Breaking the High-Dollar Statement DAC Price/Performance Barrier - Rockna Wavedream Reference Signature DAC

[Zeins]

I am an existing owner of the Rockna wave dream reference signature (RWDRS). I was using the Berkeley alpha dac reference 1 before the change.

Prior to deciding on this dac, I had the chance to demo it at the dealer and compared it against ideon absolute dac meta and Berkeley alpha dac reference 3.


Each dac demoed has their own character and are all top performing DACs and the end result will also depend largely on the accessories (footers,grounding etc) and cables used since a dac is quite sensitive.

Below are some of my personal experiences for each dac:

Ideon absolute dac: Refined, deep and wide soundstage

Rwdrs: dynamic, high resolution with lots of detail

Berkeley: natural, liquid fluidity in the way music is reproduced.

 

[Barry2013]

The demo for THE SHOW in Irvine, June 6-8, can use SDACD if one of my colleagues has, for example, an Esoteric transport. If you're in the US or Canada, you can also demo the WDRS at home. Please PM me, and I'll be happy to make arrangements.

Thank you !
Very impressive.
I am,however, in the UK as I should have made clear and it would be good while I am in Munich to hear the the Wavedream with an SACD transport while I am there if that is possible.
Best wishes
Barry

 

[gleeds]

Thank you !
Very impressive.
I am,however, in the UK as I should have made clear and it would be good while I am in Munich to hear the the Wavedream with an SACD transport while I am there if that is possible.
Best wishes
Barry

Barry, I may be able to get a Luxman transport from my friend in Germany. Let me see what I can do. Please send me an email @gary@hearthis.us and your WhatsApp number. Mine is 949.467.9808.

 

[Doug2507]

Thank you !
Very impressive.
I am,however, in the UK as I should have made clear and it would be good while I am in Munich to hear the the Wavedream with an SACD transport while I am there if that is possible.
Best wishes
Barry

Did you get a chance to hear it Barry?

 

[Barry2013]

Did you get a chance to hear it Barry?

Thanks Doug
Yes although not for as long as I had hoped for reasons I won't bore you with and had a quick chat with the designer on the other stand at the MOC the day before
It did sound good with no obvious digital signature to the sound and the build quality and aesthetics were good. So still very much a contender and I would recommend any body in the market for a DAC to check it out.

 

[Doug2507]

Nice. Wonder if the unit I had just needed more extensive play time to settle in...

 

[gleeds]

Barry, I may be able to get a Luxman transport from my friend in Germany. Let me see what I can do. Please send me an email @gary@hearthis.us and your WhatsApp number. Mine is 949.467.9808.

Doug, if you were chatting with Nicolae, you must have been in the Trafomatic, Tune Audio, or Rockna suite. Yes, that unit was relatively new, as five locations were, I believe, using them, with two at the MOC and three at HiFi Deluxe.

In the Von Schweikert/WestminsterLab/Rockna Audio/Ars Machinae room the WDRS was as good as it gets for digital audio. We played hard files off a Wavelight server and CDs 80% of the time, with vinyl being used less frequently since we had little reason to switch.

In our experience, WDRS units require approximately 200 hours of break-in. I'm not sure how much time the WDRS in the room you visited had, but I do know the Rockna team was working hard to ensure they could meet the show demand requested of them.

 

[Doug2507]

Doug, if you were chatting with Nicolae, you must have been in the Trafomatic, Tube Audio, or Rockna suite. Yes, that unit was relatively new, as five locations were, I believe, using them, with two at the MOC and three at HiFi Deluxe. Our unit is at HiFi Deluxe.

Think you've got crossed wires there Gary, Barry was at Munich, mine was home demo.

 

[gleeds]

Sorry, Doug and Barry! With my fourth show in four months this week, my head is a bit scrambled. Thanks for helping me keep it glued on

 

[Pokey77]

Gary,
It’ll be great to see you in Costa Mesa on Friday.
Regards, Warren

 

[gleeds]

Gary,
It’ll be great to see you in Costa Mesa on Friday.
Regards, Warren

The pleasure was all mine, Warren. Now that we have completed four shows in four months, the summer should allow for some much-needed space and a get-together for some lunch and perhaps a listen to your system.

