Gustard x16 vs Topping D90

[db_Cooper]

I don’t have either of them. Simply going by others whose opinion here I’ve come to trust as I’ve picked up equipment based on their feedback and it’s been spot on. All my DAC have been below or above that price point.

There’s a lot of content though here about both the Ares II and the BF 2. The D90 being said to seem sterile comparatively. I’m a fan of resistor ladder (R2R type) DAC which both the Ares and BF are.

Denafrips Ares II

INTRODUCTION It’s been almost a month since the Ares II was added to my collection and that means it’s review time! The Ares II is the second DAC in the ~$700USD range that I’ve had the privilege of spending time with. It’s current MSRP – mid-January 2021 – is a bit hard to nail down. Vinshine Audio lists its price as 1028.00 Singapore dollars, which Google tells me converts to 772.35 USD. As far as I know the Ares II is still in production but in a COVID world its availability might be a bit s…

Schiit Bifrost 2

INTRODUCTION I’ve been sitting on this one for awhile. The Bifrost 2 was my first DAC that MSRP’s above the $250 range. That was one reason why I hesitated: it’s difficult to do a meaningful review with the first product used to enter a new performance tier; context is lacking. I’ve since added the Denafrips Ares II to my collection – another DAC that costs close to the same as BF2 – and added a bit more context. With that added component and after playing around with several DACs under $200 I …