April 2024 will be 5 years since I purchased my mhdt Atalntis DAC...I ve been using it almost daily since then.
I can't praise this dac enough...the list of DACs that passed through my system in the past 10 years is kind off long but I always come back to the Atlantis with WE tube. Briefly:
1) Audio Note Dac 1.1x Signature. Amazing DAC but sonically it felt so so similar to the Atlantis, I hardly could tell them apart. Maybe in some instances just a hair better than the Atlantis but it is really splitting hairs. Since my unit was 22 years old, and not very flexible in terms of inputs, I let it part to other user and kept the Atlantis.
2) Audial S4...sold to a very nice guy about 6 months ago...he is super happy with it.. I really wanted to love this dac, it seemed the obvious upgrade to the mhdt but in the end I felt the sound signature was too upfront and it was reckless with certain albums. I kept it for 3 years...moved it back to my system from time to time but never managed to get used to it. The mhdt always sound more musical to my ears.
3) Bryston BDA-3. I tried this one because it measures very good and has so many outstanding review. Maybe I am loosing something with my R2R DACs. The Bryson actually sounds quite good. I couldn't find any fault...but still I felt the mhdt sounded better. In particular the soundstage the realism...the voices and instruments feel inside my room in a way the Bryson could not match...ended up selling it.
4) Holo Audio Spring 2 Level 2. Another DAC with super reviews. this was going to be the one bringing my system one step up. Wrong. The dac sounded boring to me. It was very easy to listen to it. Never aggressive, never fatiguing, never bright, super smooth and super boring! It intrigued me so much that I had to bring my audiophile buddies for an audition...I learned from them that the dac was slow and that's why it felt boring. Sold.
5) MERASON Frerot DAC + Matching Linear Power Supply. This one was a big surprise. It sounds very very good. It stayed in my system for a while. It's not R2R dac but it has a very similar sound signature to the Atlantis. It feels somehow more linear. I really liked it...until I decicded to bring the Atlantis back. Wider soundstage, voices had more presence, similar tonality but just doing everything a little bit better. More dynamic. Will sell the Merason soon, but it is a very nice dac, just not as good as the Atlantis.
6) MHDT Orchid 69SE with the double crown TDA chip. Ok, this was going to be it. If no other brand can beat the Atlantis let me just try to move up the ladder within mhdt. I tried NOS Mullard and Philipps Tubes. The Orchid sounded more linear and accurate than the Atlantis. It was also more neutral. Moving back and forth between the two I found the Atlantis more analogue and musical but my biggest issue with the Orchid SE was the build quality. The Atlantis feels well built, the Orchid felt rough around the corners. The Atlantis also has better sound stage, confirmed by the guy that purchased the Orchid. He came to my apartment to try the unit and after enjoying it for a while and confirming the purchase, he asked me if he could audit the Atlantis. Boom. First thing he said was the soundstage was better in the Atlantis.
Also didn't look that nice in my rack and has some very strong LED lights that I didn't appreciate. Gone.
7) Abbas Audio DAC U SE. Ok this one will stay around, needs more listening...
8) Audiobyte VOX DAC...This was a surprise and a no contest. From everything I tried this was the first DAC that was clearly superior to the mhdt. It just does everything better. It's equally musical but more refined, bigger soundstage, specially depth, etc. It is just in another level. But hey, at 4,200usd$...
9) Audio Note CD Zero/II. I use it a cd transport / source but since it also has analogue out...it sounds mediocre. It has some of the good traits of R2R but the resolution is limited and the background is noisy. It doesn't sound bad at all but not good enough that I could consider it an option.
Rest of my system:
Sources: Audio Note CD zero/II, Audio Note CDT Two/II, Magna Mano Ultra MK3
Amplifiers: Luxman mq-88uc and Sugden A21 Signature
Speakers: Chartwell LS3/5a
Cables: Auditorium 23 inter connects and speaker cables, Nordost Valhalla & Audio Note Pallas (digital), Nordost Heimdall 2 (power)