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DAC Shootout Starts This Weekend

Okay...in another thread I promised to do a side-by-side evaluation of the Audiobyte HydraVox/Zap vs the Rockna Wavelight. Due to the astonishing incompetence of DHL this has been delayed. At the moment, I have a plethora of DACs here and am going to do a broader comparison.

I am going to do a compare of the Rockna Wavelight, Rockna Wavedream Signature, Audiobyte HydraVox/Zap, Chord Hugo 2, Chord Hugo TT2, Bricasti M3, Bricasti M1 Special Edition, Weiss 501 and the internal DAC card for an AVM A 5.2 Integrated amp as a baseline.

For sake of consistency, I am going to use that same AVM integrated amp driving Vivid Kaya 45s. I may branch out and do some listening on other speakers (Verdant Nightshade of Blackthorn and/or Wilson Benesch Vertexes) but want to use the Vivids for every compare as they are the fullest range speakers I have here. For sake of consistency I will use a Chord 2Go/2Yu connected via an Audioquest Diamond USB as a renderer. The only exception is the Hugo 2 which has a 2Go directly attached to it. I will use a Roon Nucleus+ as a server in all cases.

My plan is to use the same five songs on every DAC; In a Sentimental Mood from Duke Ellington and John Coltrane, Be Still My Beating Heart from Sting, Liberty from Anette Askvik, Duende from Bozzio Levin Stevens and Part 1 of Mozart String Quartet No 14 in G Major from the Alban Berg Quartet. The intent is to touch on different music types without going crazy.

I will take extensive notes on each listening session and write up a POV on the strengths of each unit. I am going to start this this Friday/Saturday and will be writing things up over the next month or so. If you have thoughts, comments or requests, I will be happy to try and accommodate. The one thing I am not going to do is make the list of songs longer as that has an exponential impact on this and make everything much harder. If and when other DACs come in on trade I may add to the list through time.
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jjss49
6,612 posts
 

Here is a new review of the Topping D90LE. I am sure this is going to annoy a segment of the community here and they are not going to want to hear this. I found this demo supremely disappointing because of the hype associated with this product. If you ignore the hype and looks at this as an ~$1000 DAC with a good feature set, it is a good DAC at that price.

the topping d90 was one of the first dacs i tried on my long road with dacs -- i concur 100%...  it is a clear sounding unit but with poor timbre, flat soundstage and a notably robotic quality to its sound... it was in and out within a week

mistercrash
19 posts
 

@verdantaudio , thank you for the write-up on the Weiss Helios. It seems like it's pretty fantastic.

Now to start my daily checks to try to find a deal on one...

yyzsantabarbara
4,929 posts
 

I had the Topping D90LE and the D90SE for a short time. Both of those DAC ended up being sold rather quickly since I found them rather lifeless. I like the Benchmark DAC3B a lot more than the Topping units. I still have the DAC3B and likely keep that around.

I am now down to 1 final audio piece to get to finish off my Livingroom system (other systems are done). I am looking at the PlayBack Designs Dream DAC (or the lower PBD unit). The system I plan this for currently has the DAC3B using a PlayBack Designs streamer (via SPDIF).

Listening to the Livingroom system already gives me goose bumps (every time). It sounds even better with the Schitt Yggi+ Less is More DAC, but I need that DAC in my office system. I am assuming a top tier DAC would be over the top incredible.

 

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richh84
15 posts
 

@verdantaudio

this thread is amazing thank you for putting it together, I am looking for my next dac, i just sold my lampi horizon. all my current top picks seem to be represented here.

What would be your current top pick for pure musicality? In your opinion

If i had to list my priorities in order- musicality , tonal density , soundstage width and depth, dynamics , flow / prat, detail ( i am a sucker for extremely detailed string instrument renders)

Looking forward to more reviews.

 

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