it is a perhaps rather overdue, but i wanted to post a follow-up to what i had promised several weeks back, comparing the 005 to the weiss 501 sonically
my time trying to do the comparison was interspersed with some initial confusion over what i was hearing as i tried to make a clean comparison and derive solid conclusions, and then was ’interrupted’ with an east coast trip, and then, another ’break’ in my unexpectedly getting a different set of speakers and needing to dial in subs for them, all of which werein effect ’distractions’ from this specific task
at this point, i’m confident i have clear observations/conclusions, and have confirmed these pre and post trips and by also going back also to the older speaker/amp setup to double check, and further, by using different weiss inputs (lan and usb) and also compared both sets of outputs (xlr and rca) on both units
one thing that made things a little difficult and confusing at the outset in this comparison is that, while both the weiss and the 005 have variable volume, they were not exactly well synced --as the increments on both are 0.5 db per step, but they always seemed a bit off in perceived loudness - ultimately, i used the ol’ voltmeter-at-the-speaker posts method, using several test tones, to set properly equal volumes, 005 set at -0.5 db and the weiss at -3.5 db, as a spot on match
so these comments are only about the sonic differences i could discern, the weiss has a host of dsp features, parametric eq, bass/room eq, de-essing, a very long list... some i consider goofy and over the top, others are very useful (e.g., room mode management, para eq) - but my comments are with all these features OFF and the 005 using its slow filter (i think its best sound) -- three main observations, perhaps somewhat inter-related to a degree...
1) fairly easily noticeable is that weiss has slightly leaner midbass and the 005 has that small degree of lower midrange/midbass ’body’ or ’fattening’ (also referenced in my prior bricasti m1 comparison), and this difference gives the weiss a sense of slightly greater clarity (but not more actual detail i don’t think) - low ’true’ bass tonality, quality and weight are very equal, both outstanding
2) weiss has a somewhat deeper image and more distant central image positioning, coupled with a more dynamic presentation -- as alluded to earlier, the 005 to my ear has a slightly more closed-in quality to playing the main voice(s) and instruments in center stage, less air, more up close ’intimate’ feeling - similar to the bricasti, the weiss seems to locate the central figure(s) deeper in the soundstage yet with more specificity and clearer outlines, and then, in louder passages, the weiss would expand dynamically with more contrast - this aspect had me confused for a good while and led me to closely scrutinizing the volume settings, as louder passages seemed louder and softer passages seemed softer on the weiss -- once again, listened to on its own i would never ever say the 005 lacks dynamicism or seems compressed, with comparing a vs b the difference is noticeable and repeatable between how the 2 dacs play music
3) the weiss, like the bricasti, has a slightly more relaxed, more open, more ’analog’ presentation than the 005, this difference is again quite slight but it is there, 005 just a touch mechanical sounding, the weiss flows with a somewhat greater ease - once again i speculate this may be achieved in weiss’ oversampling (to 195khz) in the d/a conversion via the dual ess chipset - i think the bricasti is even a little more ’liquid’ than the weiss but that direct a/b is next for me, i am saying this here from admittedly unreliable sonic recollection of the m1 at this point
so overall, i think the 005 acquits itself very well, and for the price, very well indeed... the differences sonically are small, weiss a touch more open, dynamic, more fluid, but listened on its own the 005 sounds wonderful, more intimate presentation, a touch of warmth with excellent, and natural detail retrieval, imaging quality is very good (if surpassed by the more expensive dacs)
i won’t debate the relative value of the weiss, its form factor, its streaming capability, it manifold features, that is up to a specific buyer to decide what they value
