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hubsand

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  1. Great that we have so many new products offering so many choices of signal routes to DAC. In fact, overwhelming! I agree that a monster comparative shoot-out of multiple options would be helpful. Something like:<br /> <br /> SonicWeld Diverter vs Halide Bridge vs Bel Canto USB link vs Audiophileo vs ART Legato vs MTech HiFace vs Asus Xonar vs Lynx AES16 vs Stello & Lindeman DDC vs Empirical OffRamp vs high quality USB cable direct to an asynch implementation.<br /> <br /> If anyone in the UK wants to meet up somewhere for a 'bake-off', I can bring all of the above, minus the OffRamp, Legato, HiFace and Bel Canto (which Chris made have excluded from the mix?) Doubtless I missed some exciting contenders from this list...?
  2. Hi hubsand - I am running my tiny C.A.P.S. server totally solid state / no moving parts. I agree: that's definitely the way to go. Bigger, cheaper SSDs are making this approach increasingly viable for large libraries.
  3. Is it not best to fix the problem at source: run a fanless motherboard with a smaller power requirement? Most Atom boards (even the dual core versions) run happily in 90W.
  4. As far as I understand it, the Halide Bridge is shipping now (I've got one), but the interesting-looking Audiophileo products are not: anyone heard one?
  5. Can't you run that PicoPSU on a linear supply? Far less of a problem then... but yes, floating a couple of grounds worked wonders in my system too. Isolation between the computer and the audio components is critical. Amen to that, brother!
  6. Weeeell . . . not dark, exactly: out of the box, less animated than my reference £1K-ish DAC (a modified Benchmark DAC1). Damped, sat on, squashed soundstage. The resolution was all there, just not the dynamics - not at all what I expected. Run in, it's a different animal: less grain, bigger, bolder. (Stock) Benchmark and some . . . if you do manage to audition one, don't form too fixed an opinion until 150+ hours. I know many have found it *fantastic* from the moment they flick the switch, but I suspect they may have been used to cheaper DACs!
  7. But yeh, more about the DAC would be good. It's plain to see what Wyld for Stallyons are about: high-value kit, no frills. Let's move on...
  8. As a potential customer you have leverage: if W4S sense widespread demand for home audition, perhaps they will bow to public pressure and change their policy. Everything W4S has done so far has been clear cut: they're all about value: the reason they're so cheap compared to certain other brands using similar parts is that you don't get the big friendly dealer network, smooth sales patter, advertising campaigns, or more than the minimum necessary service: you pay for what's in the box. Which is a long way from saying that they don't care about their products or customers: in fact they seem to feel that their customers are best served by giving them the best product at the best price they can. When buying cars over the years, I've discovered an unvarying rule: the nicer the salesman is being to me, the worse a deal I'm getting.
  9. On the one hand, you want to applaud a small company passing on the financial benefits of a lean operation to their buyers; on the other hand, we want to try before buying. I guess in the USA, you're stuck with that impasse: do you cough up in advance, trust reviews and word-of-mouth, and risk disappointment? Or do W4S put all their prices up to cover operating as a lending library? Or do you move to Europe? Does the world need more overpriced hi-fi products?
  10. I'd say the W4S 'house sound' is extreme transparency: if there is a repeatable weakness it's perhaps a persistent 'dryness', particularly in the mid-range. However, this is mainly evident in the first 200-300 hours: the amplifiers can be underwhelming out of the box. The preamp is a different story: it's a crackerjack from stone cold and actually calms down somewhat as it runs in.
  11. Have you tried contacting W4S directly? It doesn't seem an unreasonable request: the service is available to buyers in the EU.
  12. If you shop around, you will find that some dealers do offer in-home auditions of the DAC1 and DAC2: in the States, have you tried Underwood?
  13. Out of the box, and for the first 100 hours, the W4S DAC1 is disappointingly warm - sluggish, even - in comparison with the Benchmark, which is its polar opposite during run-in. Both DACs have REALLY compulsory and comparatively long running in periods: after 150-200 hours the Benchmark does flesh out, and the W4S loses its 'overdamped' quality: the soundstage grows wide, up and out and overall the presentation becomes much more agile and dynamic. For me, the W4S ends up timbrally richer than the DAC1, but not coloured - mindful that I rate the stock Benchmark as tonally bleached. In terms of out and out treble and midrange resolution, I don't think there's much between them. I do think the W4S renders lower registers more faithfully: there's a more convincing sense of presence, but bass is not overblown. The Benchmark is very clean, but the Wyred 4 Sound DAC1 is a sweeter and more exciting listen, and no less resolving. Claims that the Wyred 4 Sound 'blows away' the Benchmark DAC1 are misguided and excitable, but I bet most who hear both will prefer the W4S. Declaration: I resell Benchmark and Wyred 4 Sound DACs.
  14. You might want to try a MAC Thanks, Gordon As I said, been there: Mini, desktop, MacBook; OS 10.4, 10.5, (not 10.6), W7 under BootCamp; iTunes, Amarra, Pure Vinyl, Pure Music, Songbird, Cog, Play; local storage, wired and wirelessly streamed files; optical, USB, USB>SPDIF (not Firewire, yet). Spotlight enabled, disabled, etc. Running the desktop, or the laptop (on battery) + SSD + Pure Music and a high-spec USB cable like the Nucleus is the finest Mac transport we've heard. Don't rate the Mini at all. Still the iPod + modded Wadia Dock + PSU is at least as good (across the board resolution and soundstage size/detail), with a much cheaper coaxial. This, incidentally, with the 'superbly-input-jitter-rejecting' Benchmark DAC1. Swapping out the power supply makes a big, audible difference: previously measured jitter figures were gathered using the nasty free switching supply, I assume....
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