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In Reply to: RE: $1000 Dac Shootout: Topping / Denafrips / SMSL posted by AbeCollins on March 04, 2024 at 20:20:56
If you're curious about the VMV D2R, there is another shoot out type review on Youtube where the VMV D2R is compared to an SMSL D400EX, which is a well reviewed dac that I believe you own. The video includes sonic comparisons but since it is Youtube, it was difficult for me to tell which dac sounds better. I thought there was only a slight difference between the two dacs. The reviewer preferred the VMV D2R. I think the reviewer is speaking Japanese so in order to understand him, I had to switch on closed captioning and then go to settings to translate the sub titles into English.
Follow Ups:
Thanks!I could pick out a few Japanese words but not enough to understand so the YouTube real-time closed captioning translation helped a lot.
As for listening via YouTube I couldn't hear a huge difference but I would say that the VMV D2R was richer and darker sounding. I'm reminded of how some BAT gear sounds, at least from a couple decades ago. I once owned the BAT VK-30SE preamp and VK-200 amp. Both wonderful pieces but definitely colored toward the deep, rich, and bold side. Some call BAT 'dark'.
A little YouTube translation humor :
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At one point the translation said "Dutch" instead of "Duck"
Edits: 03/11/24
I had the VK200 and it was "dark" sounding. Nice but I also found it somewhat too much of a dark rich sound. I never owned a preamp from them but I was under the impression that the preamps were more neutral.
Interestingly, their tube amps are not dark sounding. A friend of mine had the VK60 and this was a very good sounding Class A PP triode amp. Not dark at all. Not sure why the SS amps came out dark and rich when the tube amps are not voiced that way at all.
Lol, I work for a company that does language translations and the YouTube translation is an example of why we only use human beings to do our work. The state of machine translations is advancing rapidly and AI will help but it is still not foolproof.
A hot dog comes out as warm canine in some languages when translated by a computer.
I agree that the Smsl Vmv d2r is a rich sounding dac that might be a bit dark sounding depending on how it's set up. I'm thinking of experimenting with some more transparent cables with mine when I have some free time.
I've never used the closed captioning language translation in YouTube before so I didn't know what to expect. There were some other mistakes but calling a DAC a Duck had me laughing.I enjoy gear that leans a little more toward the rich, full-bodied, and robust side but not too much and so long as it's not veiled or rolled off in the treble. But I'd take it over thin, clinical, sterile, and anemic anytime! Some reviewers call it having 'meat on the bones'.
Of course the rest of the system plays a big role. A DAC that might be overly rich, robust, and full-bodied in one system could be just right in another.
I wouldn't mind trying the SMSL VMV D2R someday. I've never heard a DAC with the Rohm chip but in my experience the surrounding circuitry (especially the analog electronics) seems to have a bigger effect on the overall sound quality.
It's not in the budget right now. Maybe in couple months.
Edits: 03/12/24
Interesting. I'll take a look later tonight or tomorrow. Thanks.
I am presently running the SMSL D400EX.
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