Wyred 4 Sound - DAC2 DSD SE - Excellent upgrade

Mesch - No worries. Apple lossless (ripped CDs) + a few dozen high resolution FLAC files from HDtracks. Again, I really have no experience with other DACs, so can't comment on your existing gear vs W4S. I went for W4S as their amps bettered my previous ones from Jadis and Audio Research; their prices were in my budget - with resale values high (if I didn't like the product); their sales service was exemplary; and the reviews were uniformly positive, with no caveats hidden "between the lines". Seemed like a safe bet.

A very nice review. I particularly appreciate your description of the relative impact of the upgrade in comparison to other potential component upgrades.

The relative improvement in the context of other potential upgrades in different parts of a system is sometimes too easily overlooked, as we focus just on a particular component.

Roscoeiii - Thanks. And a little follow up...The improved sound allowed for a change in speaker placement.

For years my speakers were pretty much in the corners of the listening room; the speakers were 3.0 metres apart, and the front baffle was around 1.0 metres from the back wall - the room is open on one side, but the effective listening space is a 4.4 metre square. This corner location had worked well for my previous speakers (Wilson CUBS), but I had been hoping to place the Ushers closer together and further away from the rear wall, in the hope of adding depth to the sound stage. Previously, when I experimented with this set-up, the Ushers had sounded a little harsh, a little incoherent. Yes, there was a modest improvement in depth, yet the overall listening experience was less pleasant.

With the DAC2 DSD SE (and the new cables) I tried again. The centres of the drivers are now around 2.4 metres apart, and the baffles 1.2 metres from the rear wall. Voila! Depth aplenty, and no negative issues - smooth, coherent sound; imaging approaching the truly three-dimensional.

In terms of the relative scale mentioned previously - this is a +6. Not bad for a freebie.

Hello Again.
For those interested, Six Moons has a review of this now.

If anyone out there has purchased one in recent months, I'd be keen to hear your thoughts.

Regards,
Rob

just curious. I have a DAC2 and was thinking about sending in for the upgrade.

From reading I have done, I'm not clear on the difference between upgrading the old DAC2 and buying a new version. I dont think the end product is identical, but asking if anyone else knows for sure.