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W4S Dac1, or Anedio D1?

post #1 of 5
7/18/11 at 8:23pm
Thread Starter 

I will be powering one of the following dac's with a power amp. Now I'm wondering which one has the better synergy with LCD-2s coming from your guys' personal experiences?

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post #2 of 5
7/21/11 at 8:41pm

I've had both DACs, but not side by side. Still have the W4SDAC1.

 

This is IMO and from memory, but here goes: the D1 has superior soundstaging in terms of width, instrument placement and depth. The DAC1 is more squashed in. There is depth and good placement, but the stage is narrower.

 

The D1 is airy with wonderful resolving treble, while the DAC1 has more weight/heft, though it still has beautiful treble: not quite the quality of the D1 (though this could be a personal preference thing). I think the bass on the DAC1 is very slightly boosted above neutral. D1 bass is superb, but not as impactful.

 

Both are very clean sounding and very detailed.

 

The deal-breaker for me was in the mids. IMO the DAC1 has a more natural sounding midrange. Human voices are more organic and fleshier. The D1 is ever so slightly lean/thin in the mids. Some people love that, but I didn't.

 

The D1 has an excellent inbuilt HP amp that produces satisfying tones through the LCD2. DAC1, of course, has no integrated amp.

 

D1 has a fantastic 30-day return policy as is well worth a listen.

 

Hope some of that may be helpful.

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post #3 of 5
7/21/11 at 10:10pm
D1 has a good heaphone amplifier, but no high def USB or XLR out. DAC1 has the reverse.
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post #4 of 5
7/21/11 at 11:09pm

do not forget the Matrix Quattro DAC

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post #5 of 5
7/22/11 at 8:27pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Duckman View Post

I've had both DACs, but not side by side. Still have the W4SDAC1.

 

This is IMO and from memory, but here goes: the D1 has superior soundstaging in terms of width, instrument placement and depth. The DAC1 is more squashed in. There is depth and good placement, but the stage is narrower.

 

The D1 is airy with wonderful resolving treble, while the DAC1 has more weight/heft, though it still has beautiful treble: not quite the quality of the D1 (though this could be a personal preference thing). I think the bass on the DAC1 is very slightly boosted above neutral. D1 bass is superb, but not as impactful.

 

Both are very clean sounding and very detailed.

 

The deal-breaker for me was in the mids. IMO the DAC1 has a more natural sounding midrange. Human voices are more organic and fleshier. The D1 is ever so slightly lean/thin in the mids. Some people love that, but I didn't.

 

The D1 has an excellent inbuilt HP amp that produces satisfying tones through the LCD2. DAC1, of course, has no integrated amp.

 

D1 has a fantastic 30-day return policy as is well worth a listen.

 

Hope some of that may be helpful.

 

Thank you, great impressions exactly what I was looking for.



 

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