Spent a long session today comparing the Weiss Helios to the Bartok Apex. It was a head-to-head struggle, with one DAC besting the other on some tracks and vice-versa. It is amazing that two similarly priced and specc'd devices still can be voiced so differently.
And easy to see why some would prefer one device over the other. The Bartok has a fuller/richer/rounder sound whereas the Helios is more resolving, refined and detailed. It really does depend on what kind of listening you like to do.
In the end, for my tastes and my listening material, I opted for the Helios, largely because the higher resolution conveyed more in terms of instrumental and vocal character, captured more about the expressiveness of the performer and the tiny nuances in performance, and reproduced more of the hall ambience and reverberation, all of which made the music more emotionally engaging.
I also thought the Helios created a more convincing sound stage, with rock-solid and stable placement. (Recording dependent, of course.) The Helios was rhythmically better. We were all toe-tapping and humming along to many of the livelier tracks.
And "listenability". The final test for me, and a reflection on the day's work, is that with the Helios I repeatedly caught myself wanting to keep listening to the remainder of the current piece rather than move on to the next test track. I became absorbed in the music each time, wanting to hear how the music would develop.
Test tracks were a mix of pop vocal, jazz, orchestral, chamber, choral and operatic. The tests were in my home system, with each device directly driving ATC SCM50ASL active loudspeakers.
So, subject to final negotiations and product availability, the Helios will be my next DAC for the foreseeable future. I expect my MScaler, Chord TT2, dCS Network Bridge and associated Wave Storm cables will be appearing in the For-Sale listings shortly. Thanks to everyone for the advice posted here.
