Absolute top tier DAC for standard res Redbook CD

So, when I read the several posts mentioning Wells Audio, I just had to wade in.

Before I talk about Wells, I thought since I don’t post a lot that it’d be helpful for you to understand my particular tastes in audio. I can say that I really like what Steve N does with his gear. The last two years at Newport were very very good, one of the best rooms at the show, especially 2014 with Vapor Audio. I favor sound as Steve does; very open, transparent, and with all extreme’s intact. Steve’s gear does all ranges great but the treble area and cymbals in particular are so beautiful. Really, the best I’ve heard. I also like MBL, D’Agostino, McIntosh, and other solid state gear. I do not recall what room it was, but there were some of the smaller Wilson Sabrina’s playing with D’Agostino mono’s and their top preamp. That room was probably my favorite this year; the amps had vice-like control and with I believe a M9 DAC, it was really very nice; so easy to listen to with the entire frequency range beautifully demonstrated. So, with that, now you know my audio perspective.

I first remember hearing Wells Audio at Newport 2014 and then heard it again at CanJam 2015. I heard both of Jeff’s head phone amps at CanJam. But the Headtrip was just amazing. This is basically an Inamorata in a smaller case according to Jeff. The setup had the Lampi Model 4 Gen 5 dac with Dana Cables/ACT power cables and a Mac Mini front end. The headphones were HIFIMAN HE 560s. This system was heaven. I listened to headphones at that show that cost two or three times the 560s and on some fairly costly systems too. None even came close to the Wells Audio system. Again, none were even near the same league. If I would have had $17,000 to spare, I’d have bought that setup and never looked back, it was that staggeringly good. Every time I mention it to my friend that was with me, he thinks exactly the same thing. The Wells Audio amp and the rest of the setup made the headphones just sing. I also vaguely remember the 2014 Newport show, which I think had less supporting gear but was also very good; natural, punchy, and musical.

So, I realize I just brought head phones into this thread. But I have also heard the full size Inamorata stereo amp at Newport 2015. (I don’t know if this was the SE model or not) Despite the small room the overall sound was somewhat above average. Of course, that is just my general thought. I think that the ancillary gear and setup lacked; it just didn’t have the quality of gear needed for it to shine. I did speak momentarily to Jeff and he didn’t seem amped the way he did at CanJam. I do think that if the Inamorata can sound anything like my experience with the headphones it will be an amazing amp. I hope to hear it in a venue with suitable supporting equipment. That’s my experience with Wells Audio and I do look forward to what Jeff is doing and hope to hear his gear again soon.

I meant the Bricasti M1 DAC with the Wilson/D'Agostino combo I talked about above.

Also, just heard the new Sabrina's with the new 150WPC tube AR integrated and I think it had the Bricasti DAC as well. Could easily live with that pairing too. Heard that at Sunny's in SoCal and it was amazing.

Teranis is a lovely amp indeed. Yes, I would consider its overall performance as a junior, and perhaps subtly warmer  version of the Merrill Veritas.

In its default configuration of 26dB gain, Teranis will do fine with moderately large speakers that do not present particularly tough load challenges... With my Vienna Die Muzik, and the amp driven by Rowland Aeris, when increasing volume to realistic listening levels, suddenly the sound crosses into an area of lesser linearity, where the presentation becomes slightly boomy/shouty and less relaxed.

However, this is not a fatal flaw. Merril increased my evaluation unit gain to 29dB, which enabled Teranis to handle my speakers with ease.

It is worth noting that some other NCore NC500-based amps -- such as the Acoustic Imagery ATSAH 500 -- sport a dedicated NC1200/700 SMPS per channel instead of the single NC1200/700 shared for the two channels in Teranis. I conjecture that such implementations might be better suited for relatively demanding speakers.

Regards, G.