Quote:
Originally Posted by mulveling
Not necessarily. I downgraded from a Yggdrasil Ladder DAC to an ECP Audio DAC with Wolfson 8741 Delta-Sigma chip and CineMag output transformers; it sounds slightly more analog to my ears, and so I sold the Yggy (it had the older analog 1 boards). The output stage still has a lot of influence on a DAC's sound, and those Wolfsons are also known to be slightly sweet sounding. And it helps that the proprietor of ECP audio is a veritable analog audio design genius. So not all digital ills can be blamed on Delta-Sigma.
My 2nd-string vinyl rig still crushes it, of course (SOTA Star, Ortofon Cadenza Bronze, Sonic Frontiers Phono 1) -- though at more than twice the cost of a new Yggy. The exorbitant expense of a great analog rig, and the rabbit hole issue, is all too real.
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I wouldn't want a DAC that sounds any sweeter or smoother than Yggy Gen5 Analog 2 does to be honest. Not in the context of my system at least. I do recall the MCD/MDA1000 combo in my previous system and the EAR tube CDP which were very smooth and musical but YggY has redefined what it means to be musical and yet bringing all the micro detail out in an unforced and refined way that was absent from my previous digital gear. I am good on my digital front end. The ladder DACs are definitely worth trying to see if they are a good fit for a system if one finds digital to lack soul.