Rockna Wavelight thoughts?

i currently have a rockna stack: wavedream signature se with wavedream net. it's a great combination in my system. i was running the rockna with a metrum ambre to start - so i could utilize roon with my laptop serving as the roon core. then i bought the rockna wavedream net on a bit of a whim but with some reservations. this was - again, in my system - a huge step forward. i was frankly stunned as i'm a computer guy and bits are bits...

the first that thing that stood out to me was how much bigger the soundstage became in all dimensions. after that initial "wow" wore off over some days and weeks i noticed that everything was just much better over all. the tone, texture, and all the other words used to describe play back that differs from merely listening to being captivated.

my rockna experience and the experiences of others with other servers has lead me to believe the server is even more important than the dac itself in that changes in servers are resulting in bigger sound differences than changes in dacs. am i saying buy a cheap dac and an amazing server? no, not necessarily (though i know of one user using a taiko extreme with a dragonfly - while they wait for their new dac and enjoying the sound). but for me, i'd take any dac budget and try to spend half to 75% on the server and the rest on the dac. i mention this because the terminator from everything i read (and it was high on my list before pulling the trigger on the rockna) may really benefit from a nice server as a source.

okay, now that i've gotten through that i'll get to the bad news: i haven't heard the wavelight and can't comment directly. however if it carries any of the tonal qualities of the wavedream net + wavedream signature se, i reckon it will sound great. rockna has a density to the sound that is just so palpable and it's able to flow so beautifully from one note to another. but everyone has different tastes so all i can do is share my opinion. for what it's worth i'm probably selling the wavedream net soon as i'd like to purchase a taiko extreme and really take the server experiment to it's illogical/logical extreme :). not meant as solicitation but just wanted to be honest about it. if you have any other questions about rockna, feel free to pm and i'll do my best to answer

@in_shore great to hear about your experience with the NET. it can certainly be a bit jarring at first because like ... it's a server, how could it possibly matter but the proof is in the pudding and you don't even have to listen to for it. the differences are not subtle in any way. given the quarantine situation i'm not sure when the taiko will land but hopefully some time this summer. looking forward to sharing impressions.

hey everyone, i received my taiko extreme yesterday. i'm keeping an audio journal on it here. hope you guys find it interesting! i will specifically be comparing it to my rockna as things settle in and i get my bearings with this new piece of kit: https://www.whatsbestforum.com/threads/living-at-the-extreme-i-bought-a-taiko-extreme-and-then-this-happened.31014/

@in_shore , thank you! i've been updating it fairly regularly so if you havent been to the thread in the while i've made further comparisons. 

this morning, i'm sitting here with the extreme playing and i'm taking care of my morning emails etc and I'm just blown away by what i'm hearing. no hyperbole, the soundstaging is just the best i've ever got out of my system. all that said, the rockna is a fantastic piece and already playing at a high level so please don't take this as "you must upgrade now!!". i think too often in our hobby there is an exaggeration of improvements etc. realistically, the extreme is very expensive and i think if you got it you'd be happy with the improvements (as i am, and they are still working out via burn in) but the rockna is still a tremendous server