Absolute top tier DAC for standard res Redbook CD

@audioengr

+1 Yes it is the filtering that creates the dead effect. Still one of the most problematic issues with any DAC. Marantz house sound is dark and dead. I have heard plenty of great sounding SACD but Marantz is not to my taste.

@georgehifi

DS or R-2R can both sound fantastic if done well. DS currently has the edge in performance especially the hybrid designs that have 6 bits in depth. Old DS with only one bit depth suffered from high amounts of noise but was besutifully linear. R-2R has much less noise but suffers from linearity issues. The hybrid designs that are in the all the modern ESS chips are a great blend of the positives from both - they are highly linear and low noise too.

Modern DS chips are basically akin to a 6 bit R-2R - they function just like R-2R with their output level a function of the number of selected individual DS that are summed up to make up the output - exactly like a ladder DAC.

Noise is what drives the need for heavy filtering....

Thanks Shadorne, but George will now come back and tell you that you are incorrect. Honestly he lost me again when he said something about Schitt beimg an expensive discrete.....::::  they aren’t in this conversation if too DAC for anything. Nice in their price range but many of us like others in the just over 2k. That’s another topic though.  

He forgets about implementation being much more important since the new ESS chips are so good. Both can sound great. 

None of of us have ever said the old tech can’t sound good when it’s done right. Great designers stay open minded.  Look at Steve and others who can and will use any tech if they feel it can be done right. Others who aren’t open minded can’t be taken seriously. That’s the reality. 

especially the hybrid designs that have 6 bits in depth.

That's right, the last great full 24bit R2R chip was the PCM1704 and is unobtainable now because of massive manufacturing costs, having to laser trim those resistors. 

The competition to them is now coming from these newer hybrid dacs with 6 or so bits, a lot of the top end guys are using them, maybe one day they'll be able to make full 24bit again like the PCM1704 as cheap as the the DS from ESS and others, and we'll get back to proper conversion of PCM again, instead of a facsimile of it with DS.

Cheers George      

Look at Steve and others who can and will use any tech if they feel it can be done right.

He can't go 24bit multibit converters as there are none made for him to buy, so he has to go DS or get the newer hybrids as shadorne bought up.

He uses Analog Devices Delta Sigma chips and one of his quote was
"we can select the digital filter with this chip, we can essentially make this Delta-Sigma sound a lot like a NOS R2R DAC"
"Because we can select the digital filter with this chip, we can essentially make this Delta-Sigma sound a lot like a NOS R2R DAC, but also supporting hi-res files"



Cheers George

Thanks for the info George. I'll still let my ears make the choice for me like most do.  Both can sound great and that's all that matters.  There is no one is better than the other right now.  Good DAC's on both sides of the isle as has been pointed out by Matt and many others of us who have or still do own both types.