Rockna Wavelight Impressions/Review

The SE outputs are fine, you're holding back the dac with the Jensen in the way

 

I heard mixed things about the SE outs. You find them to sound just as good as the balanced outs? I wish I could have tried it, I just wasn't in a place where I had the energy to do that much cable swapping to try out very many configurations. I also wanted to try it balanced straight into my liquid gold X.

 

I’ve tested the XLR, RCA and XLR+Jensen into a Yamaha integrated amp. Later, I picked up an XLR to RCA cable, where the Cold pin on the XLR side was left to float (was approved by Rockna). But I never got to try this on the Yamaha amp. Between the XLR and RCA, XLR sounds a touch more refined and relaxed. Adding the Jensen to the chain seems to kill some nuances in the mids. But the differences were not to an extent, where it would change someone’s opinion about the DAC.

 

Too bad you didn't give USB a chance. It sounds much better with the ProJect Stream Box S2 via USB than with the Metrum Ambre in AES (which is a better SPDIF/AES source than the Pi2AES by quite a bit, IMO).

 

Hum... I'm wondering if the WL is overly sensitive to the S/PDIF source clock. Both Schiit Yggdrasil and Holo May KTE do S/PDIF reclocking to ensure that D2A is driven by their internal clocks.

 

Maybe? I would think Rockna knows a thing of 2 about reclocking and digital processing in general (judging by how good their USB implementation is and how amazing the WD sounds). Maybe it’s more power supply/noise related?

 

At the last meetup we did a dac blind and the Jensen made the Convert 2 sound worse than an Ares 2, if that's not damning to how bad Jensen can cuck the signal, I don't know what is.

 

how do you feel about the Cinemag transformers?

 

How do we feel about no output transformers , which was possible with the liquid gold. Simplest chain is always the best, even if it means some manual labor of switching cables between components. Haven’t heard totl preamps, but they have an effect on the sound(cough cough goldpoint not transparent.) On that note, I wouldn’t use a switcher, and A/bing back and forth quickly isn’t the way I would find meaningful differences.
I have no clue why anyone would do dac evaluations with a transformer(esp Jensen, known to not be transparent) unless they were using a totl single ended amp. Even then, at this dac tier, evaluation with speakers is more justified. I wouldn’t think about getting the Wavelight to use as a headphone dac.

 

Assuming there was not some sort I/O impendence mismatch (which Jensen were you using?) this strikes me as exaggerated. I have gone back and forth with Jensen's, granted only with Schiit dacs and DNA amp, and there just not that much difference - no fundamental characteristic changes, just subtler ones. HP only however, so staging may be altered significantly in a way I can't hear.

I would. My domestic situation is such that I won't be breaking back into speakers for a number of year now. If the Rockna offers something (or not) to HP listeners I'm interested.

 

The manual labor option isn't always available to everyone. I struggle with chronic back pain and there are days where I need things easy.

In addition to what I just replied to your last quote, our aural memory is known to be very short. There are definitely differences I can pick up even after time has passed but some details/nuances/etc are only noticeable when I quickly switch.

Why? Good speakers aren't an option for me, previously the reason was roommates, now it's an apartment with thin walls. I see nothing wrong with maximizing the awesomeness of the setup I can use the most.

 

@loadexfa , as always in this hobby, anyone is free to do what they want, convenience or otherwise.

I'm talking about when making dac comparisons(which are smaller changes than transducers or amps), and if you are thinking about spending 5k on a dac, wouldn't you want to be pretty darn sure you've heard both dacs at their best, instead of gimping it out of convenience?

I think when comparing dacs, I think its important to note that you should have a standard norm, or dac you've been using for a while, that you know pretty well, along with tracks you know very well. That way you can have a canvas to compare your different dac experiences. I think most experienced reviewers don't need to quickly a/b within one track, to know the differences. Initial impressions within the first minutes of listening don't really change very much for me, with a little detail here and there(for better or worse), isn't enough.

I mean, sure go for it for your needs, though I feel dacs at this level and above are limited for headphone use. Yes it can sound good, but you aren't really unlocking their full potential(staging, resolution, air, etc), so why bother going so hard on diminishing returns. This is a gross exaggeration to drive this point, but its like getting a Wavelight and evaluating it as a dac to be used with IEMs, because there is nothing wrong in maximizing the awesomeness of my chain.

 

Ideally of course. My point was that for some people this goes far beyond "convenience" and we shouldn't assume what anyone is (or isn't) dealing with.

I have found the more resolving my chain, the more differences I can hear when quickly switching between DACs. I agree using a well-known DAC with well-known tracks is best and the approach I take. I can also quickly pick up many differences just from memory but there's still a lot gained from quick switching. The benefit of quick switching is much more pronounced with more resolving headphones.

Isn't most of what we purchase and discuss on SBAF some variation of "going so hard on diminishing returns"? In my experience speakers don't necessarily out-resolve headphones and each has their benefits and drawbacks. For speakers room treatment and sweet spot can hamper their performance. Also I like the easy flavor changes I get from having various headphones. That is much more of a pain with speakers. I'm not arguing that speakers are "worse" but I don't think it's as clear-cut as you're portraying and I have definitely found a noticeable improvement from higher end DACs, especially with more resolving headphones.

 

Literally disagree on all points, but to each their own. I never saw SBAF as a place that encourages "going so hard on diminishing returns". I would think the ethos of this place was to be value conscious and foster the ability to make smarter decisions based on discovering one's preferences, but again YMMV.

 

a poor transformer can be a music killer. I think jensens and cinemags are poor transformers that sterilize the sound and I am surprised so many here still rely on them for serious evaluation of equipment. they belong in pro and live sound applications where function takes precedence over sound.

the 1:10 jensens are OK budget SUTs. cinemags I would not feed to my dog. these isolation transformers were designed to solve grounding problems, not for high fidelity applications at home.

 

I wasn’t clear on that point, I meant this hobby in general and agree SBAF is one of the more reasonable communities in that arena, possibly the most reasonable.

 

What Jensen/cinemag transformers have you personally reviewed in your high fidelity application at home? My and other folks reviews are here:

https://www.superbestaudiofriends.o...le-ended-converter-xlr-to-rca-bal-to-se.9506/

and elsewhere. We are not finding that the transformers we are usingare returning us to mid-fi purgatory as you suggest, and our dogs are not allowed to eat them...

 

I just got my Wavelight.. still early days but it’s brighter than my audial Aya 5. I’m using i2s out of a mercury streamer. Will try out aes when I find time