Bitten by the PCM1704 R2R bug after reading everthing on net about R2R DAC's, I ordered this one couple of months back and have been living with it since last one month. All of the hype has been proved right about this DAC, its sweet and full sounding, devoid of any digital harshness. In the first few days, it didn't impress me much, but just couple of days back I plugged in my old DAC and immediately noticed what is missing prompting me to write something about it. Guitar does sound like guitar and sitar like a sitar, the timbre of the sound is what makes this DAC special. In my opinion, one must live with an this DAC for about few weeks and then try to judge if its worth all the praise or not, I can bet you wont be disappointed especially if you listen to acoustic or classical music.
My previous DAC Arcam rlink was not a top of the line DAC though I thought it sounded warm and really nice, but DAC-19 is certainly an exceptional sounding DAC for me. It will never sound digital even if you play electronic music through it. Though some people do not find it as detailed as D-S DACs and think its mellow sounding. Being mellow (wrt to other DAC's) does not mean that detail is not present, just our brain interprets and compares immediately with what we are used to.
I would have loved to do a full fledged review but do not have any courage to do so. If any FMs are interested in knowing more about this DAC. they can definitely ask. I would be more happy to answer with best of my abilities.
Pros:
Very smooth sound with real black silence. A plucked sitar sting has the timbre of of a real sitar string. Same goes with acoustic/percussion instruments as well as vocals.
You will never get tired of listening to music.
Few jumpers on PCB to change sound signature according to your preference.
Joy to listen though headphones, music does not shout in your head.
Really suited for soft acoustic numbers
All in all, its designed to sound like playing a vinyl record. If you like that kind of sound, you will love this DAC.
Cons:
Certainly not neutral, the sound seems colored for a certain taste
Not for hard rock or electronic kind of stuff. Electric guitars and other electronic instruments lack the punch. Can be very soft sounding at times.
You will not like it if you like very noisy music.
My Gear:
Audio-gd DAC19
Naim nait XS2
Dali Mentor Menuet Speakers
My previous DAC Arcam rlink was not a top of the line DAC though I thought it sounded warm and really nice, but DAC-19 is certainly an exceptional sounding DAC for me. It will never sound digital even if you play electronic music through it. Though some people do not find it as detailed as D-S DACs and think its mellow sounding. Being mellow (wrt to other DAC's) does not mean that detail is not present, just our brain interprets and compares immediately with what we are used to.
I would have loved to do a full fledged review but do not have any courage to do so. If any FMs are interested in knowing more about this DAC. they can definitely ask. I would be more happy to answer with best of my abilities.
Pros:
Very smooth sound with real black silence. A plucked sitar sting has the timbre of of a real sitar string. Same goes with acoustic/percussion instruments as well as vocals.
You will never get tired of listening to music.
Few jumpers on PCB to change sound signature according to your preference.
Joy to listen though headphones, music does not shout in your head.
Really suited for soft acoustic numbers
All in all, its designed to sound like playing a vinyl record. If you like that kind of sound, you will love this DAC.
Cons:
Certainly not neutral, the sound seems colored for a certain taste
Not for hard rock or electronic kind of stuff. Electric guitars and other electronic instruments lack the punch. Can be very soft sounding at times.
You will not like it if you like very noisy music.
My Gear:
Audio-gd DAC19
Naim nait XS2
Dali Mentor Menuet Speakers
