Hi Happynick
My advice to you is the same as Kbarkamian's, audition as many as you can. When you rely on one opinion over another without knowing that listener's preferences and system you are taking a leap of faith, let your ears decide. At your price range, you might want to buy used on Agon. You will probably lose less if things don't pan out.
Another good point is made by Okoffend, the power supply. Unfortunately at this price point most power supplies are going to be somewhat compromised. This can manifest itself in many different ways, a smaller, less dynamic and less detailed presentation. I have on hand a new Minimax Plus, NOS MHDT Havana and OPPO 95 and have listened extensively to the W4S. I'm going to say that I have my preferences but it really isn't important giving you this information as much as impressing on you to listen and decide for yourself, they are all quite good, some a bit above your price range but the point is nothing in this price range is going to "BLOW AWAY" the entire field. Forget about those terms, it just doesn't apply here. Initial impressions are usually replaced by long term reality. You may stay in love but when you can acquire these DACs at such a relatively inexpensive price there is often the temptation to continue to look for something "better". After all, we are audiophiles, right?
A few others I would consider including the Rega which I haven't heard but can be acquired used with little risk. One in particular that I am interested in at this price point, a bit above your budget is the Metrum Octave, about 1K and you'll have to wait, it also has a separate power supply.
My advice to you is the same as Kbarkamian's, audition as many as you can. When you rely on one opinion over another without knowing that listener's preferences and system you are taking a leap of faith, let your ears decide. At your price range, you might want to buy used on Agon. You will probably lose less if things don't pan out.
Another good point is made by Okoffend, the power supply. Unfortunately at this price point most power supplies are going to be somewhat compromised. This can manifest itself in many different ways, a smaller, less dynamic and less detailed presentation. I have on hand a new Minimax Plus, NOS MHDT Havana and OPPO 95 and have listened extensively to the W4S. I'm going to say that I have my preferences but it really isn't important giving you this information as much as impressing on you to listen and decide for yourself, they are all quite good, some a bit above your price range but the point is nothing in this price range is going to "BLOW AWAY" the entire field. Forget about those terms, it just doesn't apply here. Initial impressions are usually replaced by long term reality. You may stay in love but when you can acquire these DACs at such a relatively inexpensive price there is often the temptation to continue to look for something "better". After all, we are audiophiles, right?
A few others I would consider including the Rega which I haven't heard but can be acquired used with little risk. One in particular that I am interested in at this price point, a bit above your budget is the Metrum Octave, about 1K and you'll have to wait, it also has a separate power supply.