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Bidat vs Perfect Wave vs Weiss and others

This is thread I started a while ago and promised in February i would start doing some real world comparative testing using the Bidat (Plus Mod) as the ref. The units under test are to include in no specific order the MSB Platinum Dac, the Weiss Minervera and the Playback Design player. I posted this under the follow-up of the original thread and it is there is you do a search under Digital for "ps audio perfect". I can't understand why it did not 'promote' to the top of the digital section as it did in the past whenever there was a new contribution, so I have started a new related thread with the first entry of my fun (and I hope edifying comparative experiences).
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Ok, I just got a broken in Weiss Minerva (several hundred hours at least). It has been in my system burning in for about 18 hours (18 hours since arriving in my home, time to come to thermal equilibrium). I have done some comparative listening to the Museatex Dcc-1 (a rarely known digital preamp 19 bit dual differential type) using glass Tos on both and then glass on the DCC1 vs a very expensive (can't name it yet as the manufacturer has not released it...sorry :( ) Firewire on the Weiss. I have a Mac Mini (2007 model) 2.0 ghz Core2Duo with 4Gig of ram running Leopard (although this model can only see 3.01 gig of that (I used 4gig as the memory transfer is optimized when the mem modules are the same). I also have a 1TB NAS (all over wifi). I am of course going to reserve final judement until a bit later.

I will be comparing the Museatex Bidat with the Plus Mod later this weekend. As a teaser, I will go on record and say that honestly at this point I don't agree with the stellar reviews concerning the Weiss Minerva.

It is resolute, almost technicolor but just to give you a short glimpse of what I am hearing, I could imagine a well healed vinyl person listening to Holly Cole on vinyl and then listening to the Weiss (playing the same in CD format) and saying "this is why I will never leave vinyl". Now that may sound harsh, but this is a hobby and I don't have a dog in the race, I am just reporting my ears findings.

I listened to a few high resolution files 176.4/24 and 96/24 but what I heard was a really clear highly resolved soul-less rendition of the music. It never ever made me smile or relax into the music the way the DCC-1/Bidat or even my former (when I actually spun cd's...wow time flies) stellar Dynavox Dynastation 2 (the finest CD player I have ever heard).

In a nutshell (at this point) it just sounds like digital and that aint good in my camp because I am not forgetting about the gear and just listening to the music. I don't like syrupy or dark, I have heard plenty of players try to use that trick to sound musical. No, I look for something that is more elusive and few their be that find that magical combination when forging through the nether regions of the digital domain. I will continue listening to see if the Weiss surprises me :)

More to come...
audiofun

Showing 3 responses by richard_stacy

richard_stacy
686 posts
 
sorry to hijack but i am very curious about the converter mentioned above from berkeley. may i ask where you heard this and can you provide any more details? i am a very happy owner of an alpha dac and this could be super relevant to my server future.

a side comment, i do not hear the hf zing you spoke of in my system. i do have an outstanding aes3 cable (mit oracle ma-x...head and shoulders above any i auditioned) but even when i was auditioning other cables i did not notice this characteristic.

audiofun...appreciate your efforts and have been following your thread for a while. many thanks!
richard_stacy
686 posts
 
earflappin...

i use logitech transporter so it is a wireless stream. certainly the digital cable is cleaning up some of the issues that could be there too. downside is the limitation to 24/96 but i have little above that, for now. i am alsways looking for a better way but i have gotten so use to the convenience as well as the interface. i find the quality to be quite satisfying and man do i love this dac. i also run direct to my amplifier.

i did some searches after i posted and found a quote from michael ritter in another forum where he talked about the converter. it was pretty old so this must have been in the works for some time. thats pricey for what it is!
richard_stacy
686 posts
 
earflappin...

i use the aes connection and have not tried the others. when i bought the dac i asked berkeley for their recommendation and they strongly encouraged the aes3 connection. another thing that really helps with the transporter is cleaning up the power. it seems more sensitive to power cables than most of my gear. i found this odd as i only use it as a tranport but most of this is odd! at present, i have an isoclean superfocus power cord to an acoustic revive rtp4 ultimate condtioner (that is one amazing device but thats another post...). a massive improvement.

your wishlist for the beta version is mostly over my head. i have considered an external clock and recently had a discussion with another member about the antelope clock. i have not heard this personally but he suggested it would be a significant improvement.

"If one is willing to contend with DB25 connectors and a DAW interface for set-up, then I suspect the MH ULN-8 could be better than the BADAC." i have no idea what any of this is!! you guys are a few steps ahead of me but this is another reason i enjoy reading your discussion. i do learn a great deal and it also gives me new directions to research.
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