RF Power

No complaints from me either except that they could have mastered it 4-5dB lower to avoid peak level clipping, but the dynamic range is still excellent. The big imporvement with this master is likely due to the quality of the playback deck and front end analogue preamps. TFTT is an all time classic album and this is hi-res remastering is simply outstanding. This is really is about as good as it gets. More please.

I should have read this thread before downloading. Great album (musically) but mastered with FM radio style audio signal processing rules out serious listening through a high end system.

The MFSL RBCD is still (by far) the best digital version of this great album. I was very disappointed with the HD Tracks DL and the SACD stereo mix is also overcooked in level and slapping the limiter.

One of my favourity albums but it's more impressive sounding than it is accurate. They overdid the top end eq which makes it too bright and brings up the mic amp hiss to an annoying level. RFP

I have had the DAC2 since march and the Oppo for just a couple of weeks. Prior to the Oppo I was using a PC as a music server with CMS5 or foobar2k to play back high res wav files- either from internal HDD or esata - via USB2 to the W4S dac2. However, since the arrival of the Oppo BDP-95 I am now using HDD via esata and it sounds fantastic. I'm not sure if it's partly due to the linear power supply in the Oppo (I also use a linear psu on the HDD)or excellent all round implementation but there seems to be better resolution, ambience and soundstage. The end result is better whether via the Oppo stereo outputs or spdif to the W4S. I spent some time A-B'ing the differences between the Oppo and the W4S and concluded that the W4S has slightly better (tighter) bass, but the mids and treble are perhaps 'slightly' more accurate from the Oppo (direct into the amp). However, the differences are minute and are appreciated better through longer term listening than a direct A-B. Neither the Oppo or the W4S present any harshness or grain and both present a detailed and expansive soundstage, but the Oppo wins out slightly in the projection of vocals and stage depth and the attack and decay of transients seems slightly more natural. With SACD's I briefly compared it with my Marantz sa-11, and it sounds a bit different but is very close to being as good and much better than any universal player I have yet heard. Being able to select DSD processing is a big advantage I suspect. The Oppo BDP-95 is therefore very very recommended - as a disc player and particularly as a music server. Apart from a very slight looseness in the bass I really can't fault it in any area. Navigation via the remote is very easy and I like the pure music mode -- which allows you to turn off all video processing while you're playing music. When you consider that it's also a sota Blu-ray player, a very good RBCD player and also a very good SACD player, the asking RRP is really rediculous. In terms of mods, you might be able to squeeze a bit more out of it with better voltage regulators + a few caps here and there. There's not much space to implement major psu mods but the stock performance is so good that just the inclusion of a good mains filter might be all you need. I will be doing this soon.

I'm not really familiar with that filter, but if it's similar to most of the low cost types that are sold as power boards with integrated surge limiter and filter, then it may not be very effective. The reason being that you really need a more substantial amount of ferrite and of the correct grade for MF and HF rejection than is used in the construction. DIY filter construction is quite straight forward for a novice. Here's a good example of what I would recommend. This also includes VDR's for spike limiting. http://www.siliconchip.com.au/cms/A_30291/article.html BTW, I would also buy that cheap integrated power board for use with the PC and other noise generating peripheral devices that might be sharing a common wall socket. That will help to further attenuate the transmission of unwanted noise from the various sources. You can also buy clamp-on ferrite beads suitable for medium or large power cables. These can be quite effective but just make sure to clamp them as close to the appliance as possible - for maximum RF suppression. Hope this helps.

Something that all W4S dac owners need to note here. I put togather a mains filter - using a couple of nice ferrite toroids and 100n pp caps. The level of improvement was very substantial - specifically much more ambience and air and a much nicer and more liquid treble. I have a PC and a large LCD TV + quite a bit of other stuff with sm power supplies all hanging off the same mains outlet so there's quite a bit of 'hash' and it was obviously getting into the dac and degrading performance. I can highly recommend use of a good mains filter with the dac2.

I have ordered a new ASUS sound card - for better distortion analysis so I'll complete the THD tests this weekend. After attempting more measurements last night the only solid conclusion I could make was that the sound card is affecting the results. For some reason the W4S was not producing any measureable distortion into any loads last night which either indicates a measurements anomaly the previous time or that the W4S 'break in' is not only audible but also measureable!!. All I can say for now is that all distortion products are at or below the sound card's -95dB noise floor which equates to 0.0018% for any single component. Also, after correcting a setup SR error in the sound card config (44.1K instead of 48K) I can confirm that the frequency response is in fact ruler flat to > 22kHz. There is no droop whatsoever regardless of IIR bandwidth. It's a bit difficult to listen critically at my location right now because the temperatures are 15 degrees Celcius above normal - day and night. In other words it's nearly 40 degrees C during the day and only down to 28-30 C in early morning. The high temps mean that I need to run the A/C 24/7 - for survival as much as comfort, and with the A/C fan noise the audible system resolution is compromised. The heat wave is expected to end next Monday with temps back down to mid 20's during the daytime, so in the meantime I'll keep the W4S powered on to get the required 400 hours clocked up. I did listen briefly last night and even with the A/C noise intruding I could tell that the soundstage has become more 3 dimensional. This is a nice development because until now the soundstage has been far more 2D and uninspiring than I was expecting. The previously noted treble issues also appear to be reduced. Treble is more pure and a slight veil has been removed. I hope these improvements keep coming. I have now gone past 100 hours but still a way to go. Regards, RFP

