To Jeff Fritz,
I have read many of your excellent audio reviews on SoundStage! Ultra, mainly DACs and those rather special Esoteric VRDS-NEO transports, which I also hold in high regard.
My audio experience and product research is firmly based on the studio side of the industry, but I am also an audiophile like you at heart. I have been looking at a couple of DACs recently, which you have reviewed and possibly even owned: the Weiss DAC202 and Hegel HD30 -- these two DACs are about the same price now used.
Now I know the Hegel HD30 is a newer DAC, and has more features compared to the Weiss DAC202, but if you were to select one or the other, taking into account the quality of both volume controls and purely on the overall sound quality (i.e., which converter mirrors the best analogue sound and reveals the room acoustics/instrument echo trails the clearest), which would you choose?
The only other converter I will be trying to get my hands on will be the Bakoon DAC-21 battery-powered DAC. I have a soft spot for certain high-quality battery DACs, having owned a LessLoss DAC 2004, which was completely handmade, hand-soldered, and hand-assembled -- a great DAC with those now out-of-production Burr-Brown PCM1704K