DAC Question: Delta-Sigma vs R2R

Delta sigma is processing in a chip. R2R is a discrete resistor ladder. Neither topology predicts the SQ infallibly. Neither does the other of the top 3, FPGA. It's the cook not the ingredients.

The above post from @fuzztone is an excellent point and is absolutely correct. I totally agree with what was said.

The over all design of the DAC (the cooking) is what makes the sound quality. And, regardless of the DAC technology used, delta sigma, R2R or FPGA, I recommend you audition these DAC’s and then decide what sounds best to you.

+1 @fuzztone and others above. It’s not the architecture but rather the whole implementation and how it works for your system and tastes.

That said, IN GENERAL and just to give you a VERY basic guideline to go by, Delta-sigma DACs will tend to have a more detailed — some may say “digital” — sound whereas R2R DACs, especially those that don’t oversample (NOS) tend to have a possibly less detailed but more “analog” sound. Please do not take this in any way as doctrine as there are “analog” sounding DS DACs and clinical R2R DACs, but just to give you something to initially grab onto in your search. But, as the other wise people have said above, in the end the ONLY thing that matters is what sounds best to you — architecture be damned.

Thanks for the feedback and some explanation, I do have the same challenge that many have in that I need to drive hundreds of miles and take a day off of work to find an audio store where I can listen to some quality DAC's and even then I am quite limited. An education really helps to not be steered the wrong way by an overzealous sales person.

One other thing I saw today, Border Patrol, good reviews and nice price point (at least my price point being of modest income). They say they use a R2R DAC chip. This seems to be somewhere in the middle, is it a hybrid design?

Being an older guy with Tinnitus, I tend to listen at lower levels and anything I buy cannot have a sharp top-end as it sets off the tinnitus pretty bad and then I am out of business for a day or 2. I know the overall design is what wins the day, but in general would this fact guide me more towards a R2R or a delta-sigma DAC?

Again, thanks for taking the time to educate me.