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Nine years of travel... Lavry DA10 (2006 - 2007) Wavelength Brick (2006 - 2007) MHDT Paradisea+ (2008 - 2008) Benchmark DAC1USB (2007 - 2009) Apogee Duet (2009 - now) Weiss DAC2 (2009 - now) Wavelength Cosecant (2013 - now) OPPO 105 (2014 - now) Chord Hugo (2014 - 2014)

I recently wanted to replace my Weiss DAC 2 in my second systemand see what some of the newer DACs are about - I really wanted to the love the Chord Hugo, from the small format, to the headphone support to DSD support. For 16/44.1 and higher rez PCM I still ended up preferring the Weiss DAC 2. The Chord had a nice tonality (similar to my Wavelength Cosecant) but was missing detail, tonal textures flow, and depth compared to the Weiss and the Wavelength in my main system. The difference was quite astounding. Thinking it was system dependent I took the Chord over to another friend's place, but ended up confirmed the same. I owned the Hugo for 4 months and really wanted to like it but ended up selling it and keeping the DAC2. On the other had I really liked what I heard from an Auralic Vega at a friend's place compared to his DAC202 so there is hope for newer DACs. The Weiss has a very specific presentation: clearly separating out instruments and allowing you to follow each instruments in a piece. I haven't heard quite another DAC that does this as extreme.

I replaced a Benchmark DAC1 USB with a Weiss DAC2 after hearing a Friend's Weiss in my system for a few days. Overall the Weiss DAC2 was a different kind of experience from most of the DACs I have tried over the last few years. IMO, most of the DAC all ended up pretty close in terms of resolution and detail retrieval (Beresford, Benchmark, Lavry DA10, Neko DAC100, Wavelength Brick); while there are some distinct sonic differences between the different DACs I did not feel there was really really big step resolution wise. The Weiss beat all the DACs in pretty much all areas - it has the extreme detail and deep view into the recording capability of the Lavry, the dynamics, transients and drive of the Benchmark, and the openess and smoothness of the Brick. With the Weiss digital has for me come for the first time to the level where digital has come close in many areas to my analog setup. Frankly, we tried the Weiss in several systems over a few months and the results were always similar. The Weiss made the Benchmark sound closed in and veiled and had really liked the Benchmark over the two years I had it. In some systems the difference was a little less pronounced and in some the highs of the Benchmark balanced some darker systems. Also, the Benchmark sounded best when driven by the Weiss used as a Firewire to AES/EBU converter (compared to USB direct or SPDIF from transport). In our audiophile circle 5 people went for the DAC2 after hearing the Weiss (one replaced a $15k McIntosh DAC/Transport combo, 3 others replaced a Benchmark DAC1 USB or DAC1 pre). I have been running the DAC2 for almost 8 months now and it has been one of the most satisfying audio purchases I made. I still can find very little to fault on the DAC2.

By they way pretty happy with the QNAP otherwise - nice SMART features on checking HD health etc. I would probably consider the Samsung EcoGreen F2 HD154UI 1.5TB for the quieter drives. I heard not too many good things about Seagate either.

Unfortunately I ended up with the only 4 drives that are now on the no-go list: WD15EADS-00P8B0. When purchasing the drives QNAP had ok'ed the WD15EADS (1.5TB), the issues came up only later. And a lot of other NAS companies are still (wrongly) recommending the WD15EADS (1.5TB). I bought the Hitachi 2TB which are on the compatibility list and at least are available at good prices. Only thing is that they are significantly louder and I only have a small apartment so not completely happy (the other day a friend though my tube amp was broken when listening to music mistaking the HD noise for tube crackling). Ultimately I will synchronize 2-3 quiet notebook drives to my RAID array for music listening and use the RAID only for storage.

No problem with QNAP TS-410 and my Mac. Nice features for the price, but not the quietest, so not the best solutions if you have it in your music room (actually both the WD Green and Hitachi have pretty loud seeking noises.) Only one comment: DON'T get the WD Green hard drives for a Raid array: http://forum.qnap.com/viewtopic.php?f=182&t=16357&hilit=raid+rebuilt+power&start=30 http://forum.qnap.com/viewtopic.php?f=182&t=25541&p=109731&hilit=WD+green+raid#p109731 The latest WD Green drives are not designed to work with Raid arrays, which could cause problems in the long run. If you have the older WD drives, you may be fine with an additional Firmware upgrade. That is true for any RAID array, not just QNAP. Good luck! Rene

Raid is more efficient than using just duplicate drives - for RAID 5 with 4 drives of 1TB you get 3TB of usage and are completely protected against 1 drive failing. RAID 6 would give you protection against any two drives failing with 5 drives of 1TB and 3TB of storage. In your method you cannot have the original and duplicate failing, so that only one drive can fail in principle, and you need 6TB for 3TB of storage.

Wavelength allows me to hook up my CD player and USB Nope - the Wavelength is USB only. No connection for your CDP. If you are looking for a DAC that has standard SPDIF interfaces + an excellent Firewire or USB interface look at the Weiss DAC2.

Of course, the fact that the Lavry DA-11 can easily present the differences between various lengths of very high quality USB interconnect (and don't even think about using those OEM gray USB cables) and RCA is a testimony to its refinement. Now that statement I just can't agree with - the sensitivity to transports as well as the sensitivity to USB! cables is more a testimony to inferior jitter and noise rejection in the Lavry (and possibly a positive testimony to the DAC and analog section that don't cover up those faults).

Hi Mike, The Weiss IS a substantial upgrade to the Benchmark. I used to own the Benchmark DAC1 USB and was completely happy with it until a friend brought his Weiss DAC2 over. What surprised me was that the Weiss beat the Benchmark in all areas that the Benchmark excels in, such as transient response, speed, detail and dynamics. In addition, the Weiss offers more resolution, more nuance and more refinement - it made the Benchmark sound closed in and veiled in comparison. In particular in the bass the Weiss shows more control and more extension, and a much fuller warmer sound. It didn't take more than 10 minutes to decide that the Weiss was significantly better - 4 other friends sold their Benchmark after hearing the Weiss in their system as well. It is the first time digital has come close to my DPS, Schroeder, Allaerts set-up IMO. I would be surprised if you don't like the Weiss DAC2. The possibility to run high-res files up to 24/196 is a nice bonus too. Best wishes, Rene