Good point. I thought for some reason w2 has battery like some other bt dongles. I will check that out. It is more expensive than I planned but I suppose superior sound quality to zen dac.
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Now thats a list. Assuming you are aiming for horizon over pacific? Or something else catch your eye?
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Nope committing to a twelve system, the more I looked at it, the totaldac is a better value and also easier to slot into my system, and as an added bonus I don’t have to touch tubes whatsoever. Believe me the horizon is real tempting, but I just don’t know if that’s the direction I want to go
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Makes sense over all. Certaonly a bit more manageable of a size than the pacific for a desk setup. Will be currious to see your impressions of the 12 when it lands. Guess its been one hell of a year for consolidation efforts for you
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Well, it’s moreso building up, I’ll have a 7 story totaldac trapezoid high-rise on my rack now lol (3 boxes for the twelve, 2 boxes for the drivers, 1 box for the reclocker, and 1 box for the multi live power + a few more separates)
Once I figured out how I somehow got stuck in midfi hell in the high end, it’s pretty rewarding to correct that lol
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I use this as a “portable” dac constantly but there is one draw back…
I completely agree with getting a psu for it. It’s lacking in some areas and i think this would help.
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Oh, I thought one of the twelve’s boxes was a reclocker so maybe you wouldn’t need your current reclocker? Or are you planning on using yours in tandem with the twelve’s?
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Sort of, but it’s actually good to double up, I know some owners who run 3 reclockers together, but I’ll just stick with one dedicated reclocker lol
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Makes sense, at these levels you want to make the source as good as possible. But hey once you are done consolidating everything I’m sure having just one stack for your DAC setup will feel nice.
Anyways, I wish you the best of luck with the consolidation process!
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How might something like this compare to a Weiss DAC 502, and potential synergy/voicing differences? No idea if this is a decent price…
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That’s a good price FWIW it has the upgraded USB, and the optional PSU, and the optional volume control.
It was a DAC I looked at at one point, I can’t compare it to the Weiss though.
It was discontinued relatively recently, but MSB still supports it, you can still get the Network card, but it’s $2K.
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Given there’s no physical interface, I assume there’s a partner app of some sort to control streaming as like a Roon endpoint or something?
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And also one hell of a “What did you buy today” post!! Congrats M0N!!
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It’s a roon endpoint I believe.
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I would say somewhat similar level without the power base, but adding the power base does nudge it up a bit in most technical aspects. The Weiss will be cleaner in comparison and the analog dac is more laid back and rich overall, I do think from a timbre, tonality, and organic presentation wise I would favor the analog dac, resolving power is a draw, might favor speed and separation more on the Weiss, spatially the analog dac will throw a larger and more grand stage, but the Weiss might have better placement in that stage, although the analog DAC is a bit more organic in how it lays things out. Dynamically I actually think the Weiss might pull ahead in macro but the msb in micro, msb would be more refined overall imo. For extension I think the msb might dig more into the bass but the Weiss better in the treble. It’s a tough call, I’d personally prefer the msb but I think it would come down to synergy, one isn’t obviously a step ahead over the other imo
I can’t speak to using streamers in either tbh. The DSP in the Weiss is awesome so if you value that at all the Weiss is the way to go there
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I can second this as I’ve now spent some time fooling with filters ans settings. In the end I set it all back to stock but it’s really nice trying out the purpose built filter when needed.
The Analog DAC looks sexy AF though.
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Basically my experience with most dacs that have a ton of dsp capability has always ended in me not really caring about it in the end lol. For me having those dsp options really doesn’t make or break the dac for me. The only one thing I can see making a decision toward the weiss for me would be room correction that’s built in, because that can be very helpful with a speaker setup so that could potentially be a turning point, but most everything else it has, while not a gimmick and does work well, didn’t really change my overall opinion on it. But I’m someone who does more set and forget type of things, and don’t like to dink around with too many options, so if you are someone who loves to tweak stuff constantly that might be more appealing lol
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Exactly. The de-esser works but I wouldn’t critically listen to tracks that needed it in the first place. The vinyl filter is also cool, but I’m with you, straight up default for me.
I also will add that having the built in streamer is a VERY convenient feature and after I set up the endpoint with the EtherREGEN it’s just been something I don’t even think about. The quality I’m sure can be improved on, but I don’t think that’s where the dollars would/should be invested in my chain.
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Any chance you ever ran either with the Crayon to compare synergy? I know your write-up mentions the Weiss for building on the Crayon’s existing strengths, and based on your description, I might still kinda lean Weiss because I do think I might like a touch more macro punch than what I currently get from the La Voce S3. I might be slightly concerned that if the MSB is more laid back, it might push a tad too far with the Crayon. I am, though, a bit of a sucker for timbre and organic presentation, so…
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I personally wouldn’t grab an analog dac for the crayon because I don’t think it would have as good synergy as your weiss, and it’s also going to be more a sidegrade on your current setup (unless that’s what you are looking for). I’ve heard the crayon and Weiss together, but not with the analog dac, I just estimate with how the analog dac and crayon pairs they may not be a good match
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