DAC 'Scam' Vid

@mitch2 

I can’t speak for @wesheadley, but I have always level matched my comparisons and the differences are not subtle.

My journey had humble beginnings with several DACs from brands like Topping, Cambridge Audio and others. The best I’ve ever heard in this price range, and probably still the best value for money, is RME’s ADI-2 Pro Black Edition. Super accurate and neutral, as it should be for a pro audio DAC. 

Then I spent several years with a Holo Audio May KTE. The galvanic isolation and careful R2R all made a huge difference, not to mention the possibility to combine with HQP and 1.5Mhz NOS mode to really play with and understand filters.

More recently I’ve gone up the chain to a class-leading network DAC from Esoteric. Please see my system. Is it worth the orders of magnitude higher cost over Holo May? No. Is it an audible difference due to the better clocking and higher quality analogue section? Yes, absolutely. 

FWIW, let me repeat that a DAC is more than the DA conversion in the chip or ladder. It’s also the pre-pre-amp of your system. Saying that doesn’t matter is like saying the phone stage doesn’t matter. But of course, each system/ room is unique, including the room and what’s audible in one might not be in another. 

@hifikenobi - I did check out your system and it is wonderful - thanks for posting it!

Like you, I also find the differences in DACs not subtle.  I recently added an Aries Cerat Helene DAC to my system and, after finally getting it dialed in, I find the sound to be compellingly natural/organic with a mix of clarity, sweetness, bloom, dynamics, and rich tonal qualities that come together in a very convincing manner.  I currently have five other DACs here and can easily pick out the differences between them.

I think it would behoove some to read the majority of the comments prior to hitting enter.

Thank you @mitch2. I looked at your system too, and can understand why you think that way. Looks great!

My best friend and I have the Topping D70s DAC.  In his tube based system (same speaker brand), it sounds marvelous.  In my SOTA and former SOTA system which retails for over $250,000, the Topping is used prior to receiving the new Rockna WaveDream Reference Signature.   Minor bass phase, "Q" and gain adjustments on the speakers yield a truly lovely, musical sound that most audiophiles and musiclovers would enjoy.  However, my prior $25,000 DAC was no slouch and contributed many good qualities beyond the Topping.  It was a mismatch with my neutral, very high resolution solid state system being too analytical and less body to the lower midrange.  No one uses the Topping in a very high end system, the cabling alone is 10X more expensive than this Topping (SPDIF, XLR out and power cables exceeded $13,000 retail).  I’m using the Topping in my second system though.