Cereal Killer
432
Finally got both the Wiess DAC202u, and Resonessence Labs INVICTA back to back.
It didnt last very long at all, in fact about 2 hours and there was a clear winner - the INVICTA is staying put. The Weiss DAC202u is heading back to the dealer. There really is no competition.
To put a bit of context to the following, my history with active speakers and DAC/pres Ive owned has been:
ATC SCM50ASLs - DAC1-HDR
ATC SCM50ASLs - Lavry DA11
ADAM Audio Tensor Deltas Lavry DA11
ATC SCM25A Pros Antelope Audio Zodiac Gold/Voltikus
ATC SCM25A Pros Weiss DAC202u (on dem)
Listening to Ane Brun. An album called 'Sketches'. You should hear the vocal works on this - a stunning recording. The Weiss couldn't extract the best out of it. In fact it just couldn't handle this album at all. It became all thick and confused; overly rich and warm. 'Changes of the Seasons', track 6, has Ane's voice, a guitar and some backing vocals in what now sounds like a open space where you can hear the rooms acoustics of where it was recorded. This has never been extracted from the recording before and I've had the album for years. The timbre and decay of instruments is just soo right. The transients also appear to be limitless at both ends of the spectrum. Bass depth and speed is stunning. Yet it manages to do all this with and even, calm presentation portraying the relaxed Scandinavian tone she does so well.
The next album that put a smile on my face was 'Live at the Royal Albert Hall' (by Adele) This is a superb live recording, one Ive played quite often, my wife and I both like to listen to this together. This has previously been played through 3 different hi-end systems. Again I can hear the ambience of Albert Hall which in the past, hasnt been portrayed in such a vivid manor. I know this place well, I studied there.
Listening to track 14, I cant make You Love Me I can hear an ever so slight echo of her voice within the room. Even the faint audience shuffles and noises are captured and put into the correct context of the performance. Theres and uncanny resemblance to being there, its as the cliché goes; close your eyes and the performance is right in front of you. This wasnt there with the Weiss or the Antelope, which both were almost like a flat plane with little depth or soundstage. Maybe they didnt work well with the ATC SCM25As Im not sure, but even things like the distance between the mic and her mouth were masked. With the INVICTA you get a sense of her moving back and forth from the mic, sometimes coming too close where you can almost detect contact.
At the other end of my music collection I have artists such as Chris Clark, Actress, Alvo Noto Squarepusher, etc..... Next albums I listen too were Iradelphic by Chris Clark and Ufabulum by Squarepusher; both are masterpiece of the Electronica. These are the two latest albums from both and Ive had them playing on a regular basis for a fair few weeks now. Again, the same results; Detail, texture and soundstage that just wasnt there before, has now suddenly become a part of the music. Its not as if its an addition in a detached form, more as if the music has gained a new focus, sounding much more composed and complete.
As you may know Ive recently had the Antelope Zodiac Gold and Voltikus, which broke twice and is why i started looking for a new DAC (again). The Weiss DAC202U absolutely floored the Zodiac and again the INVICTA has jumped leaps and bounds ahead of the Weiss.
Its been a long and rather expensive journey but my system now produces a sound quality I've only ever wished for before. Job done! Thank you ATC and Resonessence Labs
It didnt last very long at all, in fact about 2 hours and there was a clear winner - the INVICTA is staying put. The Weiss DAC202u is heading back to the dealer. There really is no competition.
To put a bit of context to the following, my history with active speakers and DAC/pres Ive owned has been:
ATC SCM50ASLs - DAC1-HDR
ATC SCM50ASLs - Lavry DA11
ADAM Audio Tensor Deltas Lavry DA11
ATC SCM25A Pros Antelope Audio Zodiac Gold/Voltikus
ATC SCM25A Pros Weiss DAC202u (on dem)
Listening to Ane Brun. An album called 'Sketches'. You should hear the vocal works on this - a stunning recording. The Weiss couldn't extract the best out of it. In fact it just couldn't handle this album at all. It became all thick and confused; overly rich and warm. 'Changes of the Seasons', track 6, has Ane's voice, a guitar and some backing vocals in what now sounds like a open space where you can hear the rooms acoustics of where it was recorded. This has never been extracted from the recording before and I've had the album for years. The timbre and decay of instruments is just soo right. The transients also appear to be limitless at both ends of the spectrum. Bass depth and speed is stunning. Yet it manages to do all this with and even, calm presentation portraying the relaxed Scandinavian tone she does so well.
The next album that put a smile on my face was 'Live at the Royal Albert Hall' (by Adele) This is a superb live recording, one Ive played quite often, my wife and I both like to listen to this together. This has previously been played through 3 different hi-end systems. Again I can hear the ambience of Albert Hall which in the past, hasnt been portrayed in such a vivid manor. I know this place well, I studied there.
Listening to track 14, I cant make You Love Me I can hear an ever so slight echo of her voice within the room. Even the faint audience shuffles and noises are captured and put into the correct context of the performance. Theres and uncanny resemblance to being there, its as the cliché goes; close your eyes and the performance is right in front of you. This wasnt there with the Weiss or the Antelope, which both were almost like a flat plane with little depth or soundstage. Maybe they didnt work well with the ATC SCM25As Im not sure, but even things like the distance between the mic and her mouth were masked. With the INVICTA you get a sense of her moving back and forth from the mic, sometimes coming too close where you can almost detect contact.
At the other end of my music collection I have artists such as Chris Clark, Actress, Alvo Noto Squarepusher, etc..... Next albums I listen too were Iradelphic by Chris Clark and Ufabulum by Squarepusher; both are masterpiece of the Electronica. These are the two latest albums from both and Ive had them playing on a regular basis for a fair few weeks now. Again, the same results; Detail, texture and soundstage that just wasnt there before, has now suddenly become a part of the music. Its not as if its an addition in a detached form, more as if the music has gained a new focus, sounding much more composed and complete.
As you may know Ive recently had the Antelope Zodiac Gold and Voltikus, which broke twice and is why i started looking for a new DAC (again). The Weiss DAC202U absolutely floored the Zodiac and again the INVICTA has jumped leaps and bounds ahead of the Weiss.
Its been a long and rather expensive journey but my system now produces a sound quality I've only ever wished for before. Job done! Thank you ATC and Resonessence Labs
