Wyred 4 Sound DAC 1 or DAC 2?

dhart86
dhart86 Posts: 1,594
edited June 2011 in 2 Channel Audio
Tell me which Dac you would get if you were in my position
I'm thinking about a wyred 4 sound dac to put in a 2 ch rig where my source is a PC. The desktop has a coax out. If I use this output to the Dac 1 would the sound quality be as good as using the Dac 2 using USB (asynchronous)?

Will the $500 difference in price be heard in the sound produced?
Main Rig:
Antipodes DX > Roon > PS Audio Directstream Jr.>deHavilland Ultraverve 3 >Belles Reference 150a >Harbeth C7 ES3


Second Rig:
Roon> PS Audio Directstream Jr Bridge II > EE Minimax pre (Tutay mods) >Belles 150A Ref >Monitor 5 (Westmassguy-modded)


Post edited by dhart86 on
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Comments

  • zingo
    zingo Posts: 11,258
    edited June 2011
    The DAC 2 provides preamp functions as well which can be very nice if you need it.
    Jake
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  • dhart86
    dhart86 Posts: 1,594
    edited June 2011
    zingo wrote: »
    The DAC 2 provides preamp functions as well which can be very nice if you need it.

    So My set-up can consist of Source(PC) > Dac2 > Amp?
    Main Rig:
    Antipodes DX > Roon > PS Audio Directstream Jr.>deHavilland Ultraverve 3 >Belles Reference 150a >Harbeth C7 ES3


    Second Rig:
    Roon> PS Audio Directstream Jr Bridge II > EE Minimax pre (Tutay mods) >Belles 150A Ref >Monitor 5 (Westmassguy-modded)


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  • Face
    Face Posts: 14,340
    edited June 2011
    If you plan on using USB, go for the DAC-2.
    "He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster. And when you gaze long into an abyss the abyss also gazes into you." Friedrich Nietzsche
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  • nspindel
    nspindel Posts: 5,343
    edited June 2011
    DAC2 is built with higher quality caps than DAC1, which should result in audible improvement.

    My advice, fwiw, is to skip the computer as your source. Things start to get complicated quickly. Little things like a remote control turn into way more work than I prefered. I use a Squeezebox as the source into my DAC2 and am totally psyched with the results.
    Good music, a good source, and good power can make SDA's sing. Tubes make them dance.
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  • Face
    Face Posts: 14,340
    edited June 2011
    It's not complex with a program like J. River. Plus, direct from the PC you can play 24/192 and be jitter free(asynchronous).
    "He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster. And when you gaze long into an abyss the abyss also gazes into you." Friedrich Nietzsche
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  • dhart86
    dhart86 Posts: 1,594
    edited June 2011
    Face wrote: »
    It's not complex with a program like J. River. Plus, direct from the PC you can play 24/192 and be jitter free(asynchronous).

    I am using J River and prefer to use PC as source. Face I'm gonna shoot you a PM
    Main Rig:
    Antipodes DX > Roon > PS Audio Directstream Jr.>deHavilland Ultraverve 3 >Belles Reference 150a >Harbeth C7 ES3


    Second Rig:
    Roon> PS Audio Directstream Jr Bridge II > EE Minimax pre (Tutay mods) >Belles 150A Ref >Monitor 5 (Westmassguy-modded)


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  • heiney9
    heiney9 Posts: 25,179
    edited June 2011
    If you are using USB.....asynchronous is pretty much a must if you are looking for the best sound.

    H9
    "Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Pangea AC14SE MKII | Legend L600 | BlueSound Node 3 - Tubes add soul!
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  • zingo
    zingo Posts: 11,258
    edited June 2011
    I also use my PC as the source and love the results. Although, I run mine through a USB to SPDIF converter before reaching the DAC. Controlling the whole thing from your PC allows for great flexibility, but sometimes a little more work.
    Jake
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  • nspindel
    nspindel Posts: 5,343
    edited June 2011
    I haven't used pc as a source in quite a while, so maybe things have improved since. But I just found dealing with the whole foobar/asio4all settings to be overly painful just to get a bit perfect output, plus the complication of getting things to work with a remote control.

    To me, Squeezebox offers the best of what you get from a pc source - hard drive storage, tagging, playlists, etc., without the setup hassle. Just a widget with a remote control, no viruses, windows updates, etc. to worry about. For me, it's the perfect solution, for others maybe not. Just chiming in with an opinion, though - if you're happy with a computer source, go for it!
    Good music, a good source, and good power can make SDA's sing. Tubes make them dance.
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  • heiney9
    heiney9 Posts: 25,179
    edited June 2011
    Neil, I use both. PC for the office rig and SQ Box for the main rig. You are somewhat correct about bit perfect and configuring, but USB has made it simpler in some instances.

    I would not use a PC for my main rig, but it works perfectly for a nice modest office rig.

    H9
    "Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Pangea AC14SE MKII | Legend L600 | BlueSound Node 3 - Tubes add soul!
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  • nspindel
    nspindel Posts: 5,343
    edited June 2011
    I have a Squeezebox Boom in the office. My problem is that as soon as I start trying to put a nice modest office rig together, it'll quickly start turning into just a nice rig, and modest will go out the window. Can't tweak the Boom, so no danger of budget heading upward!
    Good music, a good source, and good power can make SDA's sing. Tubes make them dance.
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  • heiney9
    heiney9 Posts: 25,179
    edited June 2011
    I am constantly reigning myself in when it comes to the office rig. I try and be as "bang for the buck" as possible. I've assembled a pretty formidable rig for not a lot of money, I probably have as much in tubes for the (3) tube amps I swap in and out as I do in the gear.

    Ok, perhaps it hasn't been the most cost effective rig. Upgraded 5B's, 3 tube amps with a plethora of tubes, a couple of dac's, MIT cables, Canare Star Quad, Gold Bananna plugs. All told I probably have spent $1K minus the tubes I am buying from you.

    Wait..........................maybe closer to $1200 minus the tubes I bought from you







    Wait...........maybe a tad more :tongue:

    H9
    "Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Pangea AC14SE MKII | Legend L600 | BlueSound Node 3 - Tubes add soul!
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  • nspindel
    nspindel Posts: 5,343
    edited June 2011
    Like I said.... Squeezebox Boom :wink:
    Good music, a good source, and good power can make SDA's sing. Tubes make them dance.
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  • heiney9
    heiney9 Posts: 25,179
    edited June 2011
    nspindel wrote: »
    Like I said.... Squeezebox Boom :wink:

    I have a Squeeze Radio in the bedroom, I like that a lot too.
    "Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Pangea AC14SE MKII | Legend L600 | BlueSound Node 3 - Tubes add soul!
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  • nspindel
    nspindel Posts: 5,343
    edited June 2011
    Yep. Got me one of them too! :cool:

    I love it as an alarm clock.
    Good music, a good source, and good power can make SDA's sing. Tubes make them dance.
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  • dbaldus
    dbaldus Posts: 730
    edited June 2011
    nspindel wrote: »
    DAC2 is built with higher quality caps than DAC1, which should result in audible improvement.

    My advice, fwiw, is to skip the computer as your source. Things start to get complicated quickly. Little things like a remote control turn into way more work than I prefered. I use a Squeezebox as the source into my DAC2 and am totally psyched with the results.

    FYI, if you don't need USB and have a separate pre-amp for volume control, you can have them put the higher quality caps in the DAC1 for an extra $150 (if I remember right).

    That will essentially give you a DAC2 without volume control or USB input functionality for $1149 vs $1500 for the DAC2.

    2-channel
    Squeezebox Touch| MSB Analog DAC | Audio Research Ref 40 Anniversary Edition| Pass Labs X350.8 | Wilson Audio Sasha 2

    Home Theater
    Arcam AVR 550 | GoldenEar Triton One | GoldenEar SuperCenter XXL | GoldenEar Aon 3 | JL Audio Fathom F113v2
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  • PrazVT
    PrazVT Posts: 1,606
    edited June 2011
    Interesting - I wonder if they'll do it after the fact. Thus far I'm extremely happy w/ the DAC-1, but I didn't need the pre-amp or the upgraded USB.
    ALL BOXED UP for a while until I save up for a new place :(

    Home Theater:
    KEF Q900s / MIT Shotgun S3 / MIT CVT2 ICs | KEF Q600C | Polk FXi5 | BJC Wire | Signal / AQ ICs | Shunyata / Pangea PCs | Pioneer Elite SC 57 | Parasound NC2100 Pre | NAD M25 | Marantz SA8001 | Schiit Gungnir DAC | SB Touch

    2 Channel:
    Polk LSi9 (xo mods), Polk DSW MicroPro 2000 sub | NAD c375BEE | W4S DAC1 | SB Touch | Marantz SA-8001 | MIT AVt 2 | Kimber Hero / AQ / Signal ICs | Shunyata / Signal PCs
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  • nspindel
    nspindel Posts: 5,343
    edited June 2011
    I considered this. However, even though I don't particularly need the upgraded USB or the preamp functionality, I went with the DAC2 anyway. If I ever go to sell it, I think the depreciation will be worse on a DAC1 with upgraded caps than a stock DAC2. Plus I figured if I bought the one with less functionality, I'd only end up regretting it down the road if I ever came to want volume control or 192khz usb.
    Good music, a good source, and good power can make SDA's sing. Tubes make them dance.
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  • dbaldus
    dbaldus Posts: 730
    edited June 2011
    nspindel wrote: »
    If I ever go to sell it, I think the depreciation will be worse on a DAC1 with upgraded caps than a stock DAC2. Plus I figured if I bought the one with less functionality, I'd only end up regretting it down the road if I ever came to want volume control or 192khz usb.

    Excellent point. We've all seen the ads on Audiogon where someone's trying to sell something much higher than a stock unit because of the "upgrades". Chances are, most of the time they end up selling it for the same price as the stock unit.

    2-channel
    Squeezebox Touch| MSB Analog DAC | Audio Research Ref 40 Anniversary Edition| Pass Labs X350.8 | Wilson Audio Sasha 2

    Home Theater
    Arcam AVR 550 | GoldenEar Triton One | GoldenEar SuperCenter XXL | GoldenEar Aon 3 | JL Audio Fathom F113v2
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  • Face
    Face Posts: 14,340
    edited June 2011
    heiney9 wrote: »
    I would not use a PC for my main rig, but it works perfectly for a nice modest office rig.

    H9
    Brock, CDP's were in the minority at Axpona NYC, it was mostly PC and vinyl rigs. PC rigs have moved past the point of "modest". :wink:
    "He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster. And when you gaze long into an abyss the abyss also gazes into you." Friedrich Nietzsche
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  • heiney9
    heiney9 Posts: 25,179
    edited June 2011
    My rig is PC based, I just interphase the main rig via the Squeezebox Touch rather than a direct USB connection. I don't want a PC running out in my main room at this point. The wireless SQB fits the bill currently. The PC is in my office.
    "Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Pangea AC14SE MKII | Legend L600 | BlueSound Node 3 - Tubes add soul!
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  • FTGV
    FTGV Posts: 3,649
    edited June 2011
    My PC is now my main source using J.River playing FLAC files in WASAPI mode.I'm using the SP/DIF output into my DAC.I'm extremely pleased with the results but will soon be upgrading the DAC from 24/96k to one with 192k capability to try some of these even higher rez files.
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