AudioAficionado.org - DAC-1 LE (Limited Edition)

Now that I have owned the new DAC from Wyred 4 Sound for long enough to believe it is mostly broken in I wanted to post an overview.

First of all the DAC-1 LE is an upgrade from the DAC-1 which received amazing reviews from 6Moons.com, among others. It is the baby brother of the DAC-2 which consistently gets raved reviews and once again was given an Absolute Sound Editor's Choice Award for 2016.

The DAC-1 LE upgrades has moved it very close to the DAC-2. DSD has been added using the ESS-9018 DAC chip! The USB connection along with several other internal parts have been upgraded. Basically the same without the pre-amp functions; no volume control, no HT by pass, no remote...

Quality of construction is second to none... hand made in the United States and it shows... W4S also backs it with a full 5 year warranty!

The DAC has very tight bass without any hint of boom... exceptional midrange and vocals to die for. Very open... VERY OPEN, with the best sound stage I have ever heard from a digital source; from any analog source also actually...

Crisp and clear high end, maybe ever so slightly subdued. The sound reminds me very much of the British sound from my old analog vinyl days... maybe one reason that W4S has been known to demonstrate their equipment with KEF speakers. W4S and KEF, a match made in heaven!

In conclusion, the DAC-1 LE with a well recorded DSD file will hold its own against most any top end vinyl setup in my opinion. After this amazing value of a DAC was broken in to my system any thoughts of adding a new turntable have vanished.

Thank you EJ and crew for upgrading your DAC-1 and creating this new Limited Edition model. With the Femto clock upgrade this amazing DAC cost only $1124... wow... simply wow....