For all Rockna gear
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Will def be curious to hear your thoughts on the wavedream @Andy77
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I will also be interested to hear some impressions. I have finally decided that my next upgrade will be a DAC upgrade so I started reading through the DAC comparison PT2 and the Wavelight has really caught my attention so far. No idea how the synergy would be with my current chain, but everything Iām reading makes it seem like Iād greatly enjoy it.
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Iāve heard Rockna Wavelight a total of 3 different times now. Each time I came away really liking it. But itās not going to be for everyone. The best way Iād describe it isā¦ āsharpā sounding. And no not in a ābright/trebleā kind of way. Itās like watching a machine laser cutting a metal block but in musical form. Thatās probably a really dumb analogy but thatās how Iād describe it.
I hope to hear a Wavedream one day but my god I do not like how large DACs get at these higher price ranges.
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Hello,
The Rockna Wavelight is supposed to be a real insiderās tip for the Feliks Euforia amplifier.
A forum colleague had the Morpheus in focus as a Dac and recommended the link where it was tested.
I think it was Monās contribution.
After that he was convinced of the Rockna Wavelight and bought a used one.
Since then he canāt stop raving about it.
He also said that the Wavelight outperforms his Chord Outtest and plays 2 levels higher.
I think the Wavelight can also perform very well on tube amps in general, apart from the Feliks Euforia.
I would also get one but I have to explain 5000$/ā¬ to my wife somehow.
Otherwise, Iām a head shorter 
.
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After a 8 week wait I received a Wavedream Edition single ended. Iām currently running it with a Matrix XSPDIF and a Bakoon 13R, driving a Focal Clear and Hifiman Susvara. Iāve been comparing it to a Sonnet Morpheus.
My impressions are very favorable, but Iāve been holding off writing anything because this new DAC might have created more questions for me than answers.
The first thing I noticed, even before it was fully warmed up was the space- both stage and the space between instruments. It has a very open feel compared to the Morpheus in many ways. Also I noticed more texture/timbre/detail. In fact this dac is sort of messing with my understanding of those three things. I feel like I may have been conflating or confusing those things before and Iām just now starting to tease out the differences between them.
Also background seems blackerā¦however all of those things might be the same effect that Iām describing manifesting in different ways. Itās just āclearerā and more open. This is why Iām holding off writing a longer form description until I figure this out. But either way it is a definite and clear step up.
There is really something interesting and good going on with the bass too. Probably just more detailed and sharper bass, but I havenāt put my finger on it yet.
Thatās all Iāve got for the moment. More to follow if I have anything worthwhile.
14 Likes
I completely understand what youāre trying to describe and utterly failing at because I sat for days with the same internal strugglesā¦ what exactly is it that Iām hearing since Iām hearing so much more. The initial impact the note itself and then the sustain. The feeling that you could almost count each Hertz in a bass note if you tried.
You waited for this a long time, Iāll definitely be following your thoughts on it.
Apparently that same exact feeling keeps going if you triple the cost the Wavedream, and then triple the cost of whatever is after that again!
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Yep, I think most of us that have gotten new DACs have stopped trying to describe the benefits. āItās better. Itās worth the added expense. Listen for yourself.ā is all we can say now.
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Just finished some listening on AES vs I2S on my Wavedream Edition.
Compared a Audioquest HDMI cable sold to me for a steal by @dB_Cooper vs a Silversonic D-110 AES Cable: PC via USB - Matrix XS|PDIF - Wavedream.
A slight, slight but noticeable improvement with the I2S. Clearer, more forward (in a good way) and what felt like a slightly larger stage.
Iām sticking with the I2S!!
EDIT: Forgot to mention that I had the clock source as the DACās clock, not the XSPDIF.
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Glad it worked out for you!
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THANK YOU @db_Cooper! It was just the right length for my setup, too. A win!
I need yo test USB vs AES between my Aries G1 and Wavedream. Iām sure a DDC can be a nice addition but thinking of Investing that money in a FTA Csllisto instead
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Didnāt know they were R2R ladder DACs, nice.
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So, just a quick note, the volume control on wd eiditon is trash as hell. I went from -10dB (cause quiet listener) to 0 cause weekend and canāt disturb anyone if no one is here and my opinions on this dac have changed quite drasticaly.
That said, I seriously wish people would stop it with the fucking 5-7v+ dac outputs. This is litteraly 90dB peaks on sus and aic (just checked with a sealed ear cup) cause the input is so insanely hot
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At times I feel like mfg end up shooting themselves in the foot by adding volume controls that really arenāt up to snuff. Some customers wonāt notice since their setup isnāt to the level where that becomes a bottleneck, but for others itās really just irritating lol. And yes the hotter dac outputs for whatever reason get irritating fast, either forces you to put a nicer pre inbetween or find some other way of attenuation which typically is always a compromise
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Seriously. Td and meitner both have realy solid dsp volume control (small hit but not enoygh to out weight getting fiber volume adjustment on the amp), and Weiss and dave Iām not even confidant I heard a difference so I just assumed wd would be at least āfineā. Am kinda shocked to find out itās not tbh
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I was impressed with the TD volume control despite it being fully digital, still some loss but not too bad, and even at full volume itās not that hot of a level imo. And yes EMM/meitner as well, same with weiss and chord. I think the high end lampi also have fantastic volume control, bricasti is also pretty good, and others. But the rockna volume control is what Iād consider āserviceableā but Iād rather not use it if I donāt have to lol, itās more there as a feature than something with serious work put into imo. Really think most dacs end up in this āwe threw it on there for convenienceā side of things when it comes to their volume control until you get really high up there
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I totaly forgot about bricasti. Yah, solid volume control on the m1se I had (though I would say a step down from td)
Also, on a tangent, cheap USB ā red ā cheap i2s ā WD >>>> calisto ā td ā au24 sx aes ā wd. Need to do more testing on TD VS red (aes on td sounds better so far but I need to swap more cables around to confirm) but wd seems to realy realy prefer i2s input
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Would agree, I do think the M21 has better volume control than the M1 but I still donāt know how I feel about the value prop there lol
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