[Highfive99]

Well after a shipping snafu with Fedex I finally got my 204 last Friday and now have about 20hrs on it. It improved considerably in those 20hrs from 1st power up. Existing rig was a Gustard X26Pro with SR Purple fuse, Gustard U18 DDC with purple fuse and a LHY OCK-1 OCXO and that all sounded utterly fantastic to my ears and I was quite happy with it. Then I learned about the 204 and it being compared favorably to the Weiss 501/502, Chord Dave and other 5 figure DAC's. I could not resist given the price point it was at. As stated above voices are incredible. So lifelike. So realistic. Background is dead silent. Everything just sounds so much better, more detailed, more nuanced, instruments sound 'more realistic' with better separation or air between them. The Gustard is a mighty fine DAC at its price point and it punches above its weight but it just can't match the 204. No OCXO, DDC or BNC cable or fuses will ever get the Gustard to match the 204. With the 204 there's no need for any of those addons that do help the Gustard sound much better than out of the box. As Steve H mentions in his review, the 204 just sounds like music the way it should be heard like fresh off a master tape. No coloration or tonality to it. Just super clean super detailed and defined sound. Listening to music I've burned into memory for years on vinyl and with other DACs and now I hear detail and nuance I have not heard before. Now I understand why some DACs are at and over $10k. With the 204 you get that high end sound without the high end price tag. It's a keeper. End game DAC for me. It's not the DAC for everyone but it is a totally outstanding unit for what it does. My compliments to Daniel Weiss.
Todd, thanks once again for the deal you gave me and through sorting out the FedEx mess. Great retailer. He's always reachable by phone and I would not hesitate to buy from the Vinyl Junkie again!

 

[lithiumnk]

Well after a shipping snafu with Fedex I finally got my 204 last Friday and now have about 20hrs on it. It improved considerably in those 20hrs from 1st power up. Existing rig was a Gustard X26Pro with SR Purple fuse, Gustard U18 DDC with purple fuse and a LHY OCK-1 OCXO and that all sounded utterly fantastic to my ears and I was quite happy with it. Then I learned about the 204 and it being compared favorably to the Weiss 501/502, Chord Dave and other 5 figure DAC's. I could not resist given the price point it was at. As stated above voices are incredible. So lifelike. So realistic. Background is dead silent. Everything just sounds so much better, more detailed, more nuanced, instruments sound 'more realistic' with better separation or air between them. The Gustard is a mighty fine DAC at its price point and it punches above its weight but it just can't match the 204. No OCXO, DDC or BNC cable or fuses will ever get the Gustard to match the 204. With the 204 there's no need for any of those addons that do help the Gustard sound much better than out of the box. As Steve H mentions in his review, the 204 just sounds like music the way it should be heard like fresh off a master tape. No coloration or tonality to it. Just super clean super detailed and defined sound. Listening to music I've burned into memory for years on vinyl and with other DACs and now I hear detail and nuance I have not heard before. Now I understand why some DACs are at and over $10k. With the 204 you get that high end sound without the high end price tag. It's a keeper. End game DAC for me. It's not the DAC for everyone but it is a totally outstanding unit for what it does. My compliments to Daniel Weiss.
Todd, thanks once again for the deal you gave me and through sorting out the FedEx mess. Great retailer. He's always reachable by phone and I would not hesitate to buy from the Vinyl Junkie again!

Thanks for your feedback.
What LPS & digital input are you using with 204?

 

[Highfive99]

Thanks for your feedback.
What LPS & digital input are you using with 204?

Right now just the stock SMPS that came with the 204. It does say medical grade on it for what that's worth. Any suggestions on a decent LPS that's isn't too pricey? From what I've gathered the 204 only gets marginally better with an LPS. Knowing Weiss, the 204 is probably designed so that a more costly PS than the stock one supplied won't make a huge difference. If anyone with a 204 and is using an LPS, I'd love hear you thoughts on it.
For inputs I am using all 3. USB from Roon core, TOS from TV and SPDIF from DVD player.

 

[agisthos]

@Highfive99
You would be wrong in thinking it wont improve with a better power supply. All these DAC manufacturers will claim their SMPS is great and cannot be improved but that's nonsense. Even the Chord DAVE is hugely improved by a LPS upgrade.
I highly suggest the Farad Super 3. Its only 559 euro and was better than all my other LPS.

 

[agisthos]

Also if there is an input range, such as 9-12v, get a upgraded power supply at the higher voltage. Running at the higher end of the range always seems to sound better.

 

[OCC7N]

Have any of you tried AES input? - Where and which connector is the AES input - optical?

_
Inputs: There are two AES/EBU (S/PDIF) inputs onRCA and Toslink (optical) connectors. The samplingfrequencies supported are 44.1, 48, 88.2, 96, 176.4or 192 kHz.In addition there is a USB input which supportssampling frequencies of 44.1, 48, 88.2, 96, 176.4,192, 352.8, 384 kHz plus DSD64 and DSD128.

 

[OCC7N]

What chips are being used in this shoe box ?

Converters: Oversampling sigma delta D/A converters are used. Four D/A Converters per audiochannel are operated in parallel for enhanced signal to noise performance.

 

[brillo]

@Highfive99
You would be wrong in thinking it wont improve with a better power supply. All these DAC manufacturers will claim their SMPS is great and cannot be improved but that's nonsense. Even the Chord DAVE is hugely improved by a LPS upgrade.
I highly suggest the Farad Super 3. Its only 559 euro and was better than all my other LPS.

Agree. I think the 204 is significantly better with a good power supply (rather than the way it sounds to me with the stock SMPS)...

 

[Andrewteee]

Agree. I think the 204 is significantly better with a good power supply (rather than the way it sounds to me with the stock SMPS)...

I bet the Ferrum Hypsos could work for this purpose? I have it but not the right connector for the DAC204 (which I don't own atm).

What is the connector type for the power supply input on the DAC204? Output voltage range for the Hypsos is 5-30V, so it meets the needs of the DAC204.

 

[brillo]

I bet the Ferrum Hypsos could work for this purpose? I have it but not the right connector for the DAC204 (which I don't own atm).

What is the connector type for the power supply input on the DAC204?

That's what I'm using (Ferrum Hyspos) with the DAC. Sounds great.

The DAC takes a 2.5mm connector.

 

[Andrewteee]

LOL... what voltage do you use?

 

[Highfive99]

I bet the Ferrum Hypsos could work for this purpose? I have it but not the right connector for the DAC204 (which I don't own atm).

What is the connector type for the power supply input on the DAC204? Output voltage range for the Hypsos is 5-30V, so it meets the needs of the DAC204.

It measures 5.5mm in diameter.

 

[brillo]

LOL... what voltage do you use?

I have it set at 7.9 volts. I set it to 7.5 to start, and then dialed up to 7.9. It sounded good, so I left it there.

I haven't had time to experiment much (yet) with different voltages.

 

[Dandion]

Well after a shipping snafu with Fedex I finally got my 204 last Friday and now have about 20hrs on it. It improved considerably in those 20hrs from 1st power up. Existing rig was a Gustard X26Pro with SR Purple fuse, Gustard U18 DDC with purple fuse and a LHY OCK-1 OCXO and that all sounded utterly fantastic to my ears and I was quite happy with it. Then I learned about the 204 and it being compared favorably to the Weiss 501/502, Chord Dave and other 5 figure DAC's. I could not resist given the price point it was at. As stated above voices are incredible. So lifelike. So realistic. Background is dead silent. Everything just sounds so much better, more detailed, more nuanced, instruments sound 'more realistic' with better separation or air between them. The Gustard is a mighty fine DAC at its price point and it punches above its weight but it just can't match the 204. No OCXO, DDC or BNC cable or fuses will ever get the Gustard to match the 204. With the 204 there's no need for any of those addons that do help the Gustard sound much better than out of the box. As Steve H mentions in his review, the 204 just sounds like music the way it should be heard like fresh off a master tape. No coloration or tonality to it. Just super clean super detailed and defined sound. Listening to music I've burned into memory for years on vinyl and with other DACs and now I hear detail and nuance I have not heard before. Now I understand why some DACs are at and over $10k. With the 204 you get that high end sound without the high end price tag. It's a keeper. End game DAC for me. It's not the DAC for everyone but it is a totally outstanding unit for what it does. My compliments to Daniel Weiss.
Todd, thanks once again for the deal you gave me and through sorting out the FedEx mess. Great retailer. He's always reachable by phone and I would not hesitate to buy from the Vinyl Junkie again!

Interesting feedback, how do you compare the 204 soundstage depth and holographic with the gustard x26? I am using the gustard r26 and soundstage depth is far behind the loudspeakers.

 

[OCC7N]

Agree. I think the 204 is significantly better with a good power supply (rather than the way it sounds to me with the stock SMPS)...

Can you please take a picture of the BNC connector on your DAC204?

And is it really up there in sound vs Chord Dave or other expensive dacs you may have tried/owned?