The Valab is a terrific place to start out when getting into music servers. It is a non oversampling dac and sounds extremely good. I actually am selling a Weiss Dac 2 because, to my ears, it does not sound as good in my Jadis Defy 7 MK2 or Jadis Orchestra Reference systems as the $200 Valab dac does.
Kevin, who sells the Valab dac, told me that he also now sells an upsampling dac, but that if I liked the sound of the nos dac, that I probably would not like the sound of the new upsampling dac. He said that he would send me one to try, and that I could return it if I did not like it.
I have a few audiophile friends in the Chicago area and we get together to share new purchases and help tweak each others systems. When we were tweaking power cables on my new Jadis system, things did not seem as good as they should sound. We swapped cables for over an hour, and were just getting ready to swap out to a different preamp, when I thought that a quicker component swap would be to replace the Weiss Dac 2 with the Valab NOS dac.
Within 2 seconds after turning the music back on, everyone starting saying 'HUH ???'.... is that the Valab dac? The clarity and sound-stage improved DRAMATICALLY..... instantly.
I sent an email to the dealer I bought it from and he thought it might be a power problem. I have 2 dedicated circuits with isolated grounds, running through new rigid pipe and new Hubbell HBL5362i recepticals, with phase and polarity correct. So, although not the ultimate, still adequate power to the system.
So... since the Weiss worked OK for the dealer on his equipment and even sounded OK on mine right after I bought it, it does not compare with the Valab at this time.
After I sell, or hopefully return the Weiss, I plan on buying an Audio Note Dac kit, probably the 2.1 with a few upgrades. That is also a non oversampling dac, being pricier than the Valab, but with better components, so I an very anxious to build it and hear it.
To sum up what I can say about the Valab NOS dac... for only $200, you should not miss the opportunity to experience what it has to offer. You can always sell it for $150 and you would only be out $50 to satisfy your curiosity.
At this point in my audiophile journey, I have decided that NOS dacs are the way that I want to go. Oversampling involves processing the original redbook data and that means changing from the original. I like staying with the original bits on the cd without any processing. That way, I am getting what they delivered on the media I bought. Any change to the original is a dilution of the music on the cd.... right?
I'm sure there are better NOS dacs out there than the Valab, but if you want a great place to start, I could not imagine anything better.
Good luck with your decision.
Kevin, who sells the Valab dac, told me that he also now sells an upsampling dac, but that if I liked the sound of the nos dac, that I probably would not like the sound of the new upsampling dac. He said that he would send me one to try, and that I could return it if I did not like it.
I have a few audiophile friends in the Chicago area and we get together to share new purchases and help tweak each others systems. When we were tweaking power cables on my new Jadis system, things did not seem as good as they should sound. We swapped cables for over an hour, and were just getting ready to swap out to a different preamp, when I thought that a quicker component swap would be to replace the Weiss Dac 2 with the Valab NOS dac.
Within 2 seconds after turning the music back on, everyone starting saying 'HUH ???'.... is that the Valab dac? The clarity and sound-stage improved DRAMATICALLY..... instantly.
I sent an email to the dealer I bought it from and he thought it might be a power problem. I have 2 dedicated circuits with isolated grounds, running through new rigid pipe and new Hubbell HBL5362i recepticals, with phase and polarity correct. So, although not the ultimate, still adequate power to the system.
So... since the Weiss worked OK for the dealer on his equipment and even sounded OK on mine right after I bought it, it does not compare with the Valab at this time.
After I sell, or hopefully return the Weiss, I plan on buying an Audio Note Dac kit, probably the 2.1 with a few upgrades. That is also a non oversampling dac, being pricier than the Valab, but with better components, so I an very anxious to build it and hear it.
To sum up what I can say about the Valab NOS dac... for only $200, you should not miss the opportunity to experience what it has to offer. You can always sell it for $150 and you would only be out $50 to satisfy your curiosity.
At this point in my audiophile journey, I have decided that NOS dacs are the way that I want to go. Oversampling involves processing the original redbook data and that means changing from the original. I like staying with the original bits on the cd without any processing. That way, I am getting what they delivered on the media I bought. Any change to the original is a dilution of the music on the cd.... right?
I'm sure there are better NOS dacs out there than the Valab, but if you want a great place to start, I could not imagine anything better.
Good luck with your decision.