Weiss 501 DAC

What the hell does this have to do with the question of the post? Some poor jackass is going to search a subject and end up here. Reading a pizzing contest instead of getting a answer. 
 

And someone routinely asks, ‘did you check the forums before you posted?’ It’s like following a pig trail.

If you want to buy American that competes with pretty much anything I have heard, get a Schiit Yggdrasil. It’s the most amazing hitter above its price range I have ever heard. 

@metaldetektor

Your point about the many functions of the Weiss compared to the single function of an Asian DAC is well taken. Having an all-in-one unit will be attractive to many audiophiles.

However, you picked about the most expensive Asian DAC for comparison. Also whether the Weiss functions actually are as good as the suggested alternatives is another question. There are also less expensive excellent alternatives. Moreover when you go the all-in-one route you are stuck with the upgrades that company makes available at the price they choose. Many, like me, will always choose separates. A major technology advance in those functions, or the most cost-effective advance, may not come from the maker of your all-in-one component.

You have to first of all understand that Daniel Weiss is a well known and respected name in pro audio. Even though he has an “audiophile” line of products addressing the home user, the company is heavily invested and primarily focused on pro audio. Their 202 was a Minerva in different clothes. 
 

And although I have never heard a 501, because I had a 202 I would like to share a few thoughts. Like some of the better pro audio DACs, 202 had all but the kitchen sink. Great preamplifier, amazingly transparent and detailed DAC, a headphone amplifier which was so good that I sold my not inexpensive Violectric straight away. Daniel continues to support his products with regular firmwares for years, sometimes adding significant functionality (the processing power is available under the hood). It absolutely wiped the floor with my second generation Benchmark, which sounded raw and unrefined by comparison. But it was still a Minerva and, while indeed an amazing monitoring tool with say an HD800, musical enjoyment was not its primary focus. And I would expect 501 to be much the same. 
 

If I would need a fairly compact DAC for say a computer rig with an excellent USB interface, a great headphone amp etc - Weiss would be high on my list of candidates. For my main system I would look elsewhere, unless you have a valve preamplifier, a class A amp, laid back speakers (Sonos Faber,  Harbeth etc). In that  scenario I think a Weiss would work very well indeed. 

I have mixed feelings about Asian products. Buying from China is NOT a blessing. It can take weeks to see your purchase, you risk a handsome customs bill, your box can be lost or damaged on arrival. Which leads to the next issue: customer support. Some companies are better than others but never expect the kind of support you get from a, say, dCS dealer. Bad English (if not Google translate), generic troubleshooting, blame the problem on your system or network or user input or or. Eventually, if a RMA is agreed, you have to pack, send back to China at your own expense, risk more clashes with customs (I had to send a linear power supply back twice. Each time it was returned I was hit with a customs invoice). The software support varies from poor to abysmal. Never buy promises. Assume that your product will never see any meaningful updates. Buy what you see, not the hype, your hopes or expectations. 
 

Mr Weiss on the other hand will answer your emails personally within a day or two. The Chinese hardware might be good. The price might be keen. And you might be lucky not to need support. But if you do it could be slow and painful.