People and Place: A review of SW1X DAC


Review of SW1X Level Two Signature DAC:


The best thing to do before reading this is to familiarize yourself with SW1X. Dr. Slawa Roschkow has provided what has to be the most comprehensive website on a DAC company ever. There are numerous articles on a host of topics that address his philosophy and give you a look into how he designs his products. This is the website: http://sw1xad.co.uk


At the heart of his DAC lineup is the approach of offering 11 levels of DACs in ascending performance grades and prices. The one being reviewed here is the level two, signature version. My DAC, then, falls sort of below mid-way through the range.


The core of his DAC technology is NOS (non-oversampling) and R2R (so-called ladder DACs). I won’t address any of that stuff since I don’t really understand it. I will add however that apparently combining R2R and NOS is a bit of a challenge since most R2R DACs oversample to make them work. It, obviously, is not impossible to pull off, since SW1X and others have done it, but there is a cost involved. I’d best refer you to the technology section on the website for clarification on that.


My SW1X DAC is something like my 10th DAC if you count CD players. I didn’t step into the big-leagues (for me) price-wise until my Yggdrasil DAC (which is R2R plus digital upsampling filtering). Aside from the Yggy, there are two other noteworthy DACs I’ve had. One is a Harmon Kardon CD player from the late 80s or early 90s that touted the new “Bit-Stream” technology, which pretty much took over the DAC world. The other is the Altmann Attraction battery operated DAC. Note that the Altmann is an R2R NOS DAC also. On that note, the DAC that succeeded the battery operated Altmann was the cheapest $99 Schiit Modi (before there was an upgrade option). I didn’t perceive any significant fall-off with that switch. That should tell you something.


I, like many, migrated from CD players to direct-out-to DAC from a computer via USB. The SW1X DACs don’t incorporate SPDIF to USB conversion hardware. This means you will need an outboard unit to perform that function if you lean toward USB. I am using the pedestrian Schiit Eitr for that job. It works fine. I have nothing to compare it with. I may at some point spring for SW1X’s own converter.


My overall impression of my new DAC is as follows: All my previous DACs sounded pretty much the same, although they all (mostly) continued to get better. Enter the SW1X. What happened was not “just better” - I am used to better. What happened was - this is different. I jumped off of the railroad tracks I have been on for 30 plus years and am now in a new world.


Words are pretty lame when it comes to talking about what I’m hearing. I scoured a handful of DAC reviews here and there and these are the sorts of descriptions you’ll get: organic; temporal coherence; drive; illumination; presence; tone density; air; space; extension; holo-graphic; accurate; relaxing; relaxed. These are endless, it seems. There are also numerous words or phrases that describe the negative side as well. Words like: glare; strident; compressed; fatigue;


Well, this SW1X DAC of mine has all those positives and none of the negatives. One negative descriptor I never actually ran into previously was the criticism that DACs can sound paper-thin. This criticism was even being levied against sound stages that had a decent 3D sound stage. That seemed contradictory or paradoxical to me. I had to admit that I hadn’t encountered that particular phenomenon before. Or at least wasn’t aware of it. All those other negatives? Sure. I’d never been able to escape the full list of negatives. But paper-thin? That was a new one.


It wasn’t until I heard my SW1X that I understood. Paper-thin in audio means that the 3D soundstage is just like a painting that does the third dimension, depth, really well. But it is still closer to an illusion than the real thing. This is an analogy. It’s probably more a matter of the degree to which the DAC is retaining the realism that was originally recorded. There is something going on in SW1X design and implementation that is just right.


My music background is primarily in symphonic performance. Consequently, that’s what I listen to a lot of the time. Opera especially. Operas have a lot going on. Lots of people. Upwards of 200. I’ve never had a DAC that could keep up. I knew it. I lived with it. I had to deal with fire-hose amounts of water pressure being delivered through a garden hose. What all my previous DACs did to that music was sad. You could tell it was supposed to be loud but what you got was closer to chaos than music. What I didn’t realize is what might be possible. I had no idea faithful big scale reproduction existed; or what it sounded like. No idea. With this DAC I now have, there has not been a single moment where the music has been lost; not a moment when it has become noise.


You can imagine, then, what this means for music that is not big like an opera or similarly large works. Take choral music for example. I can’t put into words how spectacular choral presentations are. All I can say is how much of a thrill it is to be able to hear not just Bach, for one, but to hear how much joy the singers have singing it. I seem to get an insight into the personalities of the singers. Pretty weird.


Finally, we have jazz - which is an even smaller group of people. Let’s just say here too things are very sweet. However, with this kind of honest exposure, you might find the artists aren’t as good as you once thought. That happened with Diana Krall. Her weaknesses as a singer got exposed with this DAC. On the flip side, Stacey Kent’s genius becomes even more obvious with the SW1X.


Where do I go from here? Can I go up? I could. After all, I’m slightly below the middle of the range. SW1X has a remarkable trade-in policy. I can get full value for my current DAC by trading it in for something higher up. Check it out.



seminarian
@ seminarian

Excellent review. I'm delighted for you.

As you know, I'm struggling with how to describe what I hear with my DAC III STD. I may just have to plagiarize your review and pretend it's mine. I haven't listened to much Classical, but I've fallen hard for Jazz thanks to Slawa's magic.

A big THANK YOU to Wig for turning me onto SW1X DACs.

Let's enjoy our music.

Michael
@ mresseguie

Thanks my friend! It's nice to see that other music lovers on this side of the pond are discovering SW1X Dacs; I believe after hearing one in your system, the constant changing of components will be a thing of the past...

Hear for yourself what many of us have already heard and are captivated by the sound of SW1X Dacs :)

Wig 
Right mresseguie, putting into words what one hears isn't easy, especially if you want to convey something as deep as gratitude that we SW1X users have. 
Seminarian, I owe you an note of gratitude.  Was about to update
my Lampizator amber to the current version.  After reading your comments, decided to pursue another direction. My impression, every expression in your review is spot on accurate. It took about 3 months, but I now have a well seasoned SW1X level II "special" in my system.
This is digital like I have never encountered.
The bloom of large orchestrated crescendos and choir voices is absolutely lovely. There are any number of beautifully gifted but hard to interpret female vocalists that are now reproduced without distraction (recordings from Madredeus, Pink Martini, Dulce Pontes, Hot Sardines to name a few). No more impulsive longings for a return to analog.
I am so incredulously delighted to have found this DAC, I am tempted to go on. This being a public domain, further words would seem as fabricated hyperbole to anyone who has read your review.
I will say, there "was" something about digital I always found unnatural.  Like striking a bell and clasping your hand around it. An abrupt fade to a completely silent but lifeless background.  Ambient decay is captured and brought to life in an expansive dimensional way. Old time audio enthusiasts who have dipped their toes in digital waters, and winced, may find SW1X a truly satisfying portal to a diverse world of streaming music.
From a practical standpoint, would like to mention Nigel, the USA  midwest SW1X rep. He was a pleasure to deal with.


Just a quick note to anyone it may concern.  The decision to invest
my resources in a new DAC was a lengthy process. Production time was actually about 5 weeks, and I was delighted with the attention to detail and quality of build.  Obviously the creator takes great pride in his product.