Music Hall vs. Schiit DAC

[kitjv]

My Cambridge Audio Azur 840C CD player died. I am considering a Cambridge Audio CXC transport & a separate DAC. Since I have selected my audio components to reproduce a warmer (non-digital) sound, I am looking for a DAC with the same attribute. Several reviews recommend the Music Hall 15.2 & the 25.3 or the Schiit Modi Multibit DAC. I would appreciate your thoughts if you are familiar with these DACs. Thank you kindly.

[wkhanna]

not much experiance with MH DAC's
but have had three schiit's
i rate the schiit as detailed, but not 'bright'

jmho, ymmv

[JonMarsh]

You might want to look into some of the R2R ladder DACs on the market. They're usually more upscale, but I think they might come closer to the sound you're looking for. BTW, the top Schitt model is a monolithic uses a monolithic R2R DAC chip. (these part, unlike the common delta sigma DAC chips, use arrays of precision resistors to set the variable bit steps.

I have a couple of Soekeris R2R DACs, one portable, one AC powered, which work well for their price class. I'll be benching the AC powered unit soon.

Denfrips is becoming somewhat known because of their R2R ladder DACS- their top of the line "Terminator" is what really started getting them attention, but they have lower cost models, too, including a recently updated Ares II which seems to use the same new DSP board as the updated one for the Terminator (which I just received this week). The Terminator will be benched soon and posted in the "On the Bench" section soon. Also, expect to see tests of the Hestia and Hyperion shortly, as promised earlier.

My reference R2R ladder DAC is a TotalDAC from France, well known in some circles, but pretty pricey. Mine is in storage in Idaho at the moment- retirement deferred a little while longer!