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Wyred 4 Sound DAC1 or DAC2?

Hello everyone,

I am faced with this question at this very moment. Which of these two to choose?
I have just sold my Cullen Stage IV PS Audio DL3. I liked the unit a lot and thought I won't be letting it go…
I sounded so "right". I had a Benchmark (the non-USB version) before it and for me, the PS Audio was way better.
The same level of detail, if not more, as the Benchmark, but with a less forward presentation and a way stronger and tighter bass.
The highs of the Benchmark, while not harsh at all, were too much in my face and I couldn't stand that.
Also, the preamp function of the Benchmark was a big let-down. Each time I tried it I returned to my Musical Fidelity A3CR preamp.
By no means the preamp in the Benchmark sounded good to me when compared with the MF.
And this is what makes me so undecided now.
Is the preamp section of the W4S DAC2 better than my MF? Is the digital domain volume control a good and transparent thing?
Are there any differences between DAC1 and DAC2 besides the asynchronous USB and digital volume control?
In short, should I buy the DAC1 and keep my MF preamp or should I buy the DAC2 and go directly into the MF A3CR power amp, and maybe upgrade to a balanced amp later on?
My preamp is currently for sale, but I'm doing that half-heartedly, for it sounds very-very good to me and only the fact that I have only one source and don't used any other inputs make me look at it as overkill.
What do you think?
Any comments will be greatly appreciated.
Thank you very much.
mihaitaa
devilboy
818 posts
 
Edge22: We both know we can't compare the ESS dac in the Nova DIRECTLY to the Minvera. The dac in the Nova is wonderful, and to add a preamp/amp to the price makes it an absolute steal. I am using the Nova to run a pair of Volent Paragon VL-2 monitors. Now, this seams like overkill, but let me tell you, I could live happily with what the Nova is feeding the Volents. However, when I run the Minerva into the Nova's aux. inputs it IS better, more refined, but not night-and-day different. Yes, the common denominator in both setups was the Nova's preamp/amp section but I don't think the preamp/amp section of the Nova is revealing enough to really differentiate between dacs. I have never heard the new Wyred DACs but I'm sure they're great. Are they up to par with Weiss,Berkeley,MSB....I don't know. Srosenberh says he prefers the Wyred over the Minerva. I'm interested to learn more though...

Anyway, yes, I would say that stepping up to a higher quality dac (Wyred,PS Audio or higher), would be a significant improvement.
timpani
40 posts
 
I have only just taken possession of the dac2 so it still needs running in.

Interestingly at the moment the high frequencies are not clean. There's a certain courseness rather than a silky sheen that I hear from my Benchmark DAC1 pre. I'm not sure I can warm to this presentation. It will need to improve a lot to win me over.
kops's avatar
kops
478 posts
 
The openess of the Zodiac+ high frequencies are hard to beat.

If you add an external psu (like redwine or t.Pardo) or even a battery ext. psu the whole thing is fantastic.

I guess Antelope's own Volticus could deliver too.
naggots
115 posts
 
The Australian distributed said he couldn't hear the difference between the 2 Wyred dacs. He has the Dac 1. His advise to me was if you needed a preamp for analogue/phonoinputs or had a valve pre and aren't doing USB above 24/96 then Dac1. Dac 2 offers more inputs and a remote control pre amp, it has improved power supply caps of the same values but more complex circuitry thus more demand on the power supply. Dac 2 is a no brainer if you use all digital inputs.
dan92075
23 posts
 
Is the DAC2 preamp digital or analog?

I tried the DAC1 with my logitech touch by digitally turning down the volume. It bested my AVR at loud volumes but at low volumes (for example night listening) the digital volume control sounded just ok.

That makes sense, because DACs are generally most linear at full scale. So it seems to me one would want an analog preamp rather than digitally scaling all the way down that far. . .

Any thoughts on this? I am trying to decide between upgrading to a DAC2 versus getting an analog preamp. . .
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