TDA1541A double crown is still my favourite chip to date, I've tried and heard so many different commercially made units using BB, Wolfson, AD, Cirrus etc, I've also built quite a few diy dacs using these various chips and I always come back to this classic, implemented correctly no other device has that realism in the midrange, decay of piano that this one has IMHO.
I totally agree! I think I'll flag this one up as a sticky for Ashley

Of course theres a lot of units using this classic chip that sounds god awful, as everything else its the implementation which is why I only stick to diy with this chip.
Yes indeed - implementation is all, but correctly implemented, the TDA1541 is the best DAC chip ever made bar none. It's quite simply the definitive choice for discerning audio enthusiasts

Marco.