Coming from Lampizator, Musician Pegasus, Terminator II, Holo Spring 3 L2, I have never been happier than now:
SOtM sMS Neo Ultra SE --> USB --> DI-20HE --> I2S --> R8HE Mk2 --> Vacuum HE1 XLR --> etc.
The SOtM and R8HE are fed by and Afterdark Trifecta (Emperor Double Crown) 10 MHz clock. People like to believe that they understand by simplifying things, so I could attribute the jump in SQ compared to my previous DAC to the external clocking and regenerative PS, but whatever it may be, the sound is lush, precise, immersive, detailed and warm in a way that I find intoxicating. I would rather say that the sound is immediate, with a lot of presence, but not up front. Spacious, yes, but in a strange intimate way.
I would like to add that I recently made an unexpected discovery. My main player was HQPlayer 4 Desktop on Windows with NAA on the SOtM. Last week I got an alert that my Audirvana Studio trial would expire in a few days. So I installed it again for fun and was amazed. I liked the sound so much better than with HQPlayer (after trying many many of the latter's settings), and also on-the-fly upsampling to DSD512 was suddenly possible and flawless. An audio buddy then advised me to run the players (HQP and Audirvana) from my Mac Mini M1 (upstairs, normally used for my Logic Audio studio) and the SQ made another little jump, with Audirvana still the best to my ears. The SOtM in that case runs mpd/upmpdcli instead of NAA. I always resisted Audirvana as I find its interface clunky and buggy and the service so-so, but things seem to have improved, and I now will subscribe, if only for that SQ...
To keep sane with all this R2R lushness, in parallel I also listen to a D/S DAC:
Merging Hapi with Ravenna --> Vacuum HE1 XLR --> etc.
A much shorter chain as the Hapi also functions as a streamer. I do use the DI-20HE to feed the Hapi with a WCLK signal using the Gustard C2 cable, which does make a nice difference. The Hapi is powered by a Paul Hynes SR4T. Playing DSD256, I would say the result is at the same level, but different -- call itore pure, aristocratic, pristine, whatever that all means. But certainly two very different but likeable personalities.
) based on a similar objective (getting rid of digital harshness). I feel the same about the Audio-gd gear. Many audiophiles here (in The Netherlands) are reluctant to buy their key devices from China and rather pay triple money for European brands with slick advertising. They do not know what they are missing -- and could have saved.
