I forgot to mention, if my memory isn't completely horrible, polynomial or something similar was my preferred filter on the Invicta as well.  Didn't change the fact it still sounded like an Invicta though. 

OK, so assuming ground shipping they need to be on their way here by the 28-29th-ish. I'd guess they need to be shipped to fish by the 15th or so.

Works out perfectly! I am in the process of writing up thoughts on the Mini-I, which I have to say I am fond of now, and some other junk like the NOS1704 that I recently dusted off.

Audio-GD NOS-1704 Returns
To be completely honest, I barely touched the NOS1704 after getting the Hex. And that wasn't particularly fair to it, because I never took the proper time to compare them back-to-back. It’s not all bad, though, because I felt my recent experience with multiple DACs and experiments with various upsampling methods on the Hex were valuable experiences and helped me better differentiate between subtle aspects of DACs (or inflate my confidence enough to think I could!). This turned out to be particularly interesting in the end.

Let’s start with the similarities between the Hex and NOS1704. First, they are both NOS DACs, so they sound horrible. They both had a smooth, liquid sound compared to the other DACs. The soundstage and space were more condensed than the other DACs, giving everything a more intimate, immediate feel (in some cases, greater focus to my ears). Various elements of music had more body and presence to them, though that probably ties together with my last statement. The top-most details are a bit rolled, but neither lacked extension. Both seem to excel with the rhythm and attack/transient junk I mentioned a bit earlier and are more engaging to listen to relative to the other DACs. They seemingly have the best tone and timbre out of the bunch.

As for differences, I thankfully felt much more adept in differentiating now than I did when comparing the NOS1704 to the Metrum Quad. Almost immediately, the Hex lacked detail relative to the NOS1704. The difference was almost as stark as when I compared the Hex to the Mini-I. The NOS1704 was noticeably more resolving. However, that did give the sense of everything sounding slightly thinner and leaner. Looking back to my measurements (which I really need to update, as my posted NOS1704 ones are too “noisy”), this might be partially explained by the much lower harmonic and intermodulation distortion on the NOS1704.

Elements of music on the NOS1704 were more clearly defined and had a better sense of space between them, but the Hex gave the individual elements themselves a larger sense of space, size, or presence at the expense of having less clearly defined soundstaging and imaging. The body and presence the Hex gives to individual elements of the music was generally pleasing to my ears. I felt it worked very well with vocals, giving them a sort of weight, intimacy, breathy quality that the other DACs did not. It also fleshed out drums and, sometimes, cymbals in a positive way (sometimes not resolving enough), though guitars in rock and metal sometimes sounded a bit too mushy. The NOS1704 gave them a better sense of “crunch” and detail. In a way, the Hex had more of an earthy quality to it than the other DACs…perhaps grayer sounding than the NOS1704. The NOS1704 is a bit darker sounding than the Hex, and it is slightly more rolled at the very top despite sounding more detailed. The NOS1704 might have had the best bass pitch and texture out of the DACs tested so far.

The Hex was still noticeably more laid-back than the NOS1704, though not in terms of dynamics and punch and despite having a touch more air up top. For all its deficiencies relative to other DACs, I simply love how I can just melt into the sound of the Hex. It’s not that it’s warm or super euphonic. If anything, it has a unique sort of effortless quality that makes it very pleasing and easy to listen to. I think MuppetFace described it well by saying, “It's definitely NOT a DAC with a ‘wow factor’ from what I can tell. It makes absolutely no effort to try and win you over.” That said, the NOS1704 was still more laid-back than the Mini-I or X-Sabre. Smoother might actually be a better word than laid-back for the NOS1704, actually. The NOS1704 was sort of a nice blend between the positive aspects of the Hex and Mini-I, roughly. If you didn't find the Hex resolving enough or too smooth overall, but still want to go R 2R/NOS, the NOS1704 is a great choice. But if resolving abilities and absolute detail aren't a big concern, there is a lot to like about the Hex, and it has some unique characteristics.

I’m glad I picked up the NOS1704 when I did, and my rapid increase in DAC experiences over the past few months have made it easier for me to appreciate it (thanks to all that have loaned out gear!). I don’t believe Audio-GD sells these anymore (limited run), but they were priced well and sound quite good from what I’m hearing.

One potential downside to the NOS1704 is that it has some background noise that is audible if you turn up the volume (depending on amp, headphones, and their sensitivity to the noise). I had a similar experience with the Gungnir, but to a lesser extent. This might affect the NOS1704’s ability to properly resolve very low-level information, but I’m having a hard time verifying that with my simple ADC and would need to familiarize myself with other, better track selections to subjectively verify. However, I believe the NOS1704 is able to exceed what it necessary of 16-bit music. The X-Sabre, Mini-I, Hex, Quad, etc. were all dead silent.

Upcoming
I’ll be testing out the Gamma2 soon. If timing works out, I’ll be able to compare it with the Matrix gear as well. I have some measurements to post very soon for the X-Sabre and Mini-I, but they actually outperform my ADC in most regards.

Misc. Notes
Still not using software upsampling for these tests. All 16/44.1, and that’s safe to assume if I don’t mention it. If I write about upsampling-based comparisons, I’ll be sure to make that clear. I've also made sure to use better gear compared to when I originally tried comparing some DACs, and that helps detect differences as well (am using MD3.2, slightly tweaked, and the HE-500).

Upcoming
I’ll be testing out the Gamma2 soon. If timing works out, I’ll be able to compare it with the Matrix gear as well. I have some measurements to post very soon for the X-Sabre and Mini-I, but they actually outperform my ADC in most regards.

Great write up Hans, I've really enjoyed reading these. Very impressed with how the Mini-I performed relative to the X-Sabre and Hex. I hope that the Gamma2 timing works out, as the Gamma2, Matrix Mini-I, and the Emotiva DC-1 are more or less the three DAC's I'm considering for retiring my ODAC (i.e. max budget for this move: $450-500). Given their price points, a comparison of the first two would be really helpful.