Review on the Rockna Audio Wavelight Pre/DAC just went up on Stereo Times

Great review Terry , we have similar listening priorities and from having owned a Rockna WaveDream dac myself it replaced a very popular R2R dac that’s talked about a lot all over the net including YouTube...Your mention of the Puritan 156 with ground box I’m just in the process right now of digging a hole in my back yard to install a grounding plate for my Puritan 156 , lots of rocks and boulders in my area so a rod is impossible.
Anyway another great review Terry ! 

Hi Terry, how does this DAC compare with the Bricasti M3? Both of these are at very similar price points.While your review does indicate that it is a nice DAC to consider at it's price point, I must be very honest and say that the review feels a bit short, compared to your other reviews. Did the distributor request it back too soon?

Hey milpai,

Hum, if it is a bit shorter and succinct that's just the way I wrote it. It had nothing to do with the length of time I spent getting my take on it. 

As far as the overall performance of the Wavelight and the M3 both are superlative at making music. The Wavelight for my taste is very slightly  warmer sounding with a touch more "meat on the bones" imaging. However, some listener's would say the M3 is slightly more accurate at how it presents the music. Which do you like better, great solid state or tubes? Neither is right or wrong it depends on personal taste and system synergy. Both have killer analog volume controls that allow you to drive your amp directly and save a bundle not needing a preamplifier.

Rockna Audio does not believe in having a streaming device in the same chassis as its DACs. The M3's new streaming board is world class, yes it costs you an upgrade if you order the M3 with the built-in streamer, but still is less costly then Rockna Audio's Wavelight plus their separate streamer. If you only stream the M3 might be a better choice for you.

I guess we just have to read between the lines here. If the reviewer had thought this was an especially good DAC, relative to others, he would have written that. If there were any apparent shortcomings with this DAC, I guess we'll have to figure this out ourselves. Saying it's worth auditioning this DAC at its current price point is about the faintest praise that could be given for such a product in a non-derogatory review. Oh well.

Now that power conditioner and ancillary ground, that's an endorsement! 

Hey redwoodaudio,

If you read the review you would see that based on build quality, innovative technology, and most importantly the Wavelight DAC’s performance I thought it was superlative and gave it a big thumbs-up. No short comings heard or reported by me in the review.

I have now in a year and a half have reviewed five different DACs ranging in price from $1000 to $6500, all of them are superlative performers at their different price points. There is no "BEST" of anything in high-end audio. Today, for very reasonable amounts of money there are many excellent DACs that offer higher levels of performance with slight differences between them in actuality.