sjepsen

I read through this forum before purchasing my WFS DAC-2, so I wanted to try to contribute and report my impression after about 120 hrs of listening. I by no means have seasoned ears when it comes to comparing the audiophile merits of different DAC's. I am just reporting on my impression based on listening so far...and it could be that the unit sounds different to me after another hundred or so hours of break-in time. My previous set-up consisted of a ASUS Xonar Essence STX soundcard, Rotel RA-1520 amp, and B&W CM-9 speakers. I replaced the ASUS soundcard with the Wyred 4 Sound DAC-2, and am using the same amp and speakers. I am using a co-axial connection on 44 kHz. The two words I have to describe the sound of the WFS DAC-2 are "smooth" and "rounded", in comparison to the ASUS soundcard. I do not hear more detail now. I have not listened to any other DAC's with this set-up. In addition, it sounds like there may be more separation between the main instruments and vocals and "background" instruments. I wonder: is that even possible? Another impression nonetheless. I've heard that the Rotel and B&W speaker set-up tends to produce "warm" sounds, so it may be that the WFS DAC-2 produces a smoothness that adds to the warmth of the Rotel + B&W set-up to produce an exceptionally smooth sound? Not sure. I would have liked to compare the WFS to the Benchmark (which I've heard is less smooth), but I didn't want to mess with paying the hundreds of dollars in restocking fees. Overall I am happy with the WFS DAC-2. The sound is very clear, natural and warm. I think the only way to know for sure which DAC is best for a particular set-up is to demo them, which may mean ordering for an assortment of DAC's and paying the re-stocking fees. At these prices it is a serious consideration. Thank you all for sharing your listening experiences. This is an exciting (and overwhelming at times) time for digital music. Steve