Finding ways to make it work: DNA, Weiss, Musician, ZMF

As many of you are aware, I've been emphasizing the importance of system synergy over individual component better-er-ness for some time now. I recently got a ton of stuff in to review. This only confirmed the need for components to play with each well. Of course this doesn't mean bad gear can be made good. But it does mean that gear that doesn't sound all that great in one setup, can sound quite excellent in another with different components.

These are the pieces that I got in:

• Donald North Audio Supernaut Headphone Amp
• Musician Draco R2R DAC
• Weiss DAC204 (courtesy of www.headphones.com - a shout out to them)
• ZMF Atrium Closed
• JAR800 (https://www.superbestaudiofriends.o...ar800-super-saiyan-edition-abracadabra.14313/)

The Sonic Frontiers is there as a reference from where I can calibrate from. It's been upgraded by PartsConexxion, and with the Telefunken 6DJ8 types, is tonally neutral. The ET-3 will serve as the CD transport and digital source for all of the DACs. The JAR600 is there as my neutral headphone reference.

What I figure I will do is discuss a bit about switching things around, tweaks, combinations that worked (or didn't work) before I split off into individual product reviews and measurements. BTW, the DACs have been sitting around for a few days, left on.

 

Weiss DAC204

I had first dropped in into my bedroom rig that consisted of the Schiit Mjolnir 3 and Yggdrasil MIB DAC (in NOS mode) and the ZMF Atrium closed. I found this arrangement too thick and congested. I know - it's hard to believe for an ESS based DAC, but this is how Weiss has voiced the DAC204. I put the MIB DAC into OS mode and things were slightly better. To be honest, I wasn't impressed. Stuff just sounded congested. However, I thought I heard potential and this is when I decided to line up all the stuff above so I could plug and play to my heart's content to find combinations that would work.

Lo and behold, the Weiss DAC204 with the JAR600 from the DNA Supernaut (Tube Amp Doctor tubes all around) was really darn good. A little bit of rasp in the highs, but otherwise very expressive. Hardly anything like the sterile clinical (or worse) implementations that we typically get from no-name Chinese manufacturer implementations of ESS. But we already knew this. There's only a handful of ESS Whisperers around, and Weiss is one of them.

DNA Supernaut

Dang. With the Tube Amp Doctor rectifier and KT66s (not sure the driver tube), the DNA is a departure from other DNA amps. It's not as wet. It's not warm. It's neutral. But it's still DNA. Hard to explain. Can you read more here: https://www.superbestaudiofriends.o...audio-supernaut-review-and-impressions.14040/

I can definitely see the potential with vintage KT66s and a good ability to change the tone rolling the 6CG7. Any advice here from DNA owners would be appreciated.

Musician Draco R2R DAC

OS mode is horrible. The headstage is wide but behind my ears in OS (oversampling) mode. And it's flat. Truly, WTF. I don't know why Chinese R2R manufacturers cannot make a decent OS R2R DAC. NOS mode is better and has that NOS dimensionality around the specific instruments in the headstage. Still I am finding the Draco murky in the lows. There's this murky feeling. Slow and boring. A bit of harshness in the highs. It reminds me of the Denafrips Terminator (which I was not impressed by either), but a cut-rate version that has less dynamics. Maybe I need a few more days of warm-up. Maybe I need to try the XLR outputs (I plan on pulling out the Cinemags) because the SE outputs are gimped. I dunno. I haven't found a combination that sounds good yet, but I am not giving up. The price isn't bad at $750. The construction is hefty too.

 

It's the one from TAD.

 

LOL, no wonder the Musician Draco reminded me of a downsized Denafrips Terminator!

