Advise on R2R DAC

[morerajendra5678]

I think a lot of the “warm vs bright DAC” talk actually starts from a bad reference point. Many people first hear a thin or edgy-sounding DAC and assume that’s what “neutral” sounds like, so they go hunting for a “warm” DAC to fix it. But that thinness usually isn’t neutrality — it’s a design issue showing up as treble glare, weak midrange body, or poor tone density.

A given Dac may sound different in different system as sound of a system is also influenced by Source+Amplifier+Speaker.
When Amplifier+Speaker tend to have bright and lively sound character even a well designed neutral Dac will end up sounding bright. But when Amplifier+Speaker tend to sound very warm as with most tube based systems, a bit warm well made Dac tends to make the system very very warm and dull. So in some cases Dacs alone can't be blamed as not well made.
Yes there are Dacs which are not well made. Then there are Dacs which put more weight on midrange. All these are based on Designer goals.

The Gustard may just be a well designed dac. I have not heard it so cant tell. Also system balance is key.

Gustard R26 is good designed Dac. Even with Avantgarde Speakers it sounded smooth and highs were not bothersome for some FMs who gave their feedback to me. It is not overly warm either. Most R2R Dacs have trait of thick tonality which is not the case with Gustard R2R.

 

[square_wave]

A given Dac may sound different in different system as sound of a system is also influenced by Source+Amplifier+Speaker.
When Amplifier+Speaker tend to have bright and lively sound character even a well designed neutral Dac will end up sounding bright. But when Amplifier+Speaker tend to sound very warm as with most tube based systems, a bit warm well made Dac tends to make the system very very warm and dull. So in some cases Dacs alone can't be blamed as not well made.
Yes there are Dacs which are not well made. Then there are Dacs which put more weight on midrange. All these are based on Designer goals.

Gustard R26 is good designed Dac. Even with Avantgarde Speakers it sounded smooth and highs were not bothersome for some FMs who gave their feedback to me. It is not overly warm either. Most R2R Dacs have trait of thick tonality which is not the case with Gustard R2R.

You perfectly echo my thoughts. That is why at the end I said, " system balance is key ". Some systems may actually need a warm sounding dac to balance out other issues or gear choices. Synergy is important. The usual best practice is to keep source and amplifier as neutral as possible and then, --- > explore / find the "overall sound signature" by choosing the right loudspeaker.