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Working on review but kind of backed up with some other stuff.
I used to own a stock DLIII, and I'd say the D18 is clearly superior. BUT - and this is the good part - they come from the same family, in terms of overall sound and "feel". To my ears, they both focus on smooth musicality rather than utterly neutral transparency, with the D18 reaching significantly higher performance. But I'd say the D18 is a logical upgrade for DLIII fans. I haven't heard a modded version, so can't speak to that.
Cool.
Glad to hear that one of your excellent, in-depth reviews is forthcoming. No write up would worry me, considering what you said earlier.
According to professional and user reviews alike, the Cullen mods supposedly took the DLIII to another level. My interest in it stems from that, and the often overused description of "analog-sounding." My interest in the Wyred4sound stuff is based upon the same sort of reviews, reputed build quality and customer service, and a supposedly excellent USB implementation, which should eliminate the need for another USB>S/PDIF converter. But the often overused description of "digital-sounding," has me a little hesitant.
The one thing that concerns me about the Yulong is the use of opamps in the I/V filtering stage, which I keep reading isn't ideal. How non-ideal is something I'm finding very hard to determine. Opinions on this subject are about as varied as opinions get. Just have to have faith that Yulong knows what he's doing. I suppose my course will be to order a D-18 and try it out in my system for 30 days. If I decide it isn't for me I can send it back and start browsing Audiogon and the forums for something used.
My goal here is twofold: Find a smoother, less forward and strident (read a bit harsh with fatiguing glare in the upper midrange/lower treble) than my XDA-1 for the living room system that is worthy of later becoming the source (fed by a Mac Mini and a really good USB converter) in a dedicated room system of higher quality than my living room setup. I'm actually starting to build that system now, but by beginning with the DAC, I can also improve the SQ in the living room until I get it set up a couple of years from now.
The more I get into this hobby, the more I realize that I
really need to win the lottery...