Topping D90 III Discrete vs Gishelli JNOG 2S or 3 Pro (w/ SS2590 Op-Amps) vs Denafrips Ares 15th?

[ethanhallbeyer]

Anyone have experience with all 3 of these DACS? I've narrowed my choices down to these but am wondering what might give me the best balance of wide and deep soundstage, detail, low fatigue, great even with poor recordings, accurate sounding, dynamic.

I've heard great things about the Gishelli JNOG 2S or 3 Pro with the Sparkos SS2590 op-amps in terms of better quality bass, wide soundstage, etc. The price, even after buying 3 op-amps is still less than the other 2 DACS.

Denafrips Ares 15th apparently is more detailed than the previous versions and is a step up. Built like a tank.

Topping D90 III Discrete seems to be very detailed, accurate, arguably not as full in the mid-range, with great soundstage depth and width, but not exactly the leader here in that area. It also apparently is good with poorer recordings. Comes with a remote, and a rare 12v trigger. But reportedly some have experienced a clicking noise that is supposed to be fixed possibly with a firmware update after the Lunar New Year. This and previous posts on ASR about Topping make me apprehensive about longevity/reliability.

The Denafrips is most expensive by about $200, the Topping 2nd most expensive, and the Gishelli least expensive.

For those with experience with these, which would be the best overall and why?

 

[Hülse]

Oh yes, I would like an answer to that too. Only instead of asking about the Denafrips, I asked about the Musician Draco. It is supposed to sound even better than the Denafrips.

 

[Delirium]

I tested d90 discrete for two weeks. It plays quite nicely, the scene is quite large but not exaggerated. On the other hand, the midrange is smooth and without details and "plankton". My old r2r on pcm63/pcm1701 plays better, although I use OS. I don't know if es9039 and akm4493s don't play better than it when it comes to filling the midrange.