New Weiss DAC 501 / 502

[Amir]

Mono & Stereo © 2023: Exclusive Interview With Daniel Weiss.

Can you tell us about the iconic Weiss Maya DAC?

A friend of mine, who at that time was located in Australia, wanted to do a “no compromise” D/A Converter and we took the challenge. Of course “no compromise” is not possible in real life, but we used like e.g. resistors which cost 10 dollars a piece but had the advantage that you can specify any resistance value you need. And we ran 16 channels of D/A in parallel for a single audio channel. This to gain some better signal to noise ratio. My friend designed the frame and that was a bit over the top in terms size and weight… In any case, we never made a commercial product out of it. Today I would take another approach to a “no compromise” DAC I guess.


Resolution and bits are getting higher and higher. It's become a race of sorts. How much is enough?

There are recordings on CD (i.e. 44.1kHz / 16 bit) which sound better than many high resolution recordings. I tend to think that CD quality is enough, provided the musicians / engineers / producers do an excellent job. There may be genres of music where a higher resolution may be beneficial, so to be on the safe side 96kHz at 16 Bit is enough. YMMV.


What does it take to keep the soul of the music intact?

If the music has a soul, because it has been composed and played so well then you can do almost anything to it, you won’t be able to destroy that soul even by playing it through a mediocre setup. Don’t expect that playing music via a 100’000 dollar setup would reveal the soul if it wasn’t there to begin with… That is why playback via cell phone speakers works, still. But I can’t stand it if e.g. the bass is lacking…

 

[gerihifi]

Mono & Stereo © 2023: Exclusive Interview With Daniel Weiss.

Resolution and bits are getting higher and higher. It's become a race of sorts. How much is enough?

There are recordings on CD (i.e. 44.1kHz / 16 bit) which sound better than many high resolution recordings. I tend to think that CD quality is enough, provided the musicians / engineers / producers do an excellent job. There may be genres of music where a higher resolution may be beneficial, so to be on the safe side 96kHz at 16 Bit is enough. YMMV.


What does it take to keep the soul of the music intact?

- Absolutly agree, everything beyond 96khZ / 16bit is interesting purely from engineering prospective, but not from hearing prospective (no, human hearing didn't improve the last centuries...even worst, with all the headphone users ;-)

- Soul of music intact?
> PRIO 1 happens not in your home hifi chain: Good microphones > good recording studio with awesome ADC > Master Engineering at it's best
> PRIO 2: good source material from PRIO 1 and even systems for 5€k can sound great if you in the DIY space...in commercial space you are more on the 30€k entry level, with all the audiophile-craziness the last 5y

 

[Amir]

I like this Comment from Daniel Weiss:

"If the music has a soul, because it has been composed and played so well then you can do almost anything to it, you won’t be able to destroy that soul even by playing it through a mediocre setup. "

 

[jasbirnandra]

HI everyone I too am thinking of the weiss 501 but cannot understand the difference in 4 channel version being better is not stereo just 2 channel.
and does the 501 have mk2 version currently. what chip does the 501 have ?

 

[Atriya]

HI everyone I too am thinking of the weiss 501 but cannot understand the difference in 4 channel version being better is not stereo just 2 channel.
and does the 501 have mk2 version currently. what chip does the 501 have ?

The Mk2 version and Mk1 version are both sold. The Mk2 version is more expensive. DAC501-4ch and DAC501-Mk2 refer to the same object.

The Mk2 version uses the ES9038Pro chip. I believe the Mk1 used an older chip. The Mk2 doesn't actually have any 4-channel functionality yet: these are planned for future firmware updates. At present it is just a stereo DAC, like the Mk1.

Source: I own the DAC501-Mk2.

 

[jasbirnandra]

The Mk2 version and Mk1 version are both sold. The Mk2 version is more expensive. DAC501-4ch and DAC501-Mk2 refer to the same object.

The Mk2 version uses the ES9038Pro chip. I believe the Mk1 used an older chip. The Mk2 doesn't actually have any 4-channel functionality yet: these are planned for future firmware updates. At present it is just a stereo DAC, like the Mk1.

Source: I own the DAC501-Mk2.

You mean the DAC 501 mk2 without the 4 channel.
how do you describe the sound am planning to place the order and am confused between T&A DAC 200 and Weiss 501

 

[Atriya]

You mean the DAC 501 mk2 without the 4 channel

DAC501-4ch and DAC501-Mk2 refer to the same object.

