Weiss DAC2 Volume control - how good is it?

[Opusover21]

I've had my DAC2 since Jan and its an amazing bit of kit. I've toyed with the volume control direct to power and only on some recordings could I detect it lost a little air and space compared to my CJ pre...which at £4k I would hope..I now have an integrated valve amp but wondered on anyones experiments with it direct to power...I might just consider a valve power amp and go direct. just to add I've played with the vol control into the integrated and couldnt tell the difference between the 2 modes...

 

Thoughts??

 

[weiss2496]

I may be biased when it comes to digital volume control, but at least my bias is backed with facts....

There are some prerequisites for a digital volume control to be a decent one:

- Have a decent DAC with good linearity

- Have a digital volume control which is dithered to the wordlength the DAC supports (e.g. 24 or 20 or 16 bits).

- Have a system's noise floor which is not too high at full volume

 

I these criteria are met then a digital volume control can beat an analog one any time. The dithering makes sure that the audio does not undergo quantization distortion when attenuated. That means that the audio stays nice when attenuated and just "vanishes" in the noise floor of the DAC (or the subsequent amplifier). If the noise floor of the system at full volume is not too high (i.e. annoying), then all is fine.

 

The digital volume control in the DAC2 or Minerva is a good one...

Daniel

 

[Opusover21]

Hi Daniel always great to here from you direct.....My initial experiments when I had the CJ pre and power were very good...I have an integrated now so in a way its not applicable to me anymore its just my though process is possibly to look at a valve power amp and run it direct to my Quad 2805's....the CJ power amp i used worked very well direct I'm keen to what others are doing as the DAC2 volume control seems a possible hidden gem that a lot of users/potential buyers overlook...

 

[Purite Audio]

Opus Hi, isn't it just a question of taste? The 'air and space' is probably just distortion added by the pre, some prefer direct some prefer with preamp in, at least the Weiss gives you the option, Keith.

 

[emmodad]

damn facts. what an inconvenience...... see now Chris, this is what happens when you allow postings by some product designer who actually understands digital signal processing, and has long background in professional digital audio technology development....

 

facts....knowledge....

 

harumph. grumble.

 

what do we have to expect next: putting up with relevant experience?

 

the horror......

 

[ na und merci vielmal, Daniel ]

 

[weiss2496]

Ah, another Swiss on the forum...

Aehm - my "heroic" goal is to bring some basics on the laws of physics to the audiophile community. This to allow for "educated" judgments on those claims stated by manufacturers, reviewers, colleagues, .....

I think a lot has to be taken with a big grain of salt here, like e.g.:

On the "Amarra" thread somebody wrote that the Amarra software seems to need some burn-in time. Maybe that was with tongue in cheek, but I am sure many here would not doubt that for a second. One has to be aware that one gets used to a system's sonic signature fairly quickly, so I guess what is called burn-in time for amps, speakers, cables, etc. in fact is the time required for the listener to get familiar with the sound.

 

Daniel