 

[gleeds]

All, Nicholae informed me that Wavedream RS updates incorporating Qobuz Direct are nearing completion. The update is a win for Qobuz streamers, offering an all-in-one solution, enhanced UI, and possible sonic improvements. The update will also include compatibility with Squeezelight, offering a free software management option to Roon. Nicholae believes SQ, paired with the Squeezelight platform, will outperform Roon. More to follow soon.

Squeezelite - Lyrion Music Server

lyrion.org

 

[Zeins]

Hi All,

The update has been released. May I know if anyone has tried playing with the renderer setting to see which setting works best if not using the lan input?

Personally think openhome sounded better than the rest.

Will there be future option to switch off the renderer if not using the streaming function

Thanks.

 

[gleeds]

Hi All,

The update has been released. May I know if anyone has tried playing with the renderer setting to see which setting works best if not using the lan input?

Personally think openhome sounded better than the rest.

Will there be future option to switch off the renderer if not using the streaming function

Thanks.

Hello Zeins. Nicholae discussed this the other day and will report back on this feature shortly.

 

[Mjj16]

Hello Zeins. Nicholae discussed this the other day and will report back on this feature shortly.

Hi, thx for your responses on this thread. Great to have a product be transparent about their products. Extremely helpful. I understand there is a reference streamer to be released as part of the product line. Can you provide some colour as to how this fits in to the reference signature which I understand has a streamer incorporated? Does this mean there may be a separate RS dac without a streamer? Just useful to understand the product line at the reference level. Thx a lot

 

[gleeds]

Yes, Nicholae has a replacement for the venerable Wavenet server on the drawing board. It is being designed to complement the WDRS with a planned release in Q3/4 of next year. As things develop, we will keep you informed. As for the WDRS, it primarily serves as an endpoint for Roon and other software. However, with the introduction of Qobuz Direct mode, and for others, I do not expect a WDRS to be offered without its current capability. This is a logical question, as many servers have streamers in addition to file storage, e.g.. Innuous. There are still a significant number of DACs without streamer renderers as part of their architecture that require a server with a built-in streamer. Honestly, the function is relatively easy to implement, so it's not a significant issue other than offering on/off capability in each device. Thanks for the question.

 

[Mjj16]

Yes, Nicholae has a replacement for the venerable Wavenet server on the drawing board. It is being designed to complement the WDRS with a planned release in Q3/4 of next year. As things develop, we will keep you informed. As for the WDRS, it primarily serves as an endpoint for Roon and other software. However, with the introduction of Qobuz Direct mode, and for others, I do not expect a WDRS to be offered without its current capability. This is a logical question, as many servers have streamers in addition to file storage, e.g.. Innuous. There are still a significant number of DACs without streamer renderers as part of their architecture that require a server with a built-in streamer. Honestly, the function is relatively easy to implement, so it's not a significant issue other than offering on/off capability in each device. Thanks for the question.

Thx for the detailed response. Certainly makes more sense now!

 

[gleeds]

Thx for the detailed response. Certainly makes more sense now!

My pleasure. We promise to keep followers of the thread up to date as the situation progresses.

 

[gleeds]

All, the Wavedream RS is now updated to include Qubuz Direct. We are achieving great results from network direct connections using Roon on a simple host computer. Adding a top-notch network filter enables you to enjoy a great streamer/file server without the need for an expensive dedicated server. That said, Nicholae is working on a new top-level server and has a few tricks up his sleeve to take on the big boys at 2x and 3x the price

My pleasure. We promise to keep followers of the thread up to date as the situation progresses.

 

[audio42]

Hello,

I'm a bit late to this thread. I've been using a Rockna Wavedream Signature SE for a few years, first with Innuos and now with a Taiko Extreme, and really love the sound. Never had an issue with it and I hope Rockna continues to support it with software updates, especially if they can improve the sound even further.

But I wouldn't mind hearing the new Reference and hear what improvements it brings to the table. As I'm in Canada, it was easier when the distributor was here.

Arun