 

[jasbirnandra]

how d

DAC501-4ch and DAC501-Mk2 refer to the same object.

how would you describe the sound

 

[Atriya]

how d

how would you describe the sound

Of the DAC in general, or the Mk1 compared to the Mk2?

I demoed the Mk1 and eventually bought the Mk2, just because it's newer. I think it sounds a bit better than the Mk1 (from memory, since I never had both together), but it could be placebo/confirmation bias.

 

[matthias]

HI everyone I too am thinking of the weiss 501 but cannot understand the difference in 4 channel version being better is not stereo just 2 channel.
and does the 501 have mk2 version currently. what chip does the 501 have ?

There are some comparisons on page 2 of this thread.
AFAIK, the 501/2 Mk1 use ES9018, the 501/2 Mk2 seem to use ES9038Pro.
The SQ of the new DAC204 seems to be on par with the 501/2 Mk1.

Matt

 

[Amir]

Please do not worry about 2ch vs 4ch ...

what is important is your setup , matching , ...

Weiss Products all are bragin at the price

 

[nicoludio]

Weiss has published a white paper on the changes made to the DAC501/502 Mk2 version: https://weiss.ch/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/White-paper-on-the-DAC50x-4ch.pdf

When using in a stereo system, it makes no difference that the Mk 2 version enables 4-channel output. As I understand it, this just means that both the RCA (unbalanced) and XLR (balanced) outputs can be used simultaneously.

Subsequent to my earlier post (https://www.whatsbestforum.com/threads/new-weiss-dac-501-502.23028/post-829496), I managed to compare the DAC502 Mk 1, DAC 502 Mk 2 and Medus in the same system. The Mk 2 is better in that, what I felt was missing in the Mk 1 has mainly been addressed in the Mk 2. Otoh, the Medus was on a different class altogether, even if on a non DSP platform using the older ESS9018. Guess the Weiss OP2-BP discrete op amps used in the Medus do make a significant difference.

The Mk 1 uses ESS9018 whereas the Mk 2 uses the ESS9038 Pro.

I have also directly compared the DAC502 Mk2 with the Soulnote S3 Mk2 and the TAD D1000 TX. The build quality and size of both the Soulnote and TAD components are impressive. Yet, when the music starts on the DAC502 Mk 2, I was chortled that the diminutive and unassuming Weiss could compete with both . As they say, never judge a book by its cover.

 

[Carlos269]

Has anyone heard the Weiss vinyl emulation offered on their dacs and DSP units? Care to share your impressions?

 

[Atriya]

Has anyone heard the Weiss vinyl emulation offered on their dacs and DSP units? Care to share your impressions?

I find it nice sometimes in very low amounts. Makes the sound "softer". Even set to minimum, though, it detracts from resolution. I wouldn't use it at higher settings for general listening.

 

[Carlos269]

I find it nice sometimes in very low amounts. Makes the sound "softer". Even set to minimum, though, it detracts from resolution. I wouldn't use it at higher settings for general listening.

I’m assuming that the “softer” sound is intentional and by design to emulate the more pleasing and euphoric sound of vinyl, and magnetic tape. That you for your impressions.

 

[Macroaudio15]

The Mk2 version and Mk1 version are both sold. The Mk2 version is more expensive. DAC501-4ch and DAC501-Mk2 refer to the same object.

The Mk2 version uses the ES9038Pro chip. I believe the Mk1 used an older chip. The Mk2 doesn't actually have any 4-channel functionality yet: these are planned for future firmware updates. At present it is just a stereo DAC, like the Mk1.

Source: I own the DAC501-Mk2.

Have been unable to find any Weiss sourced specs or papers that indicate what DAC is used in the Mk2.

 

[nicoludio]

I asked Daniel previously.

50x Mk 1 - ESS 9018 K2M
50x Mk 2 - ESS 9038 Pro

 

[Macroaudio15]

I asked Daniel previously.

50x Mk 1 - ESS 9018 K2M
50x Mk 2 - ESS 9038 Pro

Thank you for the background and confirmation

 

[Atriya]

I asked Daniel previously.

50x Mk 1 - ESS 9018 K2M
50x Mk 2 - ESS 9038 Pro

I was also given this information directly by Mr. Weiss via email.

 

[Juiced]

Some features I'll be happy if they included in the next firmware up date.

- the ability to turn off and on the Weiss dac from the web browser (Wake-on-lan sorta speak)
- indication on the Weiss display if a DSP is turned on and which ones