Yeah sure… using the stock smps. I’ve farad LPS 9v for future experiments. Complements my Metrum pavane dac.
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…also interesting, because for the ess9018 DAC chip a bit overhyped 
…pricewise for an Weiss product very good, but in comparison with other DACs in the market still too expensive (chip and features).
Yes, I’m for sure biased with my upgraded 501 mkii with ESS9038 pro
Thanks for sharing!
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I’ve tried good number of ESS dacs in the past & own a couple for my opamp rolling experiments.
One thing is clear that 205 is in a league of its own. It is not plagued by typical ESS tuning. Even the stock smps sounds impressive. I don’t want to jump on LPSU rolling train yet. The sound is pretty dynamic, bass resolve & slam are well balanced. No treble issues whatsoever. 205 is a very engaging dac. I’ve to give credit to my friend who has Merging NADAC/LPS/after dark clock. He was very confident about the sound & how it is different from the rest.
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It is well known fact that implementation matters more than just the chip itself. 204/205 has 1612 in IV stage & discrete LPF which was adopted from MAN 301 golden module.This module’s LPF stage was inspired from Weiss’s op1bp (now discontinued) discrete opamps.
Thanks for the insights! Fully agree to implementation, but I’d have assumed the use similar architecture to 501/502.
Price wise for sure I’d not go anymore for 501…
I guess the question for me is does it sound like a 501 or does it have its own sound? Is opamp rolling an option on it, didn’t know?
The biggest draw for me to be honest is the form factor as small upscale DACs in a desk friendly format are few and far between.
501/502mk2 design is very different. It has a DSP which converts everything to 195khz. 100mhz (cchd575) clock generator close to single dac(9038pro) chip. Separate circuit for hp amp.
check out this white paper on dac 50X4ch & internal pics of dac boards.
Weiss DAC 204 is now on headphones.com
I’m wondering, when was the 205 released?
Seems this unit has been out for a while. In Jun of this year, the DAC reached the 1300$ price. after the review of the 204 and the supply changes the price of the 205 went up to 2600$. I really want to try this DAC, but the price is kind of high if compared to brand new Yggy OG (Soon to be out) or the Wandla
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If you have a good DDC then there is no need for 204. 205 with farad LPS & su6 ddc sounds very good. It has a good synergy with rest of my system. Stock tuning(filter) is well implemented. I’d tried the above combo with optical rendu/LPS & diretta/rpi4(gentooplayer OS)/LPS & preferred the latter by a good margin. I briefly tried HQP 4x upsampling & really liked the results.I’ll be listening to the stock sound for a couple of months then I’ll introduce hqp/PGGP in the chain.
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20k 
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Seems he need to keep up with competitor pricing… to crowdy in the <10k niche 
I know from someone who has spoken directly with Daniel, that also he is “surprised”, why non-pro-audio aka audiophiles folks pay so much for D/A. Sure technology wise it is more in the 4k range, but DSP sofware you pay for…
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Well guys, I got a Weiss DAC205. I gotta say, I didn’t expect this DAC to sound so good!
If you’ve been following my audio journey, I recently downgraded, sold my V550 and Alpha DAC2. I wasn’t getting the enjoyment I expected from those. I bought a uDAC to try some R2R goodness again. It sounded good, but I still wasn’t enjoying my audio chain as much (V222 and RNHP).
I’ve always wanted to try the DAC204 or 205, so I decided to go for it. The first 30 minutes weren’t great, it sounded like a typical delta-sigma. But after an hour, it just became this addictive, music-reproducing DAC!
Sure, it lacks in many areas compared to other DACs, but I just want to keep listening to music. It’s unoffensive, no treble sharpness, no shoutiness. Just a smooth and punchy sound.
I’ve tried it with everything I have on hand, and it sounds anywhere from great to amazing. Currently running Red via coax to the 205.
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And it’s supposed to scale well with a good PS. I follow it as a product on USAM just because and they show up relatively cheap often. Definitely would love to hear a longer take from you on it. Especially compared to other mid level DACs you’ve had.
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Absolutely!
For LPS:
My first thought was an LPS. I did some research and came up with the following list. I’m leaning towards the Hypsos, mainly because I have the uDAC too, and it gives me the flexibility to try it with different gear. But to be honest, I don’t want to change the sound too much.
- Keces P6 – $550
- Farad Super 3 9V (base model) – $650
- Plixir Elite BDC MK2 9V – $900
- Keces P8 – $900
- Ferrum Hypsos – $1,195
For Amps:
I also want to explore a more resolving amp. I actually think the DAC205 would have paired great with the V550 I sold. I know the V222 and RNHP aren’t showing me the 205’s full potential.
For DDCs:
I want to try the INT204, mainly to match the rest of the gear.
Note about attenuation:
I tried no attenuation, -10 dB, and -20 dB.
No attenuation was too hot. I know my V222 can handle 7.35 Vrms, but I’d have to be careful when swapping gear.
-10 dB (2.3 Vrms) was a good middle ground, dynamic and smooth.
-20 dB (0.75 Vrms) was the smoothest of the bunch. Maybe a bit too smooth, but still enjoyable.
I didn’t try -30 dB (0.23 Vrms).
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This made me laugh out loud.
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Okay, guys. I bought a Hypsos to pair with the DAC205, as well as a 0.5ft coax cable. The Hypsos boosts the performance of the 205 by about 1–2 tiers.
The good:
-
Resolution has increased
-
Soundstage has expanded
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Tonal balance reminds me of the Berkeley (though without the smooth timbre)
-
The resolution now seems closer to the Wandla (with its stock PSU, I still need to try the Wandla with the Hypsos)
The bad:
- The tonality has changed. It’s no longer the warm, lush DAC it used to be. It sounds more like a Delta-Sigma DAC than before.
I had to make some adjustments in my chain to compensate for that tonal shift.
I also tried the Hypsos with the uDAC, and the improvement there was more like a 15% boost, rather than a full tier upgrade.
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Power supplies have a sound and the cable also makes a difference. If you’re not happy with how the DAC205 turned out, there’s a power supply for it out there somewhere for sure. It can be frustrating finding one.
One thing that I’ve been interested in checking out and if you’re okay with tinkering is one of Gabster filters. since they’re free of a voltage setting and will output whatever voltage yo input. So you can take a quality switched power supply and use the filter to clean it up.
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I think I’m happy with it since I’m pairing it with the v222, it’s become more tonally balanced. I want to say I’ll keep it, but I’m actually thinking about selling either the uDAC or the DAC205 with the Hypsos. I feel like the v222 isn’t really showing what both DACs can do, I’m not taking full advantage of the DACs with the Hypsos. I don’t want two DACs LOL. Maybe I’ll get a $2K amp again, test both, and decide which DAC I’m keeping.
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