lbs it requires a whole shelf.
Not much more to add ,just read all past R7 reviews and that is a good starting point . I will say their New top  R7 mk2 is noticeable better still I was told and  their flagship    R7 HE MK2 looks fantastic and has power regeneration built in and output to a master clock option. I will give it a good workout for a  week or two then give a honest mini  review .
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