TAV Posted February 25, 2011 Share Posted February 25, 2011 Has anyone had any experience with the WYRED4SOUND DAC1 or 2? I'm contemplating a purchase and have read very good reports including 6Moons. But would like to hear a users perspective. Planning on using it in a SONOS system to improve sound a bit. Any other recommendations in the $1K range. Requirements are a minimum of 24/96 sampling rate with Coax and USB support. Link to comment
KDinsmore Posted February 25, 2011 Share Posted February 25, 2011 There are a bunch of guys at the HeadFi site who own these. I should have mine in about 2-3 weeks. Back ordered now. The guys I post w/over there who have them also have Woo headphone Amps. Furutech GTX-D, GTX Wall Plate,106-D Cover > NCF Clearline >Custom Computer>J River [Current] > Curious Cable Evolved USB > Chord Hugo MScaler > WAVE Storm Dual BNC> Chord DAVE>DCA Stealth>my ears > audiophile brain Link to comment
barrows Posted February 25, 2011 Share Posted February 25, 2011 already plenty of commentary on this DAC on this site. Do a search of the DAC section of these forums for more info. SO/ROON/HQPe: DSD 512-Sonore opticalModuleDeluxe-Signature Rendu optical with Well Tempered Clock--DIY DSC-2 DAC with SC Pure Clock--DIY Purifi Amplifier-Focus Audio FS888 speakers-JL E 112 sub-Nordost Tyr USB, DIY EventHorizon AC cables, Iconoclast XLR & speaker cables, Synergistic Purple Fuses, Spacetime system clarifiers. ISOAcoustics Oreas footers. SONORE computer audio | opticalRendu | ultraRendu | microRendu | Signature Rendu SE | Accessories | Software | Link to comment
wgscott Posted February 25, 2011 Share Posted February 25, 2011 Maybe try the search without the Caps Lock Key activated. Link to comment
TAV Posted February 25, 2011 Author Share Posted February 25, 2011 That's what I was looking for. The HeadFi site is a great info resource on this DAC. Link to comment
TechHiFi Posted February 27, 2011 Share Posted February 27, 2011 I have the DAC2 and are very happy with it. I use it as a pre-amp with a pair of SX-1000 amps. Magnepan 3.7i speakers, REL S/3 sub, PS Audio BHK250 amp, Wyred4Sound DAC2 DSDse, Server - Atom N2800 motherboard, 4GB RAM, 500GB SSD running Windows Server 2012, Audiophile Optimizer 1.40 and JRiver MC 21. Link to comment
Bones13 Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 Last time I checked, the Sonos units did not do HiRez audio. Be sure that they have upgraded their hardware/software to handle 24/96 audio. Either way, I love my W4S DAC2. I also have the PSAudio DLIII with lvl 4 mods which these same guys did (Cullen Circuits). I know their sound already, and continue to be happy with both units. The PSAudio DLIII improved greatly with the Halide Bridge USB-SPDIF interface. [Home Digital] MSB Premier DAC > Modright LS300 > Atma-Sphere "Class D" Monoblocks > Daedalus Audio Muse Studio Speakers [Home Analog] Technics SL-1200G > Boulder 508 (Benz Glider SL) [Office] Laptop > Kitsune R2R lvl3 > Violectric V281 > Meze Liric / Meze Elite [Travel] Laptop/iPad -> Focal Bathys Link to comment
TAV Posted February 28, 2011 Author Share Posted February 28, 2011 My understanding is that the Sonos is a bit perfect source component. No sense in wasting $$ on an external DAC otherwise. Link to comment
georeedjr Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 I have been an audiophile for over 30 years, consulted on audio reviews with one of the largest print publications and love music. I recently purchased the DAC 2 directly from Wyred 4 Sound. Although back ordered, they delivered the DAC 2 on the day promised...wonderful people to deal with. Out of the box, it sounded grainy, forward and overall just terrible. It took a full two weeks of warm up to transform itself into probably the best buy in audio. Music emerges from a completely silent background creating a realistic musical experience with a wide open sound stage and loads natural detail to burn. It killed my venerable Benchmark DAC1 and hung in there with the Berkeley(over 3 times the price). All of my listening was done through the IS2 interface using PS Audio's Perfectwave transport. Link to comment
fmak Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 My DAC2 also sounded very ordinary on delivery. After lots of hours, it now sounds very good but the usb input is greatly affected by the cable used. The spdif bnc input is excellent (special order) and the dac ranks with my UA2192 and TW Buffalo 1 with seven power supplies, with each with a different voicing. My dCS 954 is better. The DAC2's filter settings make a significant difference to the 'voice'. I use no attenuation and 65k roll off. The power supply also makes a difference. I use a PS300 at 59 Hz in a 50 Hz area. EJ has 'promised' a I2S board for my RME9632 but he has been busy. fmak Link to comment
sandyk Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 A friend from Sydney, who has posted in another thread here about the W4S, has told me that his greatly benefitted from a decent mains filter preceeding it. SandyK How a Digital Audio file sounds, or a Digital Video file looks, is governed to a large extent by the Power Supply area. All that Identical Checksums gives is the possibility of REGENERATING the file to close to that of the original file. PROFILE UPDATED 13-11-2020 Link to comment
bhobba Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 I have owned a DAC2 for quite a while now and I know of no DAC cheaper that it does not show a clean pair of heels to. For example it blew away a Havana. That said I know of some DAC's at around it price that to my ears can best it. For example the Tranquility DAC is more analogue and fluid - think mercury. However it does not do high res and is USB only. For what you are after I really can't think of anything better. Oh and I do know of some DAC's with the features you are after that are more expensive and can best it - but at the WFS's price point and with the features you want - no. Thanks Bill Link to comment
tubes59 Posted March 6, 2011 Share Posted March 6, 2011 A question about your DAC2 settings...The manual lists IIR bandwidth choices of Link to comment
Tipper Posted March 6, 2011 Share Posted March 6, 2011 I finally got around to hearing this Dac; not easy in England. I had pretty high expectations having read the reviews (I should know better). I have to say the listening was done in far from ideal circumstances and wasn’t through kit I know. However, having waited to go for a Dac upgrade until I had heard this Dac to say I was disappointed is a vast understatement. It may suit some, but I wont be buying it. Dedicated Mains Cond dis block. Custom Linux Voyage MPD server. HRT Music Streamer Pro, Linear mains powered ADUM Belkin Gold USB cable. TP Buffalo 11, Custom XLR interconnects/Belkin Silver Series RCA. Exposure 21RC Pre, Super 18 Power (recap & modified). Modded World Audio HD83 HP amp.Van de Hull hybrid air lock speaker cables. Custom 3 way Monitors,Volt 250 bass&ABR, Scanspeak 13M8621Mid & D2905/9300Hi. HD595 cans.[br]2)Quantum Elec based active system self built. Link to comment
fmak Posted March 6, 2011 Share Posted March 6, 2011 I use 60k and 70k with fast roll off. You need to listen to decide on which stting suits your system I listen to hires only and not Red Book. The input is even more important. spdif on bnc (special order) sounds much more consistent than usb, which is strongly cab;e dependent. Cutting V+ on a premium quality 0.5m PC cable makes an important improvement. The two Audioquests 1.5m sounds very different I don't like them. fmak Link to comment
tubes59 Posted March 6, 2011 Share Posted March 6, 2011 Thank you. I listen to both hires and Red Book through usb. Will try various settings as you recommend. So far, I've been using the defaults in those two areas. Not sure what you mean by "cutting V+"?. I do have some decent usb cables to rotate (Kimber, db Audio Signature, Wireworld Starlight, Furutech GT2. Link to comment
fmak Posted March 7, 2011 Share Posted March 7, 2011 Cut the 5V power supply on the cable from the PC end (Red). Wyred doesn't need it. What is your experience with the Starlight in particular and the others in general? fmak Link to comment
bhobba Posted March 8, 2011 Share Posted March 8, 2011 That was my reaction and the reaction of a number of other people that heard one that was not broken in. It does get better with break in so it would probably would be a good idea to hear it again after a couple of months or so. Mine is now fully broken in and it still does not do it for me either - I prefer the Tranquility and PDX. Thanks Bill Link to comment
RFP Posted March 8, 2011 Share Posted March 8, 2011 I now run my W4S dac2 from a rear panel USB 3.0 port on my W7 pc, with all other USB devices connected to the (other) USB 2.0 hub. This was another step up in performance - presumably because the 3.0 is not shared with any other devices and is directly connected to the motherboard. Link to comment
Vitor Posted March 8, 2011 Share Posted March 8, 2011 Hi there, Regrettably i have to let go my beloved W4S DAC2 with Entreq USB Discover, so if anyone interested please let me know. (Chris, if not allowed, please remove this post) In the beginning God made 'the light.' Shortly thereafter God made three big mistakes. The first mistake was called MAN, the second mistake was called WO-MAN, and the third mistake was the invention of THE POODLE. Link to comment
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