From what I am hearing the Massdrop/Airist R2R is a better DAC. Both SE and BAL outputs. Roughly on par in plankton, but the Massdrop/Airist exhibited better microdynamics and engagement factor. https://www.superbestaudiofriends.org/index.php?threads/massdrop-rdac-airist-audio-r2-r-dac.6415/

It's too bad about the all-mostly Asian Ivy league - Harvard team of Airist, who it appears turned out to have scammed some random DIYer in China for the design. This was a really great DAC for the money. I imagine with an @atomicbob noise nuke, it would have achieved even higher performance. https://www.superbestaudiofriends.org/index.php?threads/massdrop-rdac-airist-audio-r2-r-dac.6415/

Makes me sad. Maybe @CEE TEE can bring an iteration, a new creation of this back?

Not quite as bad. The RU6 was truly a piece of shit, both from my personal subjective standpoint and measurement standpoint: https://www.superbestaudiofriends.o...e-review-and-measurements-shit-happens.12671/

I am struggling a bit with both outputs. The SE are pretty bad. Slow as molasses, murky, boring, like being stuck in the mid. The XLR outputs clear up things quite a bit. Like a lot. You know how people bitch about the Analogs Devices chip DACs from Schiit sounding worse from the SE outputs than the balanced. Well, the difference here is more even more stark!

Balanced output from the Draco is clearer with only a hit of molasses in the lowest registers. The high bass and mids are cleaned up. It's more resolving. However, the timbre changes. The highs get even more strident! To the point where the Supernaut (with the JAR600 and ZMF Atrium Closed) is slightly annoying in the highs. By this, I mean a sharp "chh chh chh" that is worse than upgraded car speakers with Kenwood or Infinity. And I mean this is bad because the Shanling ET3 transport is smooth, stately, and damped sounding.

I really want to like the Draco, say it's a fantastical deal at $750, but I just can't right now. I may put this on the bench, the APx555, to figure out what is going on.

 

So I switched back to the Weiss and I am almost feeling you if want the sort of the sound that the Draco has, better off with the Weiss. Much more resolving, warm lows, but bass is taut. Greater dynamics, more expressive. As I said a bit raspy, but none of the Draco's "chh chh chh". Of course different price points. R2R is nice, but sometimes I don't understand the point of R2R for the sake of R2R.

 

When I had the Draco, I did experience the first two for sure going to balanced, but for me the highs were less annoying; it still had a semblance of the chh chh (I think it has not insignificant ringing) but not enough to piss me off. Overall improvement to the point where I wouldn't even recommend the Draco if one had to use the SE out.

I was using AES from the Pi2AES and I do have a Freya S in the chain (both to sum balanced inputs and to serve as a convenience so I don't have to muck around with cables to switch amps), wonder how that may have affected the results. @crenca I was not upsampling my music at all.

Edit: I too was using NOS mode and found the oversampling mode to be downright awful.

 

Draco measurements here: https://www.superbestaudiofriends.org/index.php?threads/musician-draco-r2r-dac.14378/

 

@ChaChaRealSmooth and @Lyander

I found DC offset on SE outputs. SE output may very well be YMMV deal. Balanced outputs are fine (sort of)

https://www.superbestaudiofriends.org/index.php?threads/musician-draco-r2r-dac.14378/#post-428441

Hate to say this because I sound like Amir the armchair QB, but the DC offset on the SE outputs to where once we get a -50dbFS signal, the entire waveform is in negative voltage territory - this isn't acceptable.

@ChaChaRealSmooth: Where I can bury this in CCTX and announce on Head-Fi the treasure hunt for a free DAC? (Hey, the balanced outputs aren't that bad).

Ugh. From what I have seen on Golden's site (with their "connect-the-dots" NOS filter) I am not sure this is a good thing.

 

Yeah, Weiss is getting some damn good sound from the ancient ESS 9018. The current gen ESS stuff seems easier to work with by the run-of-the-mill or noname Chinese manufacturers, but still, some treble F'kery that remains.

I've heard better ancient 901x/2x implementations from the bonafide ESS Whisperers to the run-of-the-mill or noname Chinese outputs using the latest and greatest highest-spec ESS chips.

Stand by for formal Weiss DAC204 review and some measurements. I just wrapped up the Musician Draco.