Wyred DACS

Digilog5,
What speakers are being driven by the Wyred amp?

While my pre-amp is getting a slight upgrade and a replacement volume pot, I'm going straight from my DAC-2 to my Musical Fidelity A3.2cr amp and it's sounding a little harsh in the upper register. Wondering if its a weakness in my amp that my pre has been hiding.

Right now the amp drives a pair of ML-Sources due to space restrictions. I also have a pair of older yet wonderful ML SL3s but at a different location which I would like to try with the w4s one day. I am sure it will do fine.

Granted that the little Source has its limitations (in terms of uniformity I would say) it is still very very transparent and still...an electrostat.

Driven from XP with KS and Jriver, the W4S combo sound is wonderful. Never harsh, yet very detailed. Cables are DH labs (BL1 balanced ic & Q10s for the speakers). I also hookedup an old DVDp as transport that was lying around (with a Theta Coax cable) and still the sound was fairly nice, very smooth and relaxed, but felt that using JR with a good USB gave a cleaner sound, more transparent, but never harsh. I actually enjoyed this combo tremendously.

Driven from XP with XXHighEnd, there is additional clarity over JR as if a veil lifted, it is more focused and it does feel a bit brighter now but in a nice way, with some recordings. Nevertheless, the 3D image is outstanding and most recordings sound very good.

I would assume, since the DAC2 is dual differential balanced, theoretically it may be better to drive a dual mono setup with balanced ics. I havent listened to the MF A3.2 Cr amp but given the MF pedigree it should be very musical sounding. Can it be something in the cabling or the speakers themselves?

Hi Cutterfilm

You may be running into the slight upper midrange issue the Saber chip has. This is an excellent DAC but when compared to much more expensive DAC's you can hear this. It may be inherent to the Saber chip or it may be that it is a difficult chip to work with. When we did our DAC shootout one person rated this DAC better than even the much more expensive reference DAC's we had there which is no mean feat. But I think the comments of one person there summed it up:
'An amazing amount of detail, excellent tonal consistency and powerful bass. But it sounded like you were playing a CD and there were electronic artifacts in the form of a mid treble glare that intruded. Grey background. Microdynamically restricted. However its combination of consistent tonality and detail was impressive in a hifi sense and I can actually believe that some listeners might place this as their favourite.'

You may simply be one of those people who prefer something a little different. I am in that boat as well so don't beat yourself up over it if that turns out to the case. I found I preferred the Tranquility DAC.

Personal preferences and system synergies make it really hard for any one product to do it for everyone.

Thanks
Bill

Hi Cutterfilm

Oh I forgot to mention I think you have simply run into a system synergy thing that the removal of the pre amp highlighted. I suspect by bypassing the pre amp your system is now more transparent and you can hear some of the issues that were being masked.

Thanks
Bill

I also have been following this thread as well as the one on AC, and I appreciate its approach and the quality of membership contributions. I understand everyone's qualifications concerning their appreciation of the several DACs discussed.

Having said all that, and because I value that approach and those values, I was wondering if anyone could create a ranking from their point of view concerning the various DACs.

Let me explain myself. I am especially sensitive and irritated by upper mid/lower treb sibilance and glare. When I hear that, regardless of its various phenomena, the enjoyment of music collapses into annoyance and avoidance.

As I read the thoughtful analysis here, I think I'm reading that some members think that the Wyred DAC2 and the Tranquility are highly competitive in many essential respects, but in the area of my concern, the nod appears to go to the Tranquility. I sincerely hope I am not misreading here. My apologies if I am.

Mention has been made of more expensive DACs (ones more expensive than the Wyred DAC-2 and the Tranquility) that solve/address this problem and have the virtues of the Wyred and Tranquility. I am aware of the Ayre Qb-9 being mentioned, perhaps here or in AC.

My question, beyond the Wyred, the Tranquility,and the Ayre, what are others under 3k US$ that members would recommend for consideration?

I use a MacMini, with RSA Alethias USB, and AIFF files into several systems through an iRoc DAC. This DAC works very, very well with two of my systems in all respects; however, on my highest res system, its limitations reveal themselves frequently enough for me to continue my search and exploration.

I have enjoyed the iRoc over the years, have tried other DACs against it, have found some to be a little better and many a little worse, but have not found one that is so much better that I can justify the time, money, and aggravations of change.

DACs seem to be highly system dependent, and the prospect of buying one and taking the time for burn in and cabling to "fit" has seemed very unappetizing. But now I am interested in exploring this further.

My apologies for the long-winded post.

:) listening,

Ed