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Upsamplers, DACs, jitter, shakes and analogue withdrawals, this is it.

RE: Not all but many are discrete - RE: R2R is not just discrete!

" I was simply pointing out that what a lot of people think R2R means is discrete resistors....."

I was pointing out that I am not one of them and understand the differences.

"It's funny that you say it wasn't the best DAC you ever owned but you don't say the PS Audio was actually better. "

I have never owned a "best DAC". No one has. Many of my DACs were outstanding, a few were duds to my ears including 3 "R2R" types, but I have learned long ago that there is no "best", not even for me.

Interestingly my two FAVORITES [plural] are probably the Cary 306/200 that used 8 BB PCM1704 but I also love my 8 - 9 year old PS Audio NuWave DSD DAC that uses the ESS ES9010K2M SABRE chip. This is the DAC that I have owned the longest and it is "voiced" very much like the Cary. Another one I would put right up there with the PS Audio was my Ayre QB9-DSD DAC, also older ESS based. The main difference between the Ayre and PS Audio is how they are "voiced" with the PS Audio ever so slightly more 'weighty' in the lower mids. I've also had a couple AKM based DACs that were excellent.

My conclusion that I will stick to is that the DAC "chip" matters less today than the rest of the electronics that surround it especially the analog output stage.




Edits: 02/16/24 02/16/24

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