[badwisdom]

Hey,
 
i had a DAC202. Loved it. Great performance and perfect size for desktop use. The headphone out is a real bonus. But got bored 15 days in. It was just too clinical for me. Not much soul.
 
If you have the room, try the Playback Designs products (DAC or Player). They are as fast and detailed as the Weiss, but possess an analog "smoochness" that is quite lovely.
 
Cheers
Xavier
 
Quote:

My LCD-2 is day and half old. Fed digitally into Weiss DAC 202 and onwards to the cans. I had just graduated from HD650, which I was very happy with.
 
The LCD-2 with just a day of burning is singing very very brightly, metaphorically speaking. My first take was that the floor noise level was that much lower than the 650. In just every department the LCD-2 has a PhD and then some. The strings have so much more clarity, the fingers sliding on the fret is so perceptable that the music is so much more tangable.  I am not sure if the bass is tight, not really..they are a tad tuby now, I have no issues here. The sound stage is not artifically large, the imaging of the music is very well balanced and not out of the world (Which imho is the way to be).
 
With all regards and respect to the 650; for bringing me into the Headphone world. The sound that I am getting now is off the scale in comparison to the latter. This is perhaps one of the few audiophile bargain in audio right now.
 
If any one has any recommendation that is better than the DAC202 please do, I would like to check that out. 

 

 

[DaveBSC]

Quote:

If any one has any recommendation that is better than the DAC202 please do, I would like to check that out. 

The only reasonably priced USB DAC I can think of that has a chance of taking down the Weiss is the latest version of the Empirical Overdrive. It has no built in headphone amp, but it also costs around $2600 less than the Weiss which is enough for a pretty decent amp. Of course if you max it out with all the options, the price approaches that of the Weiss. MSB has also recently added USB options, but I'm unsure exactly what technology is at work there and whether it's as good as Empirical's.

 

[ZERUNG]

Hey,
 
i had a DAC202. Loved it. Great performance and perfect size for desktop use. The headphone out is a real bonus. But got bored 15 days in. It was just too clinical for me. Not much soul.
 
If you have the room, try the Playback Designs products (DAC or Player). They are as fast and detailed as the Weiss, but possess an analog "smoochness" that is quite lovely.
 
Cheers
Xavier
 


 

Badwisdom
Thanks, will try it out.
My DAC is my front end for my non headphone system. It was a bonus when I decided to go cans and did not need to buy a headphone amp. I was wondering what is there as far as headphone amp which can blitz my DAC as an dedicated amp ( I am building a B22 as I speak, better late than never). Thanks for your pointer to playback design.

 

[sachu]

Quote:

Hey,
 
i had a DAC202. Loved it. Great performance and perfect size for desktop use. The headphone out is a real bonus. But got bored 15 days in. It was just too clinical for me. Not much soul.
 
If you have the room, try the Playback Designs products (DAC or Player). They are as fast and detailed as the Weiss, but possess an analog "smoochness" that is quite lovely.
 
Cheers
Xavier
 


 

I have heard this too of the WEiss 202..and again of the Playback. The playback is built here in Portland in the west hills region apparently.
 
An audiophile friend in India loves his playback DAC.
 
But egads..its all of USD 10k!!
 

 

[Equus]

Yeah...while the Assemblage isn't as precise in tone or spatial imaging, the Weiss didn't quite seem to me to have the emotional oomph to make me really hooked into the music.  It really comes down to what you want out of your DAC.
 
@sachu 10k?!?!  ye gods!

 

[sachu]

i think the TOTL model is $15K USD

 

[angle_sh00ter]

Quote:

What do you have now?

Good to see that answering this question didn't seem to make any difference... lol
 

 

[Equus]

Quote:

i think the TOTL model is $15K USD

I can think of several things I'd hope a piece of electronics could do at that price, but I doubt most of them are appropriate for this or most forums.  Holy cow.
 


Quote:

Good to see that answering this question didn't seem to make any difference... lol
 

I'd help ya if I could, but don't have any real experience with either.  Burson gets good votes from what I've read, but never peronsally heard it, and I don't know anything about the devilsound.  Besides, "better" is relative and completely subjective.  Looks like grokit had some opinions on the devilsound earlier in the thread...what else are you looking for in a DAC?  What else would you honestly want?  If you're happy, I'd stay as happy as I can for as long as I can. 

 

[badwisdom]

Ah yes, i should have noted that there is a significant price difference
 
Though i suspect you should find some second hand, but even though, they are more expensive.
 
But then, id rather spend 10K once and be done, than 3k, not be satisfied and lose money (cant count how many times thats happened to me).
 
Cheers
Xavier
 
Quote:

i think the TOTL model is $15K USD

 

 

[grokit]

 
Quote:

Yeah Ive got a devilsound v2.1 and a burson HA160 powering the LCD-2.  Im happy with it but just wondering how much better can it get.

I've got a Devilsound v2.0 and I haven't really compared it head to head with anything else in respect to the LCD-2 as I am using it in my HE-6 rig ATM. I have heard the LCD-2 with it, but it's hard to compare it with my main LCD-2 setup as the amp is so different. I love the form factor but will be swapping it out soon for a balanced DAC with more features on that rig (XDA-1) so it will become a "floater" soon, which will allow me to compare it directly to DACs in my other systems as well as the new Emotiva which should be here soon.
 
Another thing I love about the Devilsound is the fact that it comes with such HQ cabling, on both the digital and analog ends, this is very convenient and a money-saver. I tried the v2.1 for a while and thought it was slightly more resolving and dynamic, but this is from memory and not a direct comparison. If you don't need any additional features like switching between inputs or upsampling/high bit rate compatibility, I think that the Devilsound can hang with some really nice DACs SQ-wise but it all depends on synergy down the line.
 
I like the Devilsound approach, and if the XDA-1 doesn't impress me out of the box I will probably consider their Halide Bridge as an upgrade at some point if it improves with my Bravo. To try a little of that Streamlength magic, y'know.
 
If I was going for a real nice full-featured DAC the ones I would take a serious look at are the Wyred 4 Sound models, they reportedly sound great and have an incredible bang for the buck.

 

[yossi126]

Coming back to hearing my friend's Violectric V800 I posted about a couple pages back -
Now that my b22 is in the house, I can tell you guys the experience was so immense I can't say if it can go any better.
Provided the best amp possible (yes you can argue the b22 is or is not that best amp) the LCD-2 really scales high with the greater the dac.
The V800, though dark in signature is highly resolving and rich in tone, you know when you hear it that it is much like the LCD-2 in character. Wether it's a bad thing or not I can't say because I hadn't got the amount of listening time needed for that.
No doubt the HD800 will be a perfect match for this dac.
Another attributes of the V800 to name a few is the pin-point imaging like I never heard before in any audio setup. Its bass is done perfectly and the mids are silky smooth. It is the most analog-like product I heard to date. 
Obviously the treble spark my Music Streamer II+ produces is fun and enjoyable but it's not without its significant draws, which to name a few is congested mids, lack of resolution and bass definition.
 
YMMV, I'm a treble lover but I know sibilance and over-done highs when I hear it. Synergy is very important for the LCD-2, you don't want it to sound too dark.
My next report will due when my Buffalo-II is ready in a couple of months, exactly the time after the exams, and hopefully a shoot-out between the B-II and V800 (and maybe even a Cary Xciter).

 

[K3cT]

I will be honest, I have some issues with the way the Buffalo II renders certain instruments. Timbre issues perhaps? Other than that, it's an immensely detailed DAC albeit lacking a bit of "soul" or whatever you call it. 

 

[DaveBSC]

Quote:

 
I like the Devilsound approach, and if the XDA-1 doesn't impress me out of the box I will probably consider their Halide Bridge as an upgrade at some point if it improves with my Bravo. To try a little of that Streamlength magic, y'know.
 
If I was going for a real nice full-featured DAC the ones I would take a serious look at are the Wyred 4 Sound models, they reportedly sound great and have an incredible bang for the buck.

Unless you need 24/96, the ART Legato is a much better product than the Bridge for the same money. If you do need 24/96 the Audiophilleo2 is probably still better.

 

[Shahrose]

Quote:

I will be honest, I have some issues with the way the Buffalo II renders certain instruments. Timbre issues perhaps? Other than that, it's an immensely detailed DAC albeit lacking a bit of "soul" or whatever you call it. 

Hey man. Could you be more specific? I'm curious because I can't say I hear the same on the 32s.

 

[K3cT]

Quote:

Hey man. Could you be more specific? I'm curious because I can't say I hear the same on the 32s.

Hi bro, I've posted a detailed impression in this thread.