Rockna Wavelight thoughts?

i currently have a rockna stack: wavedream signature se with wavedream net. it's a great combination in my system. i was running the rockna with a metrum ambre to start - so i could utilize roon with my laptop serving as the roon core. then i bought the rockna wavedream net on a bit of a whim but with some reservations. this was - again, in my system - a huge step forward. i was frankly stunned as i'm a computer guy and bits are bits...

the first that thing that stood out to me was how much bigger the soundstage became in all dimensions. after that initial "wow" wore off over some days and weeks i noticed that everything was just much better over all. the tone, texture, and all the other words used to describe play back that differs from merely listening to being captivated.

my rockna experience and the experiences of others with other servers has lead me to believe the server is even more important than the dac itself in that changes in servers are resulting in bigger sound differences than changes in dacs. am i saying buy a cheap dac and an amazing server? no, not necessarily (though i know of one user using a taiko extreme with a dragonfly - while they wait for their new dac and enjoying the sound). but for me, i'd take any dac budget and try to spend half to 75% on the server and the rest on the dac. i mention this because the terminator from everything i read (and it was high on my list before pulling the trigger on the rockna) may really benefit from a nice server as a source.

okay, now that i've gotten through that i'll get to the bad news: i haven't heard the wavelight and can't comment directly. however if it carries any of the tonal qualities of the wavedream net + wavedream signature se, i reckon it will sound great. rockna has a density to the sound that is just so palpable and it's able to flow so beautifully from one note to another. but everyone has different tastes so all i can do is share my opinion. for what it's worth i'm probably selling the wavedream net soon as i'd like to purchase a taiko extreme and really take the server experiment to it's illogical/logical extreme :). not meant as solicitation but just wanted to be honest about it. if you have any other questions about rockna, feel free to pm and i'll do my best to answer

@skanda  Interesting findings. If willing, feel free to post your findings / experience on the thread (linked below) where we are trying tease out whether the DAC or the streamer is "more important."

https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/does-the-buck-start-with-the-dac?page=2

Thanks.

Some additional info on the AudioByte Vox stack. My understanding after emailing Mike Powell, the USA dealer. The Hydra has a power cable to the ZAP power supply. That unit powers the HUB and VOX units using supplied proprietary cables. So I see only 1 cable going out of the stack,  the other cables I regard like interconnects (that are supplied).

I am thinking of buying this stack unheard if it works with my new preamps professional-grade XLR connections. Some technical mumbo jumbo that I am clarifying with AudioByte.

I'm highly interested in both the Audiobyte Hydra Zap and the Rockna Wavelight dacs, so please guys (those of you in the position to do that) do share your impressions in as much detail as it is comfortable for you. Tone, timbre, frequency extension (especially in the highs), detail, micro- and macrodynamics, soundstage (especially width), PRAT... You know what I mean... Many thanks!

Hey Everybody,

I just received information that a Wavelight DAC  will be sent to me for a review for Stereo Times.  I'm very interested in what this DAC's performance level will be.  Hopefully, in the next two weeks, depending on when I receive it, I'll give some feedback about what I'm hearing.