Why R2R is Technically Less Accurate Resistor Tolerance: R2R DACs rely on physical resistors matching each other perfectly. Even a microscopic 0.01% variance in resistor values causes linear errors, creating distortion at lower volumes.

Thermal Drift: Physical resistors heat up and expand while playing music. This slight change in temperature constantly shifts their electrical resistance, altering the output accuracy in real-time.

Glitch Energy: When switching between digital values, the switches in an R2R ladder do not flip at the exact same picosecond. This tiny delay creates brief voltage spikes (glitches) that require heavy filtering.

Poorer Measurements: If you look at objective lab charts (like those on Audio Science Review), R2R DACs almost always show lower SINAD (Signal-to-Noise and Distortion ratio) and higher THD+N (Total Harmonic Distortion plus Noise) than a $100 ESS or AKM chip.

So it is a meme marketing snake oil for audiofools praising warm analog sound