Wyred DACS

Hi Cutterfilm

You may be running into the slight upper midrange issue the Saber chip has. This is an excellent DAC but when compared to much more expensive DAC's you can hear this. It may be inherent to the Saber chip or it may be that it is a difficult chip to work with. When we did our DAC shootout one person rated this DAC better than even the much more expensive reference DAC's we had there which is no mean feat. But I think the comments of one person there summed it up:
'An amazing amount of detail, excellent tonal consistency and powerful bass. But it sounded like you were playing a CD and there were electronic artifacts in the form of a mid treble glare that intruded. Grey background. Microdynamically restricted. However its combination of consistent tonality and detail was impressive in a hifi sense and I can actually believe that some listeners might place this as their favourite.'

You may simply be one of those people who prefer something a little different. I am in that boat as well so don't beat yourself up over it if that turns out to the case. I found I preferred the Tranquility DAC.

Personal preferences and system synergies make it really hard for any one product to do it for everyone.

Thanks
Bill

Hi Cutterfilm

Oh I forgot to mention I think you have simply run into a system synergy thing that the removal of the pre amp highlighted. I suspect by bypassing the pre amp your system is now more transparent and you can hear some of the issues that were being masked.

Thanks
Bill

I also have been following this thread as well as the one on AC, and I appreciate its approach and the quality of membership contributions. I understand everyone's qualifications concerning their appreciation of the several DACs discussed.

Having said all that, and because I value that approach and those values, I was wondering if anyone could create a ranking from their point of view concerning the various DACs.

Let me explain myself. I am especially sensitive and irritated by upper mid/lower treb sibilance and glare. When I hear that, regardless of its various phenomena, the enjoyment of music collapses into annoyance and avoidance.

As I read the thoughtful analysis here, I think I'm reading that some members think that the Wyred DAC2 and the Tranquility are highly competitive in many essential respects, but in the area of my concern, the nod appears to go to the Tranquility. I sincerely hope I am not misreading here. My apologies if I am.

Mention has been made of more expensive DACs (ones more expensive than the Wyred DAC-2 and the Tranquility) that solve/address this problem and have the virtues of the Wyred and Tranquility. I am aware of the Ayre Qb-9 being mentioned, perhaps here or in AC.

My question, beyond the Wyred, the Tranquility,and the Ayre, what are others under 3k US$ that members would recommend for consideration?

I use a MacMini, with RSA Alethias USB, and AIFF files into several systems through an iRoc DAC. This DAC works very, very well with two of my systems in all respects; however, on my highest res system, its limitations reveal themselves frequently enough for me to continue my search and exploration.

I have enjoyed the iRoc over the years, have tried other DACs against it, have found some to be a little better and many a little worse, but have not found one that is so much better that I can justify the time, money, and aggravations of change.

DACs seem to be highly system dependent, and the prospect of buying one and taking the time for burn in and cabling to "fit" has seemed very unappetizing. But now I am interested in exploring this further.

My apologies for the long-winded post.

:) listening,

Ed

I am especially sensitive and irritated by upper mid/lower treb sibilance and glare. When I hear that, regardless of its various phenomena, the enjoyment of music collapses into annoyance and avoidance.

I couldn't agree more. Glare and sibilance are show stoppers.

My question, beyond the Wyred, the Tranquility,and the Ayre, what are others under 3k US$ that members would recommend for consideration?

Bel Canto DAC3 and DAC3.5 are excellent sounding. I'm sure there are others, but I haven't heard them.

If you are extremely sensitive to sibilance and glare then I believe the WFS will not be your preference. This is not to slight the DAC - it is very hard to make a DAC that will synergige in everyones system to their taste. The tranquility will be a better choice IMHO for you. It was instantly competitive with a very expensive reference DAC that was describes this way:
'But let me say the things a beast ! I’ve spent time with a full DCS stack and I can tell you the Connor24 smacks it down simple as that. The 24 is a DCS stack with a velvet glove.'

The Tranquility really is a hard nut to crack. The reason you may prefer the WFS is if you prefer the following type of presentation as described by one person at the shootout:
'An amazing amount of detail, excellent tonal consistency and powerful bass. But it sounded like you were playing a CD and there were electronic artifacts in the form of a mid treble glare that intruded. Grey background. Microdynamically restricted. However its combination of consistent tonality and detail was impressive in a hifi sense and I can actually believe that some listeners might place this as their favourite.'

Thanks
Bill