The original question of this thread is “Do DACs/Amps matter?”
I think for most (all?) of us the answer is emphatically “yes”. The question of how much or to what extent depends on a lot of factors, such as hearing acuity, source quality, experience, choice of equipment, budget, etc.
The framing of the question is meant to be provocative, hopefully in the sense of being thought provoking.
Unfortunately it seems that a particular person has framed their position as being “correct” using a specific methodology, gear selection, and point of reference to come to their conclusion.
Let’s either step back from the back and forth with this person, or close the thread…
This is a perfectly valid topic, as cheap/free phone and PC audio output is quite good these days. Most of the concern seems to revolve around return on investment and the need to spend.
As such, I’m strongly against closing the thread. But, we all need to accept that hobby audio is a first world problem and not much of a problem at that.
I agree with @generic. This thread should not be closed. It just shows different stages of this journey. Whether it’s an argument or a discussion - as long as it stays civil, viewers can learn something from it because at some point in this journey, some of us have the same experience and questions regarding this topic.
@Essentials That’s a nice combo PS+AMP. I hope you’ll like it. Just make sure you give them ample burn-in time before some serious listening. Based on memory, I think it’s roughly about 250 hrs for me.
As for DAC pairing, I went from Schiit BF2, Qutest, and now VMV D2. There is a big difference in detail retrieval coming from BF2 to Qutest but a minor increase from Qutest to D2. At least within Arya Stealth capability anyway. I never listened with SU-9 but I think, once you are at certain performance level, the detail will be about the same but the difference to look for is how the DAC presents it and other qualities like timbre, soundstage width+depth, and imaging.
I think this is the biggest part of this hobby. Our standard and preference/taste in audio qualities will change as we progress in the journey. That’s why people going for R2R DAC (I’m looking for one too), not necessarily for better detail but a different representation of the music altogether.
I enjoy reading this thread including all the back and forth too. Can’t expect everyone get along perfectly on everything but as long as no one throwing insult or being a complete d***, it’s all good!
That’s good advise I plan on extensive use these next few weeks.
I was looking at the VMV D2. I used to own the original D90 MQA(akm) version but again couldn’t tell the difference between it and my SU-9 so decided to sell it.
I know it used the same akm chip as D90 did but may be a different beast all together so I may go for this one.
Was also looking at a used Chord tt2 but not sure?
I don’t need to power speakers just headphones.
My preference is dynamics/macro contrast , texture and detail/clarity. I really enjoy the combo of detail and physicality to my music.
This is made even more clear as my favourite dynamic headphones are Focal Radiance, TH900.
When I am looking for more detail and sound separation I go to my planars Arya, LCD-5.
Not that this makes any difference but I use tidal/roon and I EQ all of my headphones.
I love this hobby I just find it hard sometimes as it is a pretty niche hobby and I think it is very hard to get advise these days without getting in to some type of debate of right or wrong when at the end everyone has something new to learn. Including myself
This is just based on a very short experience with D90 my friend lent me but you’re not going to find better detail with VMV D2. I couldn’t tell the difference in detail between the two.
I never own/audition it so I’ll let someone else who have share the experience.
On this, it is absolutely clear to me
Absolutely. I use tidal/roon before I switched to qobuz/roon+HQPlayer. Since detail and macro contrast are the qualities you value the most, this is my recommendation.
Try HQ Player (Free Evaluation, only good for 30 mins at a time) and try this settings:
Oh really! ok I may stick with my SU-9 for now and see how I get on.
I have always wondered about HQPLAYER. Heard many talking about it but not sure what it is or how it works. May need guiding thru this to get it up and running.
Does it work with Tidal+Roon?
What does it actually do?
I have got as far as downloading it and using the same settings as you but how do I play music thru it?
Edit: I think I have got it. Needed to raise the gain in roon to 0
I don’t want to hijack the thread with HQ Player discussion (it could be long as it is not user friendly as it should be). I’ll PM you with some articles/guide if you still need help later.
You’re based in the UK, aren’t you? That makes US-manufactured DACs like the Schiit BF2 or Yggy less of a value proposition for you, so you may as well focus on British, European and Asian manufacturers.
If you can afford keeping the su-9, at least for a while, then I’d recommend going for something based on a different architecture, to give yourself a chance to compare and contrast, to figure out what you like and dislike from a DAC perspective. And if you buy used, and don’t like it, you should hopefully be able to sell it again without taking much of a loss.
Maybe an R2R DAC from Denafrips or Musician. As you go up in price, you’ve got the Aqua La Voce S3, Rockna Wavelight, Totaldac d1-core, Holo Spring May. Or if you want something that’s not R2R, you could try the TT2 that you mentioned (which is also a good headphone amp) or something from Lampizator.
I’ve only listened to a few from that list (Denafrips Pontus II, Holo Spring, TT2) so I’m just giving you a list to research, not necessarily making recommendation. Also, I have different amps, headphones and musical taste than you, so my recommendations may have little value, which is why anyone that exclaims that one is better than the other is really doing you a disservice unless they can give you some context.
I like the DAC reviews at Soundnews.net. I find that Sandu does a really good job of describing what he likes/dislikes and judging equipment against his criteria. He’s reviewed your SU-9, so you can use that review as a baseline to compare to other products.
Yes I am in the UK.
Thanks that is some great recommendations for DACS.
Yes I like Sandu @Soundnews and I bought the SU-9 due to his good review.
Always a bit reluctant to get a r2r as I listen to mostly EDM so not sure timber is a priority I just want something transparent/detailed but very dynamic/punchy and the SU-9 seems to be that but I haven’t got much point of comparison only with the topping a90(mqa)akm version.
Tempted to get a Chord TT2. They seem to be lots on the used market in the UK so maybe I will look for one of these in the future.
R2R has a reputation for being soft and not detailed. But not all R2R DACs sound the same, just as not all delta sigma DACs sound the same, so there are some that are detailed and punchy, but you still have the problem of figuring out how to weed out the soft ones out that other people might be telling you are the best DAC ever, for their preferences. Nothing beats listening for yourself.
If you ever wanted to spend the money on something new, Totaldac has a good trial period return policy, but you have to pay shipping from and to France. The cost of shipping to the US made it pretty expensive for me, so I ended up buying a Mojo Mystique X, which also had a good return policy but was based in the US.
I forgot to say that I have a feeling the TT2 would fit the bill for EDM, based on my experience with it. I actually liked it better without the MScaler, which I know goes against all the upscaling disciples, but what can I say.
Are you trying to out me LOL? Not that I have to justify the price, but I actually bought it at their pre-launch price, which was about 2/3 of the current cost.
And even though I had the opportunity to send it back, I kept it. As much as I loved the Yggy, I loved the Mojo Mystique more, in terms of evenness of tone, holographic imaging and texture.
Edit: If anyone is interested in Mojo, they do have B-stock available at a decent discount.
Full agreement 
