Since I started Club TBVO, I've been meaning to write a few posts updating past gear reviews. Seeing an email in my inbox from Moon Audio announcing that the (now discontinued) Matrix X-SABRE Pro MQA is on sale gave me the nudge to write an update on my past DAC reviews. Here, in no particular order, are some updates on previous reviews:

• I reviewed the  Matrix X-SABRE Pro (XSP) back in February of 2020. While my review was clearly positively, at the time I couldn't decide whether I preferred the XSP or my Schiit Yggdrasil A2 (now known as the "OG" Yggy). In that review, I commented that I thought the XSP pulled more detail from the recordings, but that the Yggy offered better timbre. However, in the months after writing that review, I continued to listen to both DACs, and I ultimately came to the conclusion that the XSP is superior. Specifically, I began to notice that the Yggy's lower treble has a certain grain to it. Once I noticed this, it was hard to get past it. The XSP, on the other hand, offers a smooth, clean presentation. For anyone who had experience with early SABRE DACs, the smoothness might come as a surprise. I remember listening to some early SABRE DACs that subjectively sounded thin and harsh. (This was before I'd ever heard the time "SABRE glare.") That's not true of the XSP. Ultimately, I sold the Yggy and kept the XSP. Combined with its beautiful industrial design and Matrix's responsive customer service, the XSP remains one of the best DACs going. At its current closeout price, it's an easy recommendation.

• Speaking of the Yggdrasil, I eventually picked up one of the "Less is More" (LiM) variants of the Yggy. There's no question in my mind that it's better than the "OG" variant. I hesitate to offer any definitive judgments vis a vis other DACs without undertaking some controlled level-matched listening. But to say my impressions of the LiM are positive would be an understatment. I've debated writing my own review of the LiM, but given that Audiophile Style already has two reviews of the LiM, I don't know if writing my own in the best use of my time (though given my enthusiasm for the LiM it still may happen). Suffice it to say, though, that I agree with @The Computer Audiophile, @JoeWhip, and Schiit's own digital guru Mike Moffat (@baldr). The LiM is the best Yggy of the bunch. (By a wide margin, in my view.) If you're looking for a modern R2R DAC, the LiM Yggy is the way to go. (What can you say about a company where the best variant of their top-of-the-line DAC is also the cheapest!?) Plus, few companies today can top Schiit's customer service and warranty. 

• I reviewed the RME ADI-2 DAC in November of 2019. While I loved all of the RME's tools and features, I was less-than-impressed with its sound quality. I pitted the $1099 AKM-based ADI-2 against two other AKM DACs. The first was the $129 Modi 3, and the second was the $1949 Crane Song Solaris. It didn't take much critical listening to hear that the Solaris was the best of the bunch. Meanwhile, while the RME was better than the Modi 3, the difference wasn't quite dramatic enough to justify the price difference unless one really planned to make sure of all of the RME's bells and whistles. While I didn't hang on to the RME, I was still enamored with its various tools. So when the new SABRE-based ADI-2 was released this year (a change made, in part, due to the AKM factory fire), I took the plunge. After all, the aforementioned Matrix XSP was able the make the recent-generation SABRE chips sing. Could RME do the same? Unfortunately, the clear answer to my ears was "no." The SABRE-based ADI-2 sounded much more like the bad old SABRE DACs than the like the XSP. The treble was thing and brittle, and overall I felt it actually took a sonic step backwards from its AKM-based predecessor.

• Speaking of the Crane Song Solaris, in September of 2020 I wrote a review pitting it against another professional DAC, the Forssell MDAC-2a. That review was more-or-less a draw. The CliffsNotes version of my conclusion was that the Solaris was more incisive and detail-oriented, while the Forssell was slightly rounder and (for lack of a better word) warmer. Living with both for another year after writing the review, I came to appreciate the Solaris's virtues more and more and found myself listening to the Forssell less and less. To be sure, the Forssell is a great DAC. But I had other options for its style of presentation. The Crane Song, in contrast, offers a level of resolution that's hard to find, even in DACs several times its cost. I sold the Forssell to a fellow audiophile who's thrilled to have the now out-of-production DAC. Meanwhile, I still have the Solaris, and I can't ever envision selling it. Indeed, if I could only keep one DAC -- especially considering price -- the Solaris might be the one.