DAC Shootout Starts This Weekend

Two new entries.  The first is an update on the Audiobyte HydraVox with the addition of the HUB.

One of the very first units we tested was the Audiobyte.  For many months people have been waiting on the addition of the HUB.  This completes the stack from Audiobyte and I have to say that it is a noticeable improvement. 

The first thing I had to do was get the system back to where it was which included swapping in different speaker cables, USB cable and ICs.  I have largely moved from AQ to Clarus Crimson for every day listening.  I also fired up with Nucleus+ and powered down the Antipodes K50.  

To refresh my memory, I started off with the 5 tracks excluding the HUB through the Chord 2Go/2Yu and then through the HUB.  I checked my notes and my opinion hasn't really changed of the Vox/Zap as it was originally setup.  Quite neutral with a massive soundstage.  It lacked absolute depth and wasn't as stable as some of its competitors.  

The HUB corrected this.  Still not as deep as the TT2, but the central image became deeper and more stable.  Particularly in In a Sentimental Mood in terms of instrument and I felt like voices might shift a bit without the Hub, Sting's voice was rock solid. No sibilance.  Detail is wonderful.  

My Weiss is currently out on world tour.  It is visiting four or five customers.  I am looking forward to its returns as I feel like this complete stack is approaching what you get with the Weiss.  It will be a very interesting side by side compare in a few weeks.  

I am not saying that the Hub moves this up a full price point and it is completely competitive in the $10K range.  I need to do that testing before I can confirm but it is much closer than it was without the HUB. 

These are still scarce.  There are a few production runs scheduled for the rest of the year with the next likely in July.  It definitely seems like a worthwhile upgrade but will require a little patience still.  

The second is a comparable evaluation of the Playback Designs Edelweiss.  

First thing I did was go back and do a careful read of the notes on the Wavedream Signature which is my benchmark in terms of soundstage.  

Everything about this suggests that they are extremely comparable.  Little tidbits like Saxophone is coming from ~8' to left of left speaker on In a Sentimental Mood.  So much detail in Be Still My Beating Heart it is almost overwhelming in terms of scale and detail.  Incredible air around cymbals, etc...

What strikes me as different is there is a...sweetness to the midrange and treble that comes through with the Playback that I am not sure I have heard with another DAC.  The top end is incredible.  Detail is rivaled only by the Wavedream.  But the midrange stands out and I am almost struggling to describe the presentation.  I have yet to hear a moment of glare.  The image is in my face, but in a good way.  Never any sibilance.  

It may have something to do with the way the soundstage comes together.  The central image is deep and stable, like a Chord Dave.  The width of the image is huge, but having just listened to the Audiobyte, was about the size of the Audiobyte which means absolute scale is probably smaller than that of the Wavedream Signature.  This should be comparable in terms of scale with the Bricasti M1 SE.

As we talk about compromise, the Wavedream Signature lacks the absolute depth of stage of something like the Dave while delivering a much broader soundstage that is almost perfectly neutral yet incredibly detailed.  Listening to Duende, I am hearing details that I have only heard on the Rockna and a stabitlity and accuracy I have only heard on the Rockna.  There are moments in this song that a brash and in your face and may deliver a little glare with certain DACs.  That is completely gone with this unit.  

This has incredible depth, incredible detail yet lacks the absolute scale of the Rockna.  Tonally, it is not as perfectly neutral as the Rockna, but in a good way.  It does feel a touch more musical.  If your system is a touch sterile, this can add musicality but it can't overwhelm a system that is a little too cold.  

Looking forward, I am hoping to get back to testing some headphones and I may have a Jadis JS1 MKV in for demo here in the not too distant future.  

@verdantaudio Thanks for the thoughts on all these wonderful DACs. The DAC journey is indeed very exciting for many of us as we get out to hunt the ones that meets our taste. There are so many manufacturers these days that its impossible to audition each of them and hence these threads become critical comparison points. I am looking forward to it.

By any chance you have been able to compare between the PD Edelweiss (MPD6) to its bigger brother MPD8 ? I am also interested in knowing your thoughts between the Weiss vs PD in general ?

I have not had a chance to compare The Edelweiss to the Dream DAC. The guys at Playback and the US distributor may be the only ones who have at this point.

My US distributor said that he found the Edelweiss DAC alone (MPD-6) approached the sound quality of the MPS-8 using a streamX module.

This tells me that tonally they are very similar but the soundstage will be bigger and deeper with the 8. I am sure it might do even better with strings and other ultra complex music. But that is based on conversations with distributor rather than direct experience.

I do have a basically new (~500 hours on it) Dream DAC from a customer coming in on trade. I might be able to demo that unit here but that is TBD.

I want to get the Weiss back but based on notes and my direct memory, the Playback is more detailed and slightly sweeter sounding. It is neutral to a hair warm while the Weiss is neutral to a hair cool.  The Playback soundstage is wider, deeper and more stable but this really only shows up on songs like Be Still my Bestinng Heart and Liberty that are really massive sounding.  

The Jadis JS1 MKV is here and it is stunning.  This is a two chassis unit with an external power supply.  The external supply is slit into two parts, one for analog circuits and the other for digital circuits. 

The unit uses AK4497 DAC chip and uses 2 ECC82, 2 ECC88, 1 EL84 and 1 EF86 tube.  The first thing you note is that this DAC is not tubey.  It is not warm and gooey.  This is a reference level unit that is quite competitive with the Rockna and Playback.  It does not have a preamp stage, no streaming or rendering and no MQA support.  DSD is native to 256 over USB.  

The detail is incredible.  The tiniest a hair below the Wavedream Signature and Edelweiss, it did not show up in the five song test.  As a matter of curiosity, I listened to a 24/192k version of Miles Davis's Kind of Blue and the micro detail in the plucking of the string bass in the opening is not quite as precise as it is in the Playback but short of that, it is stunning.  On this same test the Jadis is slightly clearer than the Weiss.  

On In a Sentimental Mood, drum rolls are crisp and there is good separation.  What is shocking is the soundstage.  The image is as deep as the Playback.  The instrument separation is as good and the image is rock solid in terms of stability.  The width of the image is absolutely off the charts.  It is every bit as big as the Rockna image.  Without the Signature here I can tell if it is bigger.  

The soundstage on Be Still My Beating Heart is Massive.  The image is deep and wide.  The bells are clear.  Sting's voice lacks sibilance.  It is just enjoyable.  On Liberty, effects are coming from where they should.  The image is large.  Here voice is not bright.  It is in your face where it should be without any glare.  

On Duende, instruments are true.  Separation between notes is flawless.  There is no distortion in the opening bass notes.  The image holds together as the song gets more complex and there is no localization at the speakers.  

There is no massing of strings on the Berg piece.  It sounds big though and the intimacy of a quartet is lost a bit.  This is unsurprising and very simply a compromise that one must make.  Full orchestral pieces sound right.  

What doesn't come across in the above notes is that like the Playback, there is this sense of rightness and musicality that makes you forget that you are listening to a system and not just listening to music.  This is a challenge while evaluating equipment and the temptation is to simply deviate from the test.  I literally loaded four other songs while I was doing this because I wanted to hear them.  

The unit, despite being tube based, is slightly more bright/forward than the fully broken in Playback. Is this the best DAC I have ever had in my system....maybe.  It is tight between the Rockna, Playback and Jadis.  If you are looking for a no compromise unit, this should be on your list.