IS THE WEISS 204 A SUBSTANIAL UPGRADE FRON THE CHORD QUTEST

From what I have read (not heard) the updated 2024 version of the Weiss dac 501 mk2 is very nice and an improvement over the original 501.

 In case you have not seen this:

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMLUzxk33EE

Check schiit yagdrassil Dac they have a 15 day return policy. This is a exceptional dac.

It took about 30-days of playing before my Yggi+ OG and LIM sounded great.

My Yggi+ OG was at a shootout in Colorado a few weeks ago against the Mola Mola Tambaqui and the Chord DAVE. The owner of the DAVE said my OG had better bass, but he preferred the DAVE by a hair.

My golden ears friend was involved with the Mola Mola Tambaqui vs the OG comparison. He liked the Tambaqui a bit more bit he said something that really surprised me. He told me in a blind test he likely could not tell which was which. Now that statement from him was surprising. He has legendary hearing, writeup about that on 6moons.

These are $2200 and $2800 DACs. The OG has been replaced by the MIB at the same $2800 price. I am going to convert my LIM to the MIB. The LIM is a bit rolled off on top and maybe preferred on a brighter system. Though it suffers in comparison to the OG when it comes to details.

@kjl1065, personally I think only you can decide if something is a 'substantial upgrade' based on your room, system components, ears, preferences, etc...

Try to buy used at a decent price (allowing easy flip) or new with a return window.  In my experience I've found spending substantially more on a DAC doesn't always translate to a 'substantial upgrade', but then sometimes it has been well worth it for me.

I recently sold my Meitner MA3 for a Weiss 205+LPS and the sonic trade-offs vs $ was well worth it for me.   On the other hand I purchased a Yggy LIM while I owned the MA3, and as much as I liked it (for the $) couldn't live with the deltas and kept the more expensive Meitner.

To my ears the 204/205 is super clean, open, detailed, and fun.   I thought it was a little lean and lacking in dynamics but the LPS helped with both of those.  I wouldn't worry about the two box solution as both the DAC and LPS (e.g. Weiss, Modwright) are small, and even with my dual output Keces LPS the two combined take up less space than my Meitner did on my rack.

If you don't need USB try a used 205 (one for sale now at only $1600) with a $400ish LPS and see if you like the Weiss sound signature.

Cheers

My 205 WAS the DAC on sale for 1600. It was on sale because it was exactly leaner than I desired although it was detailed, open, and clean. But I pulled the ad because of some changes. Let me explain.

I had made some improvements to the upstream DDC the Singxer SU-6 and I bought some DC purifier/booster devices from AliExpress to use on various components including the other DAC I was using. I heard a sizeable improvement in the system with these improvements. Being the curious tinkering audiophile that I am, I decided to take the 205 out if its box and try the DC purifier/booster on the 205.

With the 205 back in the system with the enhancements, the 205 is not lacking in bass/punch/dynamics. If anything, I’m getting more of these things with the 205 over the other respectable DAC I am using. The bass is full and has weight. This weight is also not limited to the bass. For example, snare drum and higher frequency sounds now have more impact/attack. I sense more "elasticity" than before with the sound. In other words, the fun factor has made a comeback. The other DAC will now go on sale. This is the most fun my system has sounded since I’ve gone all DC. And I dare say this is the second best system I’ve put together and that’s saying something because I’ve gone through a lot of gear and have done a lot of tinkering over the years.

One note to anyone new to the 204/205: do play with 10dB and 20dB output attenuators. I found I had both inadvertently set on. In my system, I preferred only the 10dB attenuator on to match my headphone amp/preamp.