While I can’t answer your exact Question, I can say I am happy with the Weiss I have. After going then the rabbit hole of dacs, I found a mention of Weiss in a thread. I did some research and liked the dna of the Weiss. I did purchase the updated 2024 version of the Weiss dac 501 mk2.
IS THE WEISS 204 A SUBSTANIAL UPGRADE FRON THE CHORD QUTEST
My system is as follows:
- Martin Logan 11A Impressions loudspeakers
- SVS SB-4000 pair of subwoofers
- Chord Qutest Dac
- Lumin U2 mini streamer
- Bryston 4B3 cubed power amp-500/ channel into 4 ohms.
- Rogue Audio RP-1 preamp, Bryston BP-19 preamp on order.
- Seeking a DAC with higher resolution than my Chord Qutest. maximum budget is $5000.00
- Question: Would the Weiss 204 be a substantial upgrade over the Qutest? The Weiss would come in at $3500.00 plus $1000 for
- Modright Linear Power supply addition. Not looking to go sideways or only receive a small improvement. The Weiss all in is three times the price of the Chord.
- Thank you in advance for any guidance you can offer.
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- 22 posts total
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From what I have read (not heard) the updated 2024 version of the Weiss dac 501 mk2 is very nice and an improvement over the original 501. In case you have not seen this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMLUzxk33EE
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It took about 30-days of playing before my Yggi+ OG and LIM sounded great. My Yggi+ OG was at a shootout in Colorado a few weeks ago against the Mola Mola Tambaqui and the Chord DAVE. The owner of the DAVE said my OG had better bass, but he preferred the DAVE by a hair. My golden ears friend was involved with the Mola Mola Tambaqui vs the OG comparison. He liked the Tambaqui a bit more bit he said something that really surprised me. He told me in a blind test he likely could not tell which was which. Now that statement from him was surprising. He has legendary hearing, writeup about that on 6moons. These are $2200 and $2800 DACs. The OG has been replaced by the MIB at the same $2800 price. I am going to convert my LIM to the MIB. The LIM is a bit rolled off on top and maybe preferred on a brighter system. Though it suffers in comparison to the OG when it comes to details.
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@kjl1065, personally I think only you can decide if something is a 'substantial upgrade' based on your room, system components, ears, preferences, etc... Try to buy used at a decent price (allowing easy flip) or new with a return window. In my experience I've found spending substantially more on a DAC doesn't always translate to a 'substantial upgrade', but then sometimes it has been well worth it for me. I recently sold my Meitner MA3 for a Weiss 205+LPS and the sonic trade-offs vs $ was well worth it for me. On the other hand I purchased a Yggy LIM while I owned the MA3, and as much as I liked it (for the $) couldn't live with the deltas and kept the more expensive Meitner. To my ears the 204/205 is super clean, open, detailed, and fun. I thought it was a little lean and lacking in dynamics but the LPS helped with both of those. I wouldn't worry about the two box solution as both the DAC and LPS (e.g. Weiss, Modwright) are small, and even with my dual output Keces LPS the two combined take up less space than my Meitner did on my rack. If you don't need USB try a used 205 (one for sale now at only $1600) with a $400ish LPS and see if you like the Weiss sound signature. Cheers
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- 22 posts total