DancingSea
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Very interesting about the Denafrips. It would’ve been a more prudent choice for sure, only $720, half the price of the Border Patrol SE-i. Part of it is I have this calling to get at least one tube in my chain! Maybe it was a $700 tube, and it was a rectifier tube, but by golly, it’s a tube!
I almost got the Musical Paradise tube DAC, the D2. On sale it’s $799. But I got cold feet about warranty/ repair support going forward as it ships directly from China.
Also, the Border Patrol gets, FWIW, many great pro reviews, Stereophile (Herb R. And Michael Lavorgna, etc). And I liked the notion of a high end tube amp designer hand making my DAC himself, testing it himself, similar to Decware, versus being mass produced in a Chinese sweatshop.
That was the thought process. Part practical, part romantic.
GroovySauce, I am steeped in PS Audio forum orthodoxy and have done all the Windom bad load gymnastics. I have the “Matrix”, with external power supply, etc. The DS approach is stunning on A+ recordings. Truly stunning. In my experience, it reveals the true nature of the recording. Which is a double edged sword if the true nature of the recording quality isn’t so great. That’s just been my experience. It makes great recordings sound super great, and lesser recordings sound worse than they did in my pre DS days. It turned me into a bit rate snob 😂😂😂.
And I didn’t care for Windom. For me, it was yet more “audiophile” than Snowmass. I found it more clinical, more revealing. It did tick many audiophole boxes for sure, but lacked the tone and feel I’m after. For me, Snowmass was better.
My economics are such that I can’t afford to keep the DSJ rig and explore these other avenues. Something gots to give!
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