[Dubstep Girl]

What'd ya get as the interconnects and where from? I gotta get some for when my GSX mk2 arrives too Also, do you think stratus would be more end game than WA22?

 
 
oh just decided to get Audioquest king cobra xlr's, to match the rca's i already have. 
 
yeah i think stratus would be a step up, but i like the warm sound of the woo amps, especially the WA2, hopefully the WA22 has just a bit more treble, but a very similar sound. i especially want WA22 cause the tube rolling would be much easier, i already have all the tubes, no need to spend on any more tubes. cause if i got stratus, i barely can afford, much less any tubes for it. i know i'd spend another 1000 or more to have at least sophia and eml 2a3's.
 
i like my GEC 6AS7G and TS 5998 alot as well, the WA22 can use those, as well as the mighty 596. 

 

[Jd007]

What'd ya get as the interconnects and where from? I gotta get some for when my GSX mk2 arrives too Also, do you think stratus would be more end game than WA22?

 
lol we are in the same boat actually, currently rolling with wa2 with gsx incoming and searching for dac! what are you thinking of so far?
 
i gotta get me some of dem lcd3s...
 
edit: i meant aive as i saw his profile lol

 

[Dubstep Girl]

   
lol we are in the same boat actually, currently rolling with wa2 with gsx incoming and searching for dac! what are you thinking of so far?

 
oh i already upgraded about a month ago or so. from a PS Audio Digital Link III to a Mytek 192.
 
i will not upgrade unless i find the sound with the GSX bright or something.
 
i have spent well over $6000 the past couple weeks getting my DAC, my TH-900, the LCD-3, and now the GSX MK2 and soon to come, the Hifiman HE-6.
 
balanced cables will hopefully be the only remaining expense. 
 
and the WA6-SE will be up for sale as soon as i have my MK2. 

 

[aive]

   
lol we are in the same boat actually, currently rolling with wa2 with gsx incoming and searching for dac! what are you thinking of so far?
 
i gotta get me some of dem lcd3s...
 
edit: i meant aive as i saw his profile lol

 
Oh man, don't get me started on DAC research... 
 
At the moment, the ones I'm considering on my list, in no particular order, with a brief summary of my thoughts are:
- AGD M7. Great value in terms of technical specs vs cost. Concerning 'boringness' of music based on a handful of personal reviews - not the end of the world though, some equalizer settings may mitigate this since I'm going to driving my DAC from PC.
- Eximus DP1. Great personal reviews on headfi re immersive soundstage and musicality (both are things I really like considering I have a WA2 atm). Technical specs aren't as good as AGD M7 and has a headphone amp that I don't want/need. Think the line out goes through a discrete preamp circuit too... but not sure. Regardless, musical prowess trumps all I guess...
- Metrum Hex/Resonance Mirrus. Pretty much out of my price range, but I like to dream... they seem to have the technical specs and musicality I desire.
- Bryston BDA-2. MacedonianHero is hyping it out of this world and I value his judgement >< Technically less superior compared to AGD M7 though. 
- Schitt Yoggdrasil - waiting to see what their flagship DAC will be like, but it may be a long wait...
- W4S Dac 2 DSD SE. Technically seems to equivalent to the AGD M7 in terms of USB implementation (e.g. galvanic isolation of USB input whereas AGD M7 doesn't rely on power from USB input at all). Haven't really followed up on this one compared to the others though...
 
Given my E. Eng. background I like to make sure I'm getting value for money when it comes to what I'm buying - hence me harping on about 'technical specs' above. I like to know my money is going to a good PSU, good USB implemntation, multiple parallel DAC chips per channel, etc. But sometimes, like the Eximus DP1, Bryston BDA-2, other user reviews trump that stuff and it's really just about how good it sounds  
 
ARRRG, glad I don't have the funds till January so I can mull on this much longer...
 
Which ones are you looking at?
- 

 

[Dubstep Girl]

Bda-2 vs m51 vs mytek, thatd be interesting to compare

 

[aive]

   
 
oh just decided to get Audioquest king cobra xlr's, to match the rca's i already have. 
 
 

 
Wow I just looked at the price of those cables... eep! 

 

[magiccabbage]

Yea, I don't know if WA22 would be end game either.

 

[preproman]

   
oh i already upgraded about a month ago or so. from a PS Audio Digital Link III to a Mytek 192.
 
i will not upgrade unless i find the sound with the GSX bright or something.
 
i have spent well over $6000 the past couple weeks getting my DAC, my TH-900, the LCD-3, and now the GSX MK2 and soon to come, the Hifiman HE-6.
 
 

 
You already have the HE-500s correct?  With the GS-X mk2 the HE-500s did sound better than the HE-6s.  YMMV, but If I only had the GS-X mk2 I would have kept the HE-500s instead of the HE-6..
 
The experience and being able to compare the two on that amp will be well worth it though.  

 

[aive]

Yea, I don't know if WA22 would be end game either.

Yah I may look at getting the stratus towards the end of next year as my tube amp "end game" (serious advance planning here watch out! Who knows I may be happy with just a GSX and new DAC like MH )

 

[magiccabbage]

Yah I may look at getting the stratus towards the end of next year as my tube amp "end game" (serious advance planning here watch out! Who knows I may be happy with just a GSX and new DAC like MH )

 
Yea stratus is near end game but some think its sounds dark with LCD3, so if you happen to have that headphone then it might not be end game for you. Also can it power the HE6? I don't think so....

 

[R Scott Ireland]

Bda-2 vs m51 vs mytek, thatd be interesting to compare

Are you guys considering the Auralic Vega??

 

[citraian]

Are you guys considering the Auralic Vega??

+1 The Vega should be miles ahead.

 

[Jd007]

   
Oh man, don't get me started on DAC research... 
 
At the moment, the ones I'm considering on my list, in no particular order, with a brief summary of my thoughts are:
- AGD M7. Great value in terms of technical specs vs cost. Concerning 'boringness' of music based on a handful of personal reviews - not the end of the world though, some equalizer settings may mitigate this since I'm going to driving my DAC from PC.
- Eximus DP1. Great personal reviews on headfi re immersive soundstage and musicality (both are things I really like considering I have a WA2 atm). Technical specs aren't as good as AGD M7 and has a headphone amp that I don't want/need. Think the line out goes through a discrete preamp circuit too... but not sure. Regardless, musical prowess trumps all I guess...
- Metrum Hex/Resonance Mirrus. Pretty much out of my price range, but I like to dream... they seem to have the technical specs and musicality I desire.
- Bryston BDA-2. MacedonianHero is hyping it out of this world and I value his judgement >< Technically less superior compared to AGD M7 though. 
- Schitt Yoggdrasil - waiting to see what their flagship DAC will be like, but it may be a long wait...
- W4S Dac 2 DSD SE. Technically seems to equivalent to the AGD M7 in terms of USB implementation (e.g. galvanic isolation of USB input whereas AGD M7 doesn't rely on power from USB input at all). Haven't really followed up on this one compared to the others though...
 
Given my E. Eng. background I like to make sure I'm getting value for money when it comes to what I'm buying - hence me harping on about 'technical specs' above. I like to know my money is going to a good PSU, good USB implemntation, multiple parallel DAC chips per channel, etc. But sometimes, like the Eximus DP1, Bryston BDA-2, other user reviews trump that stuff and it's really just about how good it sounds  
 
ARRRG, glad I don't have the funds till January so I can mull on this much longer...
 
Which ones are you looking at?
- 

 
- the agd m7 is definitely very hyped up right now, but im not sure about the product quality (i heard their usb port is loose on all their dacs for example).
- same feeling for the eximus dp1, i dont need/want the headphone amp
- bryston bda-2, looks to have all the features that i want (especially like 2x toslink input). only (minor) thing against it is its a bit wide and won't fit on my desk lol
- same thing goes for the statement schiit. but judging by what we know so far, i probably would go for the bryston as it has 2x toslink and both have the wide footprint. of course assuming SQ is similar. too bad the long wait
- w4s dac 2 looks very good, has pretty much everything i need
 
i've also looked at:
- perfectwave pwd mk2, looks to be pretty full featured, but lately a lot of ppl are selling it off not sure why (firmware issues?). and tbh i dont rly care much for pretty lcd touch screen, i just need to feed digital data in and get good sound out
- nad m51, seems to be a good dac but also has features that i dont need (hdmi bypass for example, which has its own issues actually)
 
i just want a dac that has a good clean power section, good input implementation (i mostly use toslink which is guaranteed galvanically isolated anyway), and truly balanced design (not SE phase split). stuff like DSD, pretty screen, filters, i dont really care for. builtin headphone amp and volume control are also things i dont rly need/want.
 
right now im kinda leaning towards the w4s dac 2.

 

[Solude]

DAC2 DSD is pretty good for the money.  At the SE price though it has some steep established competition.
 
The 2-3K street kings tend to be:
 
Metrum Hex
Aurallic Vega
PS PWD2
Bryston BDA-2
Audio-GD M7

 

[preproman]

   
The 2-3K street kings tend to be:
 
Metrum Hex
Aurallic Vega
PS PWD2
Bryston BDA-2
Audio-GD M7

 
This is very true.  Thinking about trying the bridge with the PWD2 before it leaves..