Mac Firewire and Weiss

The problem is trying to find somewhere to do an audition of these DACs. As well as the Weiss there are a few DACs I would like an opinion on, Theta VIII, for example, and whether anyone has used with NAIM amplification. I have found one place that has the Weiss in the UK (sure there are others but don't know where to look)and they also have Stahl-Tek.

The Weiss seems to be very well regarded - a few reviews out there which I am sure you can find.

These DACs are probably too expensive to buy on just a recommendation.

Wonder when the trade will catch up with this and ship in a few samples for auditioning

Harry Hi, yes I agree, most dealers i have visited would much rather sell me an expensive cd player than just a dac, I very much like the idea of just a Macbook and firewire dac, that seems a very elegant solution, also the apple OS seems to circumvent the tweeter blowing problems that some PC users have encountered! H

The trade will come round eventually - I seem to recall some were slow to pick up on the AV movement. First one to do so could make some money. Without an ability to audition we are all flying in the dark, basically, without any way of knowing whether a £5,000 DAC is better for us than an £800 DAC.

Harry how are you playing files and which dacs have you heard so far?

I'm not an expert I'm afraid - just trying to find ways to gain more knowledge. I have only heard the Lavry (which I own) and there is a great deal of information on here about that

Personally I have Drobo FW800 -> Mac -> AppleTV for no particular reason other than its easy for me and I like to distrbute video around the house as well.

I want to try and audition The Weiss, Stahl-Tek and Theta VIII as those are the names I have come across in my travels that look to be of interest. Stahl-Tek looks interesting as it has separated the power supply and the electronics. If you get to hear the Weiss before I do please post your impressions.

I guess you know that the Minerva is a prettier version of the Weiss DAC2. I believe there is a price difference as wel.

BTW Daniel Weiss contributes to at least one forum out there and seems happy to answer questions.

I have managed to borrow a Weiss Dac II it arrives tomorrow, I am going to try the firewire conection to my macbook, I have my 'reference recordings' files, can't wait!
I have to set the sample rate in Audio Midi, I think there some software with the Weiss to download, is there anything else? H

Let us know how it goes! Do you have another DAC you will be comparing it to? I found (or rather he found me) one guy in London who has the Weiss and Stahl-Tek and will hopefully get to see him when I have worked out the connectivity requirements.

Harry

Will you be taking your Lavry along?

DHT - also interested in your Weiss experiences - especially any comments of Firewire v.s. optical from the Mac into the Weiss.

Cheers

Richard

Yes will be taking it along - hence need to work out the connections etc

One poster here, ferenc, thought highly of the Myteck, which is priced similar to Lavry. You can use search for more details - perhaps he will notice and chime in. He seems to have had experience with a variety of equipment.


Charlie

I would certainly welcome any opinions on dacs other than Lavry

quote:

Originally posted by DHT:
I have managed to borrow a Weiss Dac II it arrives tomorrow, I am going to try the firewire conection to my macbook, I have my 'reference recordings' files, can't wait!
I have to set the sample rate in Audio Midi, I think there some software with the Weiss to download, is there anything else? H

I don't wish to sound impatient, but any reports of the Weiss?

Richard , Harry, I asked some friends around for dinner last night cunningly asking them to bring their macbook pro with them, he plugged in the Weiss, we downloaded the reference recording HRX disc, set the sample rate to 176.4 and it sounded really good, really good, no hassle just plug and play, difficult to say whether it was better than the cd equivalent as I didn't have the 'reference recording' Cd to compare it to.
Also I don't have any digital out, so I can't compare the Weiss to my player.
I suppose the next step is to buy/borrow a cd transport or a cdp with digital out and compare the Weiss to the present incumbent on CD alone.
But the 176.4 files sounded superb, I definately feel hi-res is worth pursuing , H.