[Icenine2]

6 moons gave this a great review.  Fully balanced and a pre-amp too.  I'd love to see a shootout between all these pre-amp DAC's coming out and the Arcam rDac too.  6 Moons mentioned 3 more USB DAC's coming out too.  Way too many choices.
 
K

 

[A.Thorsen]

This, the new Audio-GD piece, and the Perfectwave DAC are on my short list along with a couple of others. Lavry DA11, for one.
 
If I understand it all right, The PWD uses top of the line Wolfsons and this and the new Audio-GN piece, among others, are using Sabres.
 
Interesting decisions indeed. I realize, of course, the DAC chip in and of itself isn't the lone decider on the equation.
 
On paper, this Wyred DAC-2 looks like a hell of a loaded bargain.

 

[Roscoeiii]

At an under $1000 price point, the Eastern Electric DAC is another contender.

 

[A.Thorsen]

Quote:

At an under $1000 price point, the Eastern Electric DAC is another contender.

http://www.morningstaraudio.com/shop/item.asp?itemid=12&catid=6
 
Compelling.

 

[Roscoeiii]

Really enjoyed the Eastern Electric DAC while I had it, and I sold it to upgrade to a considerably more pricey DAC, the Weiss DAC2. 

 

[Dynobot]

Quote:

Really enjoyed the Eastern Electric DAC while I had it, and I sold it to upgrade to a considerably more pricey DAC, the Weiss DAC2. 

 
So how do they compare....Honestly
 

 

[Bones13]

I have a W4S DAC2 on order.  I have a PSAudio DL3 mod4 in my main headphone system, and have only read good things about the W4A DAC2, and I expect is will pair well in my speaker system with a W4S STP pre and a pair of Mini Mite Monoblock amps.

 

[A.Thorsen]

Quote:

Really enjoyed the Eastern Electric DAC while I had it, and I sold it to upgrade to a considerably more pricey DAC, the Weiss DAC2. 

I'd like to know how these all compared as well.
 
Quote:

I have a W4S DAC2 on order.  I have a PSAudio DL3 mod4 in my main headphone system, and have only read good things about the W4A DAC2, and I expect is will pair well in my speaker system with a W4S STP pre and a pair of Mini Mite Monoblock amps.

 
Will look forward to your impressions.

 

[Icenine2]

The really cool thing about the DAC 2 is you can go direct into your power amp for a big rig and skip the pre-amp.  6 Moons says it is the real deal and better than having a pre-amp.
 

 

[Roscoeiii]

Well, I wish I'd had a chance to A/B the two DACs. But alas, one needed to be sold to finance the other. A main reason that I decided to make the change was that I was moving to a computer based system, and the Weiss has a better implementation for playback from a computer. USB on the EE can't do 24/96 or 24/192, and coax, toslink and BNC seemed the better connectors. That's what got me thinking about a more computer focused DAC. By contrast to the EE DAC, the Weiss's strongest input is its Firewire. As for the sound, I think that while the EE DAC is very detailed and the tube option adds a nice warmth to the very detailed Sabre chip, the Weiss has a little more drive and oomph to it. Weiss exhibited a bit more detail, a better lower end, and seemed an all around stronger performer. Again, this was not A/Bing these two directly. I'd recommend checking out the 6moons EE DAC review. I found that Srajan's impressions were close to my own, and they are more reliable since he directly compared the two. The 6moons reviews of the W4S, EE and Weiss DAC2 are all worth looking at, as they include comparisons to each of these DACs discussed here. 
 
Hope this helps. 

 

[sangykim]

You have the exact DACs I'm considering for purchase. PS DL III w/ CS IV mod or Wyred DAC2 or potentially PWD ($2K w/ special offer).  
 
I heard the PWD and the output was great. Any short thoughts on PS DL Vs Wyred DAC 2?
 

 

[Bones13]

It is a bit hard to compare for me, as the DLIII is in a solid state balanced headphone rig.  I did notice a bit of additional clarity using the Halide Bridge in that setup now.
 
I use the Dac2 (upsampled via PureMusic) in a tubed monoblock + full range speaker setup.  Melody Gardot atm, spectacular.
 
I find the Dac2 to be another level of clarity+smoothness over the DLIII.
 
Currently building a Crack headphone amplifier, and i can do a bit more relevent testing.

 

[WindyCityCy]

I have both the DLIII with Cullen IV mods and the W4S DAC-2 also.  I haven't had the DAC-2 long enough to really compare the sonic differences (both are excellent).  However the DAC-2 has some features that I really like
 
1) 192K 24bit support for USB playback
2) volume control - I am using this as both a DAC and preamp for some powered monitors and as a DAC only for my WA22 headphone amp
3) display and remote - easy to switch inputs, control volume, see sampling rate
 
The DAC-2 so far seems to be better with USB and about the same with COAX input from my Squeezbox Touch playing FLAC.  Supposedly it gets better with 100-200 hours of burn-in.  I have about 70 on mine so plan on listening more this weekend.

 

[gzone3lement]

Quote:

I have both the DLIII with Cullen IV mods and the W4S DAC-2 also.  I haven't had the DAC-2 long enough to really compare the sonic differences (both are excellent).  However the DAC-2 has some features that I really like
 
1) 192K 24bit support for USB playback
2) volume control - I am using this as both a DAC and preamp for some powered monitors and as a DAC only for my WA22 headphone amp
3) display and remote - easy to switch inputs, control volume, see sampling rate
 
The DAC-2 so far seems to be better with USB and about the same with COAX input from my Squeezbox Touch playing FLAC.  Supposedly it gets better with 100-200 hours of burn-in.  I have about 70 on mine so plan on listening more this weekend.

Heard any difference between the DLIII with Cullen IV mod and the W4S DAC-2?

 

[WindyCityCy]

The DAC-2 now probably has 200-250 hours on it.  I've been doing quite a bit of listening the past week.  Impressions have changed
 

1. Using SB Touch as Source (Coax to DAC2) connected to the WA22 with balanced ICs and using HD800 balanced the sound is amazing.  I have a few 24/96 albums from HDTracks and they are a real treat!  I can only compare it to the modded DL3 from memory as I'm using that in my main stereo setup now (and still loving it) - I still think the DL3 rocks for this type of usage and probably would not have moved to the W4S if this was my only usage.
2. Using my laptop as Source (USB to DAC2) connected to the WA22 with balanced ICs and using HD800 balanced the sound is just as good (maybe slightly better than the Touch - really a toss-up - I use the Touch more for convenience).  I have been using both Foobar and J River with FLACs.  I can't tell a difference in sound from either player.  They both sound awesome.  In this usage the DAC2 is definitely better than the DL3 however the DL3 was not bad - like comparing a BMW 7 series to a 5 series -- most people would be really happy with either.
3. Using Touch or Laptop as Source and DAC2 as the pre-amp for my Klein+Hummel o300 active monitors is where the DAC2 has really improved in the past month.  I much preferred listening with the WA22 and HD800 headphones when I wrote my last post.  That has changed.  Now I'm just floored by how smooth and precise the K+H speakers on my desk are sounding.  I have recently found myself listening to them more than my headphones.  The DL3 couldn't be used in this configuration unless I was to add a separate pre-amp so for me this capability and results really make the DAC2 shine.
4. The DL3 is still quite a piece in my main stereo/theater system and when I want to really shake the house I go to it.  Sometimes I think about selling the DL3 since it's not being used very often but then I end up listening to a couple of songs and can't bring myself to do it.