[batmansbest]

Hey All! Got my Wavelight today and it sounds great! Working on getting ownership transferred so I can't access the firmware site yet, but my unit shows "V1.23,01.36" -- what's the latest?

That's the latest firmware. V1.23

I'm waiting for the Hybrid Ladder mode firmware to come out....Hope Rockna is working on it.

 

[RHMMMM]

That's the latest firmware. V1.23

I'm waiting for the Hybrid Ladder mode firmware to come out....Hope Rockna is working on it.

Thank you!

 

[alekc]

That's the latest firmware. V1.23

I'm waiting for the Hybrid Ladder mode firmware to come out....Hope Rockna is working on it.

@batmansbest I guess you are not the only one However I've stopped waiting for the Server already, considering we are talking about the software it should be faster, unfortunately I think their software development team is busy fixing all Audiobyte software problems now... Oh well, I still keep my fingers crossed. Even without it WL is awesome DAC with almost any amp.

 

[m-i-c-k-e-y]

I think their software development team is busy fixing all Audiobyte software problems now...

At to my delight...

But honestly there were many problems (Hydra ZAP and HUB).

 

[angpsi]

Hey All! Got my Wavelight today and it sounds great! Working on getting ownership transferred so I can't access the firmware site yet, but my unit shows "V1.23,01.36" -- what's the latest?

So, what’s your first impressions comparing between Terminator II and Wavelight?

 

[RHMMMM]

So, what’s your first impressions comparing between Terminator II and Wavelight?

I’m letting them both run in for another couple days nonstop on Roon. I’m going to be choosing one for my headphone setup in the end and selling the other. I’ll also run them through my main speaker based system and compare them to my MSB Reference.

Super initial (and slightly unfair) impressions favor the Terminator II 12th ever so slightly. I’ve had the Terminator running since Friday the 18th and just received the Wavelight yesterday so I want it to settle in and run in a bit more before any kind of conclusions or reviews.

Both have a very pleasing, enjoyable sound and the two sound more similar than different. This is the first time I’ve heard a product from both manufacturers.

The Terminator has 2x+ the number of resistors and a much larger power supply, however other design factors and architecture make a difference too! FYI, I popped the top on the Wavelight to make sure the gain was 0db.

Here are some pics of the guts of both. Not pictured is the underbelly of the Denafrips with its larger transformers and the rest of its power supply.

 

[batmansbest]

@batmansbest I guess you are not the only one However I've stopped waiting for the Server already, considering we are talking about the software it should be faster, unfortunately I think their software development team is busy fixing all Audiobyte software problems now... Oh well, I still keep my fingers crossed. Even without it WL is awesome DAC with almost any amp.

I hope they get them sorted out fast.
I've been playing around with some pure silver filament fuses for the wavelight and my amplifiers, soldered directly into the PCB with 20 gauge silver wire...and it's absolute heaven. Crystal clear clarity, no peaks of any kind anywhere.
If that Ladder mode improves this DAC any further, oh boy.....

 

[batmansbest]

I’m letting them both run in for another couple days nonstop on Roon. I’m going to be choosing one for my headphone setup in the end and selling the other. I’ll also run them through my main speaker based system and compare them to my MSB Reference.

Super initial (and slightly unfair) impressions favor the Terminator II 12th ever so slightly. I’ve had the Terminator running since Friday the 18th and just received the Wavelight yesterday so I want it to settle in and run in a bit more before any kind of conclusions or reviews.

Both have a very pleasing, enjoyable sound and the two sound more similar than different. This is the first time I’ve heard a product from both manufacturers.

The Terminator has 2x+ the number of resistors and a much larger power supply, however other design factors and architecture make a difference too! FYI, I popped the top on the Wavelight to make sure the gain was 0db.

Here are some pics of the guts of both. Not pictured is the underbelly of the Denafrips with its larger transformers and the rest of its power supply.

Use Hybrid volume. Analogue is a clear step down in my opinion.

 

[alekc]

Use Hybrid volume. Analogue is a clear step down in my opinion.

@batmansbest and @RHMMMM I have similar experience although YMMV. The fact is that I've switched to Hybrid volume setting within first few days and never went back. Quite opposite to the filter settings and may experience so far it all depends on the mood and album. The filters are really different contrary to Chord implementation in TT2 for example when you really need to focus on those small changes and you still can't hear them mostly This is one of reasons why I love WaveLight so much.

 

[ThanatosVI]

@batmansbest and @RHMMMM I have similar experience although YMMV. The fact is that I've switched to Hybrid volume setting within first few days and never went back. Quite opposite to the filter settings and may experience so far it all depends on the mood and album. The filters are really different contrary to Chord implementation in TT2 for example when you really need to focus on those small changes and you still can't hear them mostly This is one of reasons why I love WaveLight so much.

I was really impressed how much difference can be heard between all the filters and NOS.
Certainly worth it to play atound for a while.

Most of the time I switched between Hybrid and NOS. The first for when I wanted a more dynamic experience, the latter for when I wanted a smoother experience.

To my surprise there are even D/S DACs that can sound more analog than some R2R DACs with the right Oversampling filter

 

[batmansbest]

I've been on NOS, using roon via HQPlayer without any upscaling. It sounds incredible, especially after the fuse changes.
My go to player before was Audirvana, and after the mods HQPlayer is quite a bit ahead in Audio Quality.

Direct SDM for DSD and no upscaling for PCM...

 

[batmansbest]

I’m letting them both run in for another couple days nonstop on Roon. I’m going to be choosing one for my headphone setup in the end and selling the other. I’ll also run them through my main speaker based system and compare them to my MSB Reference.

Super initial (and slightly unfair) impressions favor the Terminator II 12th ever so slightly. I’ve had the Terminator running since Friday the 18th and just received the Wavelight yesterday so I want it to settle in and run in a bit more before any kind of conclusions or reviews.

Both have a very pleasing, enjoyable sound and the two sound more similar than different. This is the first time I’ve heard a product from both manufacturers.

The Terminator has 2x+ the number of resistors and a much larger power supply, however other design factors and architecture make a difference too! FYI, I popped the top on the Wavelight to make sure the gain was 0db.

Here are some pics of the guts of both. Not pictured is the underbelly of the Denafrips with its larger transformers and the rest of its power supply.

That is a massive number of caps on the terminator chasis, wow.
If one of them goes out, you're gonna have a hell of a time finding it.
They should call it the capacitator

 

[m-i-c-k-e-y]

They should call it the capacitator

Denafrips should have that title...

 

[batmansbest]

Has anyone tried bypassing the power supply electrolytic capacitors on this DAC?
with some foil caps perhaps?

 

[batmansbest]

So I bypassed the Electrolytic caps with Duelund Copper foil capacitors....Caused incoherency issues in the upper frequencies.
I'm not a fan of bypassing electrolytic or crossover caps. They provide higher detail but the resulting sound is always more digital... anyways.
I am going replace the stock Power caps for Audionote Kaisei ones.
Lets see how that goes