Looking for a $1k DAC that delivers?

SRZ88, based on everything I've read, if low end is "what you find missing in most dacs", then you may want to increase your budget to $1500 rather than $1k and get the Wyred DAC2. I wanted a DAC with more sonic weight and low end too, but the industrial appearance of the DAC2 is an acquired taste so instead, I went with the EE Plus. At some point, I may try the Wyred DAC2 though. The EE DAC Plus is solid from the mids on down however, apparently not as much as the Wyred.

Jubegroover you pretty much nailed it in your review,I have never heard the Dac2.I have a Oppo SE and the EE Plus sounds much better then the Oppo Se.I was going to upgrade to the 95 but now I will kept the Se and spend my money improving my Apple iTunes system.Thanks again great review

Thanks to all for the input. I especially appreciate your review, Tubegroover. Let me be a little more clear in where I am coming from. My current source is the Oppo 95 and I am more than satisfied. It provides excellent detail and soundstage (with the right cables of course), and best of all a dramatic musicality. I always found that a somewhat ridiculous term; what isn't musical about music? That is until I decided to go with a dac for my huge collection of music on an external hard drive and compared it to the Oppo. When I play a CD through my MacBook and Musical Fidelity m1 DAC (Stereophile class A), the music loses drama and the bass disappears. It is just not as enveloping. It's stale. Going back to the Oppo was an amazing difference. So I thought that perhaps a DAC that shares the Oppo 95's 32 bit Sabre chip might be the way to go, hence asking about the EE tube plus and Wyred's DAC 1 & 2. Tubegroover, I find it particularly intriguing when you say that the EE improved in all parameters over the Oppo and that in some ways the W4S even bests that. I agree that I must audition both. Unfortunately Bill from Morningstar won't allow it. I'll let you know when I am able to get my hands on each for a head to head comparison. Thanks again.

A few clarifications concerning the differences between the W4S 1 and 2. The only sonic difference is the capacitors used. My friend has a DAC 1 with the upgraded caps, the same ones used in the DAC 2. This option cost 150.00 extra over the 1K price. Sonically there are no other differences according to the manufacturer as told to my friend. The other differences are the DAC 2 has a remote with volume control, the remote also has a phase inversion option. The DAC-2 USB is 24/192 asynchronous as compared to the 24/96 Asynchronous USB the DAC-1 uses. The 2 also has HT bypass and two additional digital inputs, I2S and AES/EBU.

Srz888 yes, the Plus does improve over the Oppo. I think the Plus is a great DAC my only nit with the Plus which was a reservation even prior to purchase is greater focus on one power supply and output instead of providing two, IMHO. Maybe at 750.00 that's ok but 1.1K is more serious dough. Trying to do both, I just don't understand the thinking behind that. It is obvious that Alex Yeung of EE is a very talented designer, the Plus is an excellent product. I just hope next time around he goes all out on one output, preferrably tube, and one power supply and forget the op-amp output.

Another option for an outboard DAC that uses the Sabre DAC chipset is the new Audiolab M-DAC... http://www.audiolab.co.uk

I just (pre)ordered one from the North American distributor (Planet of Sound, in Toronto), based solely on the Pink Fish Media forum discussions (with input from John West, the designer). The specs and features compare very favorably to the W4S and Eastern Electric DAC's, at a lower price point. Early reviews have been favorable, but not much feedback yet, as few units have been shipped.