[MacedonianHero]

  True... well he did like his W4S.... He like it longtime!!

I still like the W4S. But it does suffer from the Sabre "goodness" that Solude alluded to. But for the price range its in, it is hard to beat IMO.

 

[Gandah]

  I still like the W4S. But it does suffer from the Sabre "goodness" that Solude alluded to. But for the price range its in, it is hard to beat IMO.

I haven't  as let had a chance to audition the W4S but I have auditioned the Calyx DAC 24/192 which a lot of peeps are saying the two are closely matched as far as price and SQ.
 
However..... without putting the W4S down because I haven't yet taken it for a spin, I didn't like the Calyx 24/192 very much it was less of everything that the Invicta and Calyx Femto has on offer, so I have to somewhat disagree with all Sabre dac's sounding the same, but they do have that Sabre signature.
 
FYI, Currawong, on how he managed to get a lot more out of the Calyx 24/192
http://www.head-fi.org/t/612111/calyx-femto-dac/105#post_9673899

 

[Failed Engineer]

Does anyone have thoughts on what exactly the GS-X improves upon the GS-1, in specific as it relates to the HD800?  Sound-wise, is the GS-X more or less big brother to GS-1?  I wouldn't want to lose anything the GS-1 provides in terms of sound if I buy the GS-X.
 
I love the synergy of the GS-1 with my DAC so was thinking to upgrade the amp.

 

[Solude]

Take the GS-1, increase the natural feel and effortlessness to the sound, increase the presence of lower octaves, dial in that butter smooth treble and you have the GS-X mk2.  The new parts selected and increased bias really did take an already great 10/10 circuit and crank it to 11.
 
And if for whatever reason you don't like it, they sell for used, what they cost new... even years later.  Often more than the original price.  Similar to my HeadAmp KGSS, the money spent on a GS-X mk2 is really money that is tied up than spent

 

[Xecuter]

  I still like the W4S. But it does suffer from the Sabre "goodness" that Solude alluded to. But for the price range its in, it is hard to beat IMO.

Hi there, I should be getting the gs-x dact in the next few weeks. Do you recommend anything over your BDA-2? My other options are the Vega and Luxman DA 06. I can't seem to get the PW2 anywhere in Australia. Sorry to go back to DACs guys.

 

[MacedonianHero]

 
Hi there, I should be getting the gs-x dact in the next few weeks. Do you recommend anything over your BDA-2? My other options are the Vega and Luxman DA 06. I can't seem to get the PW2 anywhere in Australia. Sorry to go back to DACs guys.

Depends on your price range really. The PWD2s can be had for some great deals nowadays and the M51 is a great option too. I really like both. But in the end I prefer the BDA-2. I've been a fan of Bryston for many years and they really did a fantastic job with the BDA-2. Good thing, because the BDA-1 was a let down for me (I preferred the W4S DAC-2 to it).

 

[Xecuter]

Well my budget is sorta limited since I'm buying the GS-X DACT, Abyss, balanced interconnects and a DAC for 2-4k. I don't like the build quality on the NAD and I was hoping I could have DSD as a feature. The Bryson looks like a good buy, but I might go the vaga for the DSD.
 
I'll keep looking for someone who sells the PW2 in Australia.
 
Thanks for replying!

 

[Fririce0003]

Well my budget is sorta limited since I'm buying the GS-X DACT, Abyss, balanced interconnects and a DAC for 2-4k. I don't like the build quality on the NAD and I was hoping I could have DSD as a feature. The Bryson looks like a good buy, but I might go the vaga for the DSD.

I'll keep looking for someone who sells the PW2 in Australia.

Thanks for replying!

You can get the PW2 from magenta audio in SA I believe, they ship Australia wide.
I've got the Abyss, Vega, GS-X combo, not too many hours on it yet but initial impressions are lots of micro detail, gel rest texturing and plenty of speed. Good thing about the vega is you can tweak the sound a bit with the filter modes. I usually use filter mode 2.

 

[Xecuter]

Awesome set up. Pretty much exactly what I was going to buy from addicted to audio. At 4.5 k I'm not sure if the PW2 will be the way I go. Maybe just settle on the vega.
 
BTW, that is a crazy amount of gear for a 21 year old!

 

[Fririce0003]

Awesome set up. Pretty much exactly what I was going to buy from addicted to audio. At 4.5 k I'm not sure if the PW2 will be the way I go. Maybe just settle on the vega.

BTW, that is a crazy amount of gear for a 21 year old!

Thanks, plenty of overtime, that and being single doesn't hurt the hifi budget
You're welcome to drop by for an audition before you make your mind up, I'm based about 30 mins north of Melbourne. Also have a WA-5 for an amp alternative.

 

[Xecuter]

Thanks, plenty of overtime, that and being single doesn't hurt the hifi budget
You're welcome to drop by for an audition before you make your mind up, I'm based about 30 mins north of Melbourne. Also have a WA-5 for an amp alternative.

Wowo thanks for the invite. Well I'm 24, have a gf, and started my own business last year. So it took about 6 months to have the 12k in spare change!!
 
I'm thinking of getting the EC 445 or BA as me amp alternative

 

[Xecuter]

Carlton audio just got back to me with a quote for 3.5k for the pw2, pretty tempted, just wish I could audition it with the GS-X first!

 

[Fririce0003]

Wowo thanks for the invite. Well I'm 24, have a gf, and started my own business last year. So it took about 6 months to have the 12k in spare change!!

I'm thinking of getting the EC 445 or BA as me amp alternative

Starting a new business + the gf would definitely put a dent in the wallet
The 445 looks nice, 300B's in the BA and WA-5 end up adding a fair bit to the cost of the amp though.
I'm overseas until around the 20th but feel free to PM me if you feel like a listen when I'm back in the country.

 

[Xecuter]

Thank you! enjoy your trip!

 

[Solude]

  Carlton audio just got back to me with a quote for 3.5k for the pw2

 
That's about 1200 too high for a new unit even years ago when they were a current model.