Highfive99
100+ Head-Fier
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!
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!
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