Exlibris, you requested some of Mr. Martin DeWulf's comments regarding the Weiss Medea DAC, so here they are: 1)The Medea did not have the drive and presence that I found in the Benchmark DAC 1. 2) The Medea can get loud, but never got raucous and wild. For a lack of a better term, it never completely let its hair down and boogied. 3) In terms of dynamic contrasts and audible energy, the Medea came off as ever so restrained. 4) It would not surprise me one bit if the Medea was voiced using horn loudspeakers... it still appears to me that the negatives I hear in this unit appear to negatively mirror some of those things I personally don't like about the sound of horns. Well, everybody has a right to their opinion including Mr. DeWulf, but alittle strange, wouldn't you say? As far as I can tell he used his reference transport, Camelot Round table along with Camelot Dragon digital signal processor to drive the Medea and his reference DAC in what he calls his "Big Rig" is the MSB Platinum DAC. I have heard the Benchmark DAC 1 and it offers very good performance at its $1000.00 price point, however I like the Bel Canto DAC II much better sonicly at $1200.00, but my ear's told me it came nowhere close to the performance and sonics of such DACS as Ensemble, Meitner, Accustic Arts, Reimyo, etc. I have not had the pleasure to listen to the Medea/Jason combo, but I believe that Branimir would have a few things to offer about how Mr. DeWulf described the sound of this digital front end. I think it will be hard for him to believe that good old Martin was listening to the Medea/Jason at all!
Reference DACS: An overall perspective
There has been many threads the last few months regarding the sonic signature of some of the highest regarded reference DACS (Dcs,Meitner,Ensemble,Audio Note,Zanden,Reimyo,Accustic Arts) here on the GON. I have been very fortunate to audtion many of these wonderful pieces in my home or friend's systems. I wanted to share, in a systematic way, my impressions/opinions with you GON members for a two reasons: 1)That my experiences might be helpful to fellow members interested in audtioning these DACS. 2)Starting an interesting discussion regarding the different "sonic flavors" of these reference digital front ends. I totally agree with the statement, "if you have not heard it you don't have an opinion". Therefore, I have no comments regarding DACS from Weiss,Goldmund,Audio Aero and Burmester because I have never had the pleasure of audtioning them. I would love to hear from members who have and share their experiences with us. My overall impression is that these DACS(Dcs,Meitner,Ensemble,Audio Note,Zanden,Reimyo,Accustic Arts) can be grouped into two molar categories regarding their overall sonic signature. By the way, all of them can throw a large/deep soundstage with excellent layering in the acoustic space with "air" around individual players on that stage. However, than they start to part company into two major categories. Category #1) These DACS "flavors" revolve around pristine clarity, fine sharp details,speed,very extended top/bottom frequencies,and great PRAT. These DACS never sound "etched" or "in your face" but are more "upfront" then "layed back" in their presentation. The DACS, to my ear's, that go into this bracket are Dcs,Ensemble,Meitner. My personnal favorite in this group is the Ensemble, which I owned for two years. These DACS remind me of the sonic signature of speakers such as Wilson,Thiel,Dynaudio, Focal/JM Labs. Category #2) These DACS "flavors" revolve around a "musical/organic" sense, natural timbres,and an easy flowing liquidity. Their "less forward" presentation my give the impression of less detail, but I think in this case its an illusion fostered by their more relaxed/organic manner. The DACS, to my ear's, that go into this bracket are Audio Note,Zanden,Reimyo,Accustic Arts. I did find that the tube DACS did not have the top/bottom frequency extenstion and PRAT of the SS DACS in this bracket. For me, the Accustic Arts DAC1-MK3 gave me the best of both categories, therefore it is now the resident DAC in my system. These DACS remind me of the sonic signature of speakers such as Magnepan,Von Schweikert,Sonus Faber. Well, it's all just my opinion regarding these digital pieces, but I hope this post was at least informative/somewhat interesting and would lend itself to other GON members sharing their impressions, not about what DAC is the "BEST" in the world, but your personnal taste and synergy with your system.
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- 797 posts total
- 797 posts total