Siblings?
Or cousins? Two DA converters, one company; different technical structure, but the same development team. Maybe, the same personal taste in the background?, I don't know.
Fight? But why fight?
Well, actually because we usually listen to one converter, the one we buy because we like it, and the other one we don't because we don't like it. One will be there on the shelf.
In terms of prices, the relation is little brother / big brother, because the price multiplier is more than double.
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The R30 was created in the wake of the successful modern take-off of the ancient R2R technology, which was already ridden by its predecessor, the R26. By the way, right now, at the very beginning, I tell R26 owners not to rest, go to the store and buy the R30, because it is so much better. I can say this for sure, I also had an R26 for a few months. Which has a good reputation to this day, many people like it, it is no exaggeration to say that it has become part of the hi-fi public consciousness, 'putting something on the table'.
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R30.
You can read a lot about the internal content, technical details have become fashionable on websites and in reviews, you can click. For my part, all I can say is that it is extremely sophisticated design and attention, they clearly tried to get the most out of this technology. The exterior, the look, is absolutely gorgeous. Big black front panel, the necessary things are easily accessible, good menu system, very good volume control.
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A26.
The A26 has remained a bit in the shadows, the fan base is much narrower; the aforementioned internal technical sophistication can also be said. Here the big shot is the AKM converter chip, which is a completely new creation (it was a few years ago). It is necessary to note here that this is an improved version of the Delta-Sigma principle, where the internal modulator already performs multi-bit (e.g. 5-6-7 bit) conversion, using a kind of "ladder" internal structure, i.e. an 'internal' R2R architecture exists here too.
Both can be connected directly to an XLR input power amp; the R30's relay/ladder, separate XLR volume control is very good; the A26's 'chip-attached' XLR volume control is also very good; this is an important or necessary option for me.
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The sound.
Let's start with the piano, a lot will be revealed here.
The R30 is very good, you can hear it after 5 seconds. Big sound, with serious movements. Great low energy, it will be seen later that it is basically very good, and in fact, it has particularly good bass. This could not be said about the R26, for example. The tone, this is the most difficult task, at first it seems to be okay. There is a faint feeling of pulling towards the midrange, but on the piano it is very appealing.
The A26 is also very good. Here there is a little more overtone, there is not so much left-hand 22Hz rumble, a subtle aura in the highs, it is also very lively.
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Large choir, complicated music.
Monteverdi.
Here the differences start to become apparent, more and more.
The R30 is quite 'BigBoy', with a bit of ML512 memories popping up... The instruments and vocals are 'separated' particularly nicely, meaning that sound-separation occurs, as in reality. And there is indeed a strange, almost strange 3D effect, a kind of 'space' appears. Minimal coverage is noticeable; the highest sounds are in a less emphasized place. Or are they not?, the Spendor runs these around the threshold of hearing by default, meaning that this question cannot be answered from here. A more 'in-your-face' speaker may produce a different result. On the BBC monitors, it is not excluded that there will be a slight lack at the top, despite the fact that the tone is nice and the lifelikeness is very good.
The A26 shows its true qualities here. There is no such space, no strange 3D effect, which is not audible in a live concert hall. None. The separation is completely similar, but the 'sound divisions within the sound', the overtones, are heard much, much better, the music itself, the sound, is broken up into many more strands. Both at the bottom and at the top, but mostly in the middle. The overall tone is a little clearer, more transparent, the upper range is much more audible. It is present and exists.
This finely performed mid-split-fibering is so striking that yes, this is where the 'Velvet' sound came from, this is where the velvety feel of the AKM chip comes from. And this brings an almost improbable lifelikeness to the sound, especially in the sensitive midrange.
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Cello. On a master instrument, very good music.
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Harpsichord.
The R30 lost the battle here. For me, specifically, the whole war. Because it filters out, centralizes, simplifies the sound of the harpsichord. Here there is a spectacular lack of overtones. So much that the record suddenly lacks the sonic beauty for which we buy it. The only strong positive is that the tone, that is, what is left, is completely correct. The latter is a very rare phenomenon. I don't need to list big names that are downright catastrophic here.
The A26?, well, it shines here, in all its glory. It creates such a beautiful cavalcade of overtones that one just scratches their heads. The series of plucks breaks into a million strands, there are such auras and reverberations on the sounds that it is simply a physiological pleasure to listen to.
That I like Bach's music is a big exaggeration, but I'll make an exception here. The performer is great, but the sound that this cheap Naxos produces is amazingly good on the A26. Quite unbelievable.
On the R30 it's almost nothing.
No excuses.
Because it's not good. Because 'just good' is certainly not enough here.
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Finally, some more sophisticated electronic-based or -accompanied music.
Pink Floyd, Brothers in Arm, and some Patricia Barber.
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Overall, the R30 is a bit like Toldi Miklós. Strong, big sound.
The A26 is like the Ars Subtilior. A total aristocratic sound; refined, silky, over-ornamentated with incredibly extended band edges, and a midrange resolution that is second to none.
It doesn't push with muscle, but from within, with soul, metaphysically.
A creator of Sound Beauty.
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Moreover, elsewhere, the rest of the chain can be so variable with the million types of equipment, cables and accessories that, together with the pure subjectivity that comes with it, practically excludes totally/tonally similar experiences.
So, it's just a kind of compass. It points to something, somewhere... :)
Don't take it too seriously.
The music, rather.
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