"quite a bit of nonsense here! 1. 3rd order distortion-most low/no feedback solid state circuits will exhibit primarily 3rd order distortion products, distortion products of this low order are not going to be audible if low in level. At below .01% you are not hearing this distortion. " Point taken. Speakers will generally produce >10x this distortion so at this level it should be well and truly masked. OTOH some of the best sounding preamps and dacs these days are using the latest op-amps with high amounts of GFB - for vanishingly low levels of distortion. Regardless of FB or no FB a steady state tone test is not a solid test for an amplifier so those measurements should not be considered as valid for any complex music signal. I wonder if anyone reading this thread also owns a W4S preamp? It may use a similar analogue output stage which would make it valid as a reference for SQ.

"Also, keep in mind that the DAC2 uses a variable analog stage (volume control) and that if you are "going direct" to an amp (i.e bypassing a preamp)" The DAC2 uses a digital volume control so the output impedance is constant @ 100 ohms. You would need a very long interconnect to generate a rolloff. I have a 24/48 test gen so I will check the frequency response with the scope tomorrow - with the various bandwidth options, and with a long ic. That will provide the answers.

Yes, a tube (set) amp would change the entire signature. It doesn't sound outright cold in my system but that's probably because the ribbon tweeters produce only a small trace of purely 2nd order distortion. I should point out that my DAC2 is still improving every day. It's still possible that my concerns will be mostly alleviated when it's gone past the 200 - 300 hrs mark.

I'm sure we're all hearing the same thing but with slightly different manifestations due to the different systems. Also, it's not easy to express in words exactly what we hear. I just found this review - with lab tests. http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/digital-analog-converters/989-wyred4sound-dac-2-and-sti-500-review.html?start=4 From my experience pure 3rd order distortion can result in a slightly cold sounding treble. I think this could explain part of the house sound. I'm really surprised that none of the reviewers have been able to identify this, even after weeks of listening. It makes me think that the rest of my system must be working very well.

It appears that the W4S DACs have been designed with a specific 'voicing'. Specifically this amounts to a slight harmonic 'texture' and is a departure from the straight-wire-with-gain design imperative from other designers. My DAC2 also rolls off the extreme treble slightly. Perhaps there's some attempt to create a 'tubey' sound. (?) I'm sure there will be many people happy with this approach - just as there are many people that prefer tubes over SS or zero NFB over FB etc. I don't think you can ultimately say that the DAC2 is better or worse than another DAC given that the discrete output stage has been engineered to have this particular sound. If you like this sound then this is the dac for you but if you prefer the extra detail that comes with very low distortion and a ruler flat responses then there are other dacs more suitable. It's my view that the designers of the W4S dacs have tried to achieve a sound that's somewhere between a tube sound and a SS sound. My main gripe isn't that the DAC has a specific sound (although I would prefer none) but rather that I can hear a very slight high frequency (fizzy) distortion. This can have the effect of making instruments sound more defined within the soundscape but it also detracts from the silky top end sweetness on many recordings - and noting that I use RAAL pure ribbon tweeters. Whether this distortion issue is a function of break-in only more time will tell. I know I'm being very (super) critical here - and FTR I do like the DAC2 but at this stage I can't quite give it a 5 star rating. What I would like to do is to ultimately upgrade some of the key voltage regulators - feeding the analogue stage and the dac. I suspect that this will solve the problem completely.

Thanks for the comments. Yes, I will definitely give the W4S dac a good chance to 'bed in'. My system is comprised of an old pair of Infinity Renaissiance 90 speakers - but now modified with Raal ribbon tweeters and fully upgraded and re-engineered crossovers. My amplification is very good so the system is very revealing. I agree that the Benchmark is a bright sounding DAC - particularly when compared with many others but to my ears it's reasonably accurate - in the sense that there's no significant 'signature'. All recordings sound different as they should. The problem I currently have with the W4S is that I can readily identify a signature sound regardless of the recording. It's possible that the large capacitor reservoirs require some time to form - lowering the supply impedance and reducing noise intrusion from the rails. I'll wait the obligatory 300 hours and will report back here with a final assessment. Cheers.

Hi I am new to this forum. I have just purchased the DAC2 - my 3rd dac after a MF XDACV3 and a Benchmark DAC1 pre. The W4S dac2 was attractive looking on paper so I took the risk - after reading the TAS review. It seemed as though this was the dac for me. Unfortunately the dac's sound quality is very different to what I was expecting. It has a textured character that veils detail and results in a less pure and less liquid presentation - compared to the Benchmark. I was not expecting this given the ESS dac used and also considering the glowing reviews it's received. I know there's a long burn in period but my feeling is that it will need to improve a lot to come close to the Benchmark. I'm wondering if the dac has been designed to have a signature sound rather than absolute neutrality.