To whomever might be interested in auditioning a SW1X Audio Design dac, I would highly recommend you do so. I have been involved in better audio gear for over 45 years and was convinced that vinyl and R-R was the only way to go. It has been a roller coaster of a ride but a great learning and fun experience.
I received a DAC III balanced S from Dr. Slawa Roschkow a little over 2 months ago. It took at least 2 weeks to properly start breaking in (in my experience, even after a month it got better). This Dac has been an absolute revelation in all the "I can't believe what I am hearing" ways. You know how when you get a new piece of gear and you start testing out your best music tracks so that when friends come over to listen you play the stuff you know will knock them out? Well, with this DAC it seems like a great majority of my music is now amazing. The demo cuts are now endless! Low level information is superb. Tonal colors are just correct. I now have a technicolor palette of timbres that absolutely draw me in with the variations. There is a continuity or flow that is seamless between and beyond the left and right speakers. This is not happening in typical hi fi ways. A piano sounds like a large instrument in my rather small room. The woody resonance of the piano just flows and the notes seem to linger all around me like the real thing. There is real life to the playback! Normally cymbals on digital playback systems always sound terrible to me. The clarity, sheen, delicacy and air around them is like the real thing. It's what I heard years ago on Koetsu cartridges. Vocals, whether male or female are so natural and they just are the correct size (there is a throat, chest, and body anchored to the floor. It is palpable). Intonation and tone of vocals is to die for! Bass speed, slam, and definition, if system allows for it will have you hearing stuff you never knew your system was capable of.
Again, if you have a system that can do all the so called "audiophile stuff" well, then you are in for a treat. When we talk about "black background", this DAC takes it to another level. The sense of front to back depth is also exceptional, if of course it's in the recording. You know you have found something extraordinary when all you want to do is find new music to listen to. I have been guilty of being hyper critical of all the many systems I have owned over the years, but now I just sit and relax into the performances in front of me.
If you enjoy opening up your gear to see how it is built, you will be blown away by the precision, quality of parts and workmanship. It is a true work of art!
SW1X DAC's were designed by a man who truly has a phenomenal ear for music. I have spoken to Dr. Roschkow many times, and his knowledge, insight and passion has always been evident. He is designing musical gear for true music lovers.
My system:
Custom made back horn loaded cabinets (similar to Utopia "Family King" cabinets that are made in Japan for the last 30 years) made out of Baltic Birch and weigh 280 lbs. each that house Tannoy HPD385/8 drivers with my own custom built outboard hardwired crossover using high quality caps and resistors and wires)
Original Marantz model 7 preamp with 6 NOS telefunken 12AX7
Original Marantz model 9 mono blocs with NOS input and driver tubes and new Genalex Gold Lion KT77 output tubes.
Interconnects are the new SW1X reference cables and the new SW1X coax digital
Speaker cables are custom home brew Duelund cables
Turntable Heybrook TT2 with Helius tonearm with Denon 103 and a 25 year old VPI. Both of these will be replaced in future.
A Cambridge Audio 840C used as a transport. This is also a work in progress to find the right transport.
Streamer is still a work in progress-looking for suggestions
I have a feeling that I will have more SW1X gear in the future.
To be continued, I have to now listen to some music....
