Bryston BDA-1 DAC vs W4S Dac 2, any opinions

I have directly compared both.

The Bryston is a bit dry - typical Bryston sound.

Fed via its USB the WFS is a bit analytic, with some sibilance issues and a cold top end - but extremely good detail. However fed with something like an Off-Ramp sibilance issues and coldness gone but still slightly analytical - but I would judge it is then more of a personal preference thing. The detail is then so good it can be a bit disconcerting and perhaps annoying over the long term.

In that price bracket I prefer a Metrum Octave with an Off-Ramp or Audiophellio 2 - the Off Ramp is clearly better but much more expensive while the Audiophellio is the best bang for buck. However you must up-sample otherwise it can sound a bit mushy.

Thanks
Bill

What kind of sound do you like? Also, can you give some examples of anything you have listened to and what you thought of it; good or bad? There's a lot of good sounding equipment out there, but that doesn’t mean that you will like every piece that is considered good. If you don't focus on what’s important for you, you'll just end up with a list that probably won't do you any good.