Thanks for the impressions. I have the Holo spring 2 Wild and I agree.. I'm also using it with i2s. The imaging is not as pinpoint and placement is not as distinct, and the soundstage is not as wide, when compared to my matrix audio xsabre pro. It is, however, a very relaxed and natural sounding dac. Xsabre seems more detailed and neutral to me, more similar to dac3b.
Don't get me wrong, the Spring 2 and the Yggy are still great DACs considering they are what, almost 1/3 the price of the base Rockna ? Luckily for me got a great deal on a used model.
You'll get that natural, organic sound out of the Rockna, just without it being smoothed over. It's that liquid, detailed sound. Yet it's for transients for days. On top of that you'll find most Rockna owners agree dense imaging, and spacing are strong suits.
The Rockna designer has got tons of experience in this space and it really shows with his products
Thanks for the impressions. I have the Holo spring 2 Wild and I agree.. I'm also using it with i2s. The imaging is not as pinpoint and placement is not as distinct, and the soundstage is not as wide, when compared to my matrix audio xsabre pro. It is, however, a very relaxed and natural sounding dac. Xsabre seems more detailed and neutral to me, more similar to dac3b.
I can't decide between the Holo 2 and xsabre. They're both good, and both have pros/cons. If I had to choose one, the Xsabre has some sentimental value as it's the first dac I bought.. I'm hoping the Wavelight will be better than both the xsabre and holo2.
Initial impressions after receiving the Wavelight. Coming from a Denafrips Terminator, there is a clarity from the Wavelight that is musical and yet dynamic. The Terminator sounds more relaxed and laid back. There is an increase in space and decay of instruments, transients and speed is fast. High hats and cymbals have got that shimmer and sparkle. The detail, texture and layering is superb. It's quite an achievement for Rockna with this type of sound, where nothing really stands out when you listen but yet everything is excellent. It is quite hard to describe this unless you hear it yourself. This is an amazing DAC.
FYI, was chatting with Terry London about something unrelated and mentioned I had the Wavedream. He mentioned he's rated the Wavelight very highly and was quite impressed with the unit. Review should be forth coming but he tends to favor tone and timbre above all so TIFWIW
Not directly, but I did own the HTT2. I do prefer the Wavelight for what its worth. However, the TT2 is an all in one solution, and a very good one at that. Different strokes, I think.
A related question: Have you guys compared between using a preamp and going straight from Wavelight to the amp and using its volume control? Is it worth using double duty as a preamp against say a $2-$5K preamp?
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