I agree 100%. I stopped chasing new and better chip performance long ago. But curious about the upgrade cost still. I’m also a huge fan of Weiss. Love my 204.
The Weiss DAC 204 - Have you heard this stunning little DAC?
- Thread starter Tannoyista
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Howdy. New member here. Been a DAC204 owner for over 2yrs now. I have it paired with a Keces P8 LPS and it sounds simply fabulous.
I contacted my distributor yesterday and he indicated it will be a couple of weeks before upgrade availability, pricing and process will be available at least here in the US.
Interestingly the ES9028Pro chip used in the MK2 is already 9 years old. It was released in 2016. But it is 6yrs newer than the ES9018S chip the 204 was being produced with which came out in 2010.
After going through this thread I see there is no mention of the Modwright LPS for the 204. It is designed to look like a 204. If you're not familiar with Modwright they make some very nice gear. Their LPS is quite a bit less costly than the Weiss LPS so it may be an option for some. I would have likely gone for one but I got my Keces well before the Modwright unit became available.
I contacted my distributor yesterday and he indicated it will be a couple of weeks before upgrade availability, pricing and process will be available at least here in the US.
Interestingly the ES9028Pro chip used in the MK2 is already 9 years old. It was released in 2016. But it is 6yrs newer than the ES9018S chip the 204 was being produced with which came out in 2010.
After going through this thread I see there is no mention of the Modwright LPS for the 204. It is designed to look like a 204. If you're not familiar with Modwright they make some very nice gear. Their LPS is quite a bit less costly than the Weiss LPS so it may be an option for some. I would have likely gone for one but I got my Keces well before the Modwright unit became available.
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Same thing with me. I had my Plixir before Modwright made a LPS for my 204.
But I like my Plixir so I will keep it even if I already have 2 Modwright products.
Here a nice comparison between the two chips:
A Look Inside the New ES9028PRO Converter Chip and the New DAC3
The best just got better! It has been a little over 7 years since ESS Technology introduced the revolutionary ES9018 audio D/A converter chip. This converter delivered a major improvement in audio conversion and, for 7 years, it has held its position as the highest performing audio D/A converter...
benchmarkmedia.com
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Interesting. Thanks for posting that. They talk about the improvements in the 7yrs between the 2 chips. It's been 9yrs since ES9028 was released so one can only imagine the improvements in ESS's top chips in the last 9yrs. This makes it a bit puzzling why Weiss uses somewhat dated chips in new products they offer. The price of these chips in bulk is not that high so it is curious why they use older chips? Even their top of the line $22k+ Helios doesn't use the most current top ESS chip.Here a nice comparison between the two chips:
A Look Inside the New ES9028PRO Converter Chip and the New DAC3
The best just got better! It has been a little over 7 years since ESS Technology introduced the revolutionary ES9018 audio D/A converter chip. This converter delivered a major improvement in audio conversion and, for 7 years, it has held its position as the highest performing audio D/A converter...
AFAIK, even Ideon Audio use for their 40k+ Top DAC the 9038PRO and not the newer 9039PRO.
Weiss use in the Helios and 501MK2 also the 9038PRO. I don't know the reason but they should know why.
Daniel Weiss is usually not reluctant to answer such questions.
I suspect a lot of the improvements in the later chips relate to lower power usage, which is not all that relevant to Weiss DACs. Also, I also suspect Daniel Weiss uses his own filters so has no need of filter improvements made in later chips. However, these are just guesses.
I was using a 205 with Fidelizer power supply, and I had a feeling there would eventually be a Mk 2 version with the newer chips once Weiss ran out of the older boards. But I couldn't wait so I ended up buying the DAC 501 Mk 2 a year ago and have been extremely happy with it, as a significant upgrade on the DAC 205. But I expect the 204/205 Mk 2 will also be a major upgrade, based on a few comments from people who have upgraded from the 501/502 to the Mk 2 versions. I'm tempted to buy a 204 Mk 2 just to compare it with my 501 Mk 2.
I was using a 205 with Fidelizer power supply, and I had a feeling there would eventually be a Mk 2 version with the newer chips once Weiss ran out of the older boards. But I couldn't wait so I ended up buying the DAC 501 Mk 2 a year ago and have been extremely happy with it, as a significant upgrade on the DAC 205. But I expect the 204/205 Mk 2 will also be a major upgrade, based on a few comments from people who have upgraded from the 501/502 to the Mk 2 versions. I'm tempted to buy a 204 Mk 2 just to compare it with my 501 Mk 2.
I contacted Daniel about why the 9028pro was chosen and he praised the jitter elimination on the chip and mentioned it was the most appropriate and cost effective chip to integrate with the rest of the 204 architecture and hardware. I suspect, as rossb mentioned, that it will yield a significant improvement.
I, for one, will be upgrading my existing dac. But being in the US, I may wait to see how the tariff stuff plays out. The tariffs are directly responsible for the 204 price increase from $3.5k USD to $4k. If the tariffs are ruled illegal and reversed it should hopefully drop the price of the upgrade when its announced in the next few weeks.
I, for one, will be upgrading my existing dac. But being in the US, I may wait to see how the tariff stuff plays out. The tariffs are directly responsible for the 204 price increase from $3.5k USD to $4k. If the tariffs are ruled illegal and reversed it should hopefully drop the price of the upgrade when its announced in the next few weeks.
Here in Quebec, to upgrade a DAC501 to DAC501 MK2, it was 3195$CAN.
Suppose the upgrade will be available in early 2026.
If the price is right, I will make the move but if not, I’ll keep my 204 as is.
Suppose the upgrade will be available in early 2026.
If the price is right, I will make the move but if not, I’ll keep my 204 as is.
Interestingly Weiss switched back to the old DAC204 page. They only mention:
"An MK2 successor for both units is in the making."
That's all. I suppose there are quite a few old DAC204s sitting in shelfs at the dealers.
"An MK2 successor for both units is in the making."
That's all. I suppose there are quite a few old DAC204s sitting in shelfs at the dealers.
Yes, quite curious as to why they changed the site back to the old 204. I suspect because the MK2 will not be available for some weeks according to what I was told by my distributor. Why advertise an updated product that is not yet available when the existing product is still available?
Yes...and they updated the manual as well.
BUT the descriptions of the reviews are wrong...all reviews are about MK1 version.
Curious what @Tannoyista thinks about this...
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Yeah that's a little sloppy. Can't post reviews of a product that is really isn't available yet but it is a bit odd they kept the reviews of the MK1. Either that or removing all reviews until the MK2 gets some reviews.
On another note the Asian version of the site still has the MK1.
I just bought a Weiss DAC204 from Taobao, serial number 06XX. Upgrades aren't free, and I don't live in China, so this is really bad news.
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