Streamer/DAC Recommendations w Wavelett II

We are a legacy dealer we import the 432evo music servers from belgium

These amazing sounding servers have outperformed many much more expensive devices and our servers are modular and upgradable

They are full roon cores just conect our usb output to the wavelet and you are good to go

Dave and Troy

AUDIO INTELLECT NJ

LEGACY DEALER

AND US IMPORTERS 432EVO MUSISIC SERVERS

Hey @rbrannen - I am an authorized Aurender dealer and Legacy Audio installer (I deal Legacy products but am required to install anything I sell). I also owned the Legacy Aeris with the Wavelet long before I became a dealer. From what I recall, Wavelet does everything in the digital domain. If you plan to continue to leverage it for its DSP capabilities, there is no point in having another DAC in the chain, especially if it is in the same chassis as your streamer. Otherwise, you would have the streamer send its digital signal to the internal DAC, which would then output analog into the Wavelet II, which would then digitize it again to apply the DSP, only to convert it back to analog. Any character a different DAC will bring will somewhat get removed through the correction process of the Wavelet II. That was my experience in the years I owned the Wavelet.

The Wavelet II is also a pretty good DAC, up against others in the $5K range for dedicated DACs. For example, I don’t think you’d get any improvement from the DAC side of things by going with something like an Aurender A15, which retails for $8,400. The A15 is really the $6,300 N200 with the equivalent of a $3-5K DAC built in. If you were looking more towards the Aurender A20, then you’ll start to notice a bit more richness and effortlessness, less fatigue, etc compared to your Wavelet II. But in my opinion, I think you’d be better off investing in a high quality dedicated streamer like the Aurender N200 or Aurender N20 and let your Wavelet handle the DAC process.

I have a few more thoughts on this that I will PM you about directly.

I have the Wavelet II and Focus XD's in my system. I bought the Aurender N200 from Juan at BlissHiFi. I am extremely happy with it. 

Thank you Juan and fthompson251, sounds like I need to go the streamer only route and let my Wavelet handle the DAC. Juan I’ll reach out to you directly 

@rbrannen   I am using an outboard DAC as well. My system is in my profile.

@fthompson251 Have you tried with and without the outboard DAC now that you have the N200 in place? If so, can you share your experiences? With the Wavelet 1, I had the PS Audio DirectStream DAC MK1 and wasn’t really able to tell a difference what it brought in the chain. This was about five years ago, well before I became a dealer. I understand the Wavelet II is a big improvement, but still doesn’t make sense to have a DAC if the whole signal is getting re-processed. 

In Wavelet I, I believe the whole signal had to pass through the Wavelet’s DSP. If with the Wavelet II you can control it such that the bass frequencies pass through the DSP and the midrange and treble are pass through in analog, I can see where an outboard DAC adds more value. 

Although the connection cable is not apples to apples, I much preferred my DAC to the Wavelet II DAC, but still going through the Wavelet from my pre amp vs straight into the Wavelet IIfrom the Hermes... I felt that the soundstage was better layered, a bit wider and quite a bit deeper. I also felt it was just a tad bit smoother. Hermes DDC via Argentus I2s to Venus II DAC with updated firmware. The Wavelet was very transparent, dynamic but rather flat. NOt much difference in transparency or dynamics that I could tell between the two. I didn’t feel I was missing anything from the dual digital conversion IMHO. I also did this through the HERMES into both DACs to keep that "fair". Chain is N200>Hermes>Venus II>VAC Preamp>Wavelet> biamped >Vac amp and Focus XD XLR. (Room correction and crossover in use only)

Fthompson, when you use an outboard DAC and feed into the Wavelet are you still able to take advantage of the DSP room correction?  Or are you just using the Wavelet as a preamp? 

Yes, I use the Room correction, the unit is so versatile, you can use it as a complete DAC and Preamp, Just as preamp or just as room correction and crossover. The room correction and crossover can be used with any combination. The Wavelet made a significant improvement to the speakers performance in my room.

 I still have work to do though as i screwed up my sweeps when i didn’t have the switches correct for the bass on the speakers (Still using internal crossover there for bass) when I added the wavelet into my system, I realized it moments after my amp had a problem, so it’s in for repairs and once it’s back I will be able to take full advantage of the crossover and room correction. It should be amazing.

So your amp is in for repairs due to a mistake made with the switch setting on the legacy focus XDs? Please provide more detail or your direct email so I don’t make this mistake in the future as I plan to add another amp for mids and treble 

No sorry, the amp went out all by itself. When I first got the Focus, in August I didn't have the Wavelet yet. I just bi amped them with the internal crossover. Then when I got the wavelet i forgot to adjust BOTH switches for the use of the external cross over, just the top and not the bass. I figured that out in December after getting the wavelet the end of September. I went to run sweeps with the correct switch settings but the amp stopped working in the left channel. So now I am on a 6-9 week hold.