Weiss 501 DAC

@verdantaudio great info, thanks.  That’s a very relevant/appropo concept - “compromised”, which better fits what I was trying to get at with things like “neutral” or “natural.”  Many DACs sound mostly fine, but it seems many at a certain price point do something wrong - Grit or grain, timbre, tonality issues, etc.  

Update with perhaps 50 hours break-in and listening.  I've never owned a piece so instrumental in organizing everything.  It will seem odd to some, but it's as if a top notch business manager hired from outside the company has arrived and forced order onto the entire operation.

Great recordings sound even better and less than optimal are at least made listenable.  The Swiss have truly struck onto something special.

The single phrase describing the experience is 'completely involving'.

i really really like my dac501 --- great sound, great ergonomics, great features, all around a top notch package, simply beyond reproach

I’ve had mine now for a few days. Usually I’d wait a while to post any opinions and will post again after a while, but I have to say this DAC is unusual in that it is truly transformative with regards to my system. I’ve owned a lot of good DACs and CD players and they all have sounded more similar than different.  This one is different, the whole system seems elevated to a higher notch which is something I’ve never experienced with a front end. It’s definitely not a $5k DAC with Swiss pricing…. Very positive initial impression. Clean, clear, precise, controlled, smooth and musical are initial thoughts.