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

[spm360]

New Life Audio @ T.H.E. New York Audio Show 2025 – Ballroom A with Rockna Audio - Show Recap

What an incredible weekend at the New York Audio Show! Our large ballroom was alive with music, energy, and passionate listeners who came to experience the art of true high-end audio.

It all started with a vision for a system that would both look and sound exceptional - and the end result exceeded every expectation. We arranged the system along the long wall to create a wide and immersive soundstage, with the source components elegantly centered:

• Lumin U2X Streamer (brand new model)
• Rockna Audio WaveDream Reference DAC
• U.S. premiere of the Trafomatic Audio Tara 30A Preamplifier

The entire system was wired with MasterBuilt Audio cables, ensuring signal purity and coherence from source to speaker. From the source components, two sets of long MasterBuilt ULTRA interconnects ran to either side of the room.

On the right side, they fed the WestminsterLab REI monoblock amplifiers (running in bridged mode) driving the majestic Von Schweikert Audio ULTRA 7 loudspeakers.

On the left, they connected to the VAC 200 iQ monoblocks, powering the Von Schweikert VR-30 speakers (affectionately known as the “mini-7”).

Throughout the weekend, we welcomed hundreds of attendees from seasoned audiophiles to first-time showgoers all eager to hear what makes New Life Audio different. The feedback was overwhelmingly positive.

A heartfelt thank-you to everyone who visited our room, shared their passion, and helped make the weekend such a success.

We’re also thrilled to announce that our new showroom in Queens is nearly ready! We’re targeting a soft opening on November 22, with a grand opening celebration to follow soon after. Stay tuned for your official invitation - we can’t wait to welcome you in person.

 

[gleeds]

Thanks for a

New Life Audio @ T.H.E. New York Audio Show 2025 – Ballroom A with Rockna Audio - Show Recap

What an incredible weekend at the New York Audio Show! Our large ballroom was alive with music, energy, and passionate listeners who came to experience the art of true high-end audio.

It all started with a vision for a system that would both look and sound exceptional - and the end result exceeded every expectation. We arranged the system along the long wall to create a wide and immersive soundstage, with the source components elegantly centered:

• Lumin U2X Streamer (brand new model)
• Rockna Audio WaveDream Reference DAC
• U.S. premiere of the Trafomatic Audio Tara 30A Preamplifier

The entire system was wired with MasterBuilt Audio cables, ensuring signal purity and coherence from source to speaker. From the source components, two sets of long MasterBuilt ULTRA interconnects ran to either side of the room.

On the right side, they fed the WestminsterLab REI monoblock amplifiers (running in bridged mode) driving the majestic Von Schweikert Audio ULTRA 7 loudspeakers.

On the left, they connected to the VAC 200 iQ monoblocks, powering the Von Schweikert VR-30 speakers (affectionately known as the “mini-7”).

Throughout the weekend, we welcomed hundreds of attendees from seasoned audiophiles to first-time showgoers all eager to hear what makes New Life Audio different. The feedback was overwhelmingly positive.

A heartfelt thank-you to everyone who visited our room, shared their passion, and helped make the weekend such a success.

We’re also thrilled to announce that our new showroom in Queens is nearly ready! We’re targeting a soft opening on November 22, with a grand opening celebration to follow soon after. Stay tuned for your official invitation - we can’t wait to welcome you in person.

 

[gleeds]

Thanks for an excellent effort showcasing the mighty Wavedream Rockna and other brands we represent at the show. I'm sorry I wasn't able to be there with you. Next year for sure!

I'm excited to attend your formal opening event. It will be cool to have a new brick and mortar showroom in the Big Apple, especially Queens - the real destination for great high-end sound

 

[hinda]

Dwa pytania.

1. Czy ktoś mógłby mi powiedzieć, jaki bezpiecznik jest fabrycznie montowany w Wavedream Reference? Czy jest to prosty i tani bezpiecznik, czy produkt znanej marki, takiej jak SR Master lub Hifi-Tuning Diamond?

2. Czy Wavedream Reference poradzi sobie z Tidalem przez sieć Ethernet LAN? (bez Roon) Na przykład przy użyciu BubbleUPnP.

Tak, obsługuje to, ponieważ ma UPnP, używam MConnect

 

[gleeds]

Q1. Could someone tell me what kind of fuse is installed at the factory in the Wavedream Reference? Is it a simple, inexpensive fuse, or is it from a well-known brand like SR Master or Hifi-Tuning Diamond?

Q2. Will the Wavedream Reference handle Tidal over an Ethernet LAN? (Without Roon) For example, using BubbleUPnP.

Answer 1: No special fuses are used in the WDRS. If you decide to try some, please let us know your results.

Answer 2: Tidal Connect is not enabled; however, using other software that integrates with Tidal, such as Audirvana, Volumio Jplay, etc., can run over the network. Please be aware that Rockna has recently integrated Qobuz Direct, which is now supported.

 

[Zeins]

I have replaced the fuse in the RWDRS dac with an out of production fuse from a Japan brand call cross point.

Blog post on that fuse: Xp-FS flare (use Google Translate)

Suffice to say, impact was quite significant on the my sound system. The soundstage became wider, dynamics improved significantly, it’s as if the speakers were changed to a larger pair.

Please take above with a grain of salt as the impact of a fuse change also depends a lot on the rest of the cables and equipment chain within the system.

I think the conclusion that I want to share is that the Rockna dac is definitely sensitive to fuse changes however I think it’s a good choice to just use a normal and neutral fuse and instead let users decide for themselves if they will like to change to a exotic fuse since that will add further cost to the equipment and each have their own preference for fuses.

 

[audio42]

With my Wavedream Signature SE, I use a Hifi tuning fuse (supreme IIRC) . It was installed a few years ago so I don't remember the exact improvements but suffice to say, Rockna DACs do benefit from after market fuses. My friend uses SR fuses in his Rockna streamer and DAC.

Arun