Mine arrived a few minutes ago. Interestingly there was a set of 1ft long Monoprice interconnects in the box. And in the PSU box there’s a nice USB cable too.
It does, indeed, appear as “USB Audio 2.0” in the Sound output options on macOS.
Audirvana 3.5.11 is talking to it quite happily.
There was a report on the drop.com discussion, that got reiterated on Head-Fi, about there being static with the R-DAC if the output volume was set to 100% on macOS. That is absolutely not the case with my unit. It’s at 100% output level, and there is no static or distortion of any kind. Either that user has a faulty unit or has some other sound processing/EQ involved in their chain.
You definitely want OS volume control either disabled entirely or at 100% to run this.
In a very brief, back-to-back, comparison with the prototype unit I have (and which can now be returned), I would say this sounds identical EXCEPT that the production unit seems to have an even blacker background (the prototype was already as black as a black cat in a coal mine).
When I got the prototype it only supported DSD up to DSD128. The production unit advertises support up to DSD256 to the host. And … it turns out it works perfectly (it did on the prototype too).
You’ll want to drive it via “DSD over PCM 1.1” if you want to feed it native DSD.
Just playing the DSD256 (x4 DSD) version of “Jazz at the Pawnshop” through it and it sounds delightful.
I’ve had this thing playing all morning … into a, shall we say, distinctly “higher-end” chain.
It remains absolutely lovely.
I hope that, for the sake of more budget-conscious music-lovers, drop.com runs another round of drops for the R-DAC. And I am sure, once people hear it for themselves, any of the prior issues that seemed to quell interest in the unit will be rapidly forgotten.
Pair this with a Massdrop THX AAA 789 and a pair of HD6XX and it is VERY hard to come up with another setup that offers better overall enjoyment at anywhere near their collective price.
Yeah, mine is sitting on my front “porch” along with my new camera…I’m heading home now to get them!!! So excited! The R-2R was delivered at 10am… I should have took today off but had too many meetings and tasking to get done today…
I have been lazy and haven’t switched out the R-DAC since I got it set up this morning. Mostly because the sound it delivers hasn’t been anything less than engaging.
Also, it’s a good thing I don’t know where you live! A nice shiny new Panasonic µ43 and an extra R-DAC would NOT make my day worse!
As it is, I am rather surprised that my, rather expensive (think “calibration in the high-three-figures”) test instrument was delivered in a padded bag - rather than a thickly padded, double-walled, over-sized, box.
Well, everything arrived safe, but I haven’t had time to put it all together yet…after the lil dictator goes to bed, I’ll put the R-2R in the chain, and then start setting my camera up. Good thing @Torq didn’t get to it first lol
Long day, looking forward to some before bed tonight lol
I’ll try and give this combo a listen in the next couple days and put a quick impression down =) but not promising anything as my Verite will be in my hands tonight…maybe I’ll use them with this combo initially and give an impression =)
I’m inclined to agree that at the end of the day something that sounds good will inevitably sell well, but it still leaves a crappy taste in my mouth that Airist effectively ripped off someone else’s design (or if they did not do so deliberately, that they were misfortunate enough to happen into what appears to be the exact same design sosolar settled on long before the RDAC entered production).
I can’t seem to find your earlier comments either here or on SBAF, maybe my knack for research is just nonexistent, but might I ask how this compares to the Bifrost (either current incarnation or otherwise, haha) in terms of layering and overall resolution? The darker background is great, but not particularly high on my list of “needs” for gear. Bass texture and slam would be another aspect I’m really interested in. Thanks!
I’ll do my best to put something down tonight…but be aware that the Verite will not be fully broken in, which if they follow my experience with the Aeolus then they will change with break-in but not by an extreme amount. But enough for me to want to comment on it ahead of time.
Just for the record I’ve heard tell that the Verite require extensive break-in, moreso than loads of other headphones. Probably due to the diaphragm coating, if anything else. Might want to run pink noise at 120dBZ SPL for a week or so
(no really don’t do that, just regular break in will likely suffice, haha)
Oh gosh. I am trying to consolidate, but umm do i need this? I am getting the Massdrop THX amp next week in the mail (2 week ship time? Seriously?), and this would look like a nice stack together.
I should have took today off but had too many meetings and tasking to get done today…
A nice shiny new Panasonic µ43 and an extra R-DAC would NOT make my day worse! 
before bed tonight lol