Remember the modded Art DI/O?

I’ve had this dac for years and want to upgrade. Thinking about the Soekris 1321 or Bitfrost 2 but leaning toward the 1321. Thoughts? It will pe paired with a Lyr 3.

Both those would be larger upgrades for sure, but they do have different sound signatures, what type of sound would you be going for? Also what headphones?

Also what mods did you do to your di/o (because there are alot of them out there iirc lol)?

Looking for neutral and will change my tube on the Lyr 3 to vary the presentation.
Full Boulder mods done by some one else.

Gotcha, in that case, I think you would enjoy the soekris, as it’s a pretty neutral dac, and also a bit more aggressive, compared to the bit warmer and wider and smoother bifrost 2. Also with the soekris you can make your own filters and things, so more customization to be done there

1 Like

Is there another dac that would be neutral but also wide and smooth?

I mean the 1321 is still great at recreating space, but is more tight in it’s spatial recreation. Also smoother than some sigma detla dacs but not as much as the bifrost. What price range were you considering?

Ares 2 perhaps

around $1000

Ares 2 is pretty nice, but I would say it’s noticeably colored as well, more of a more fun energetic dac, good alternative to the bifrost 2 but not something I would say is too neutral, I think for neutrality the soekris is harder to beat in the 1k range for r2r/mb, also consider the 1421 as well if you can get one

The holo cyan can be pretty nice in that price range, more neutral than the bifrost and the ares ii, not as neutral as the soekris, but a tad wider and warmer and smoother

trying to find info on the holo cyan. website does not say much

I hate paying for an amp that’s not needed. Both modules would be nice but too much right now. If they only just sold the dac. Thanks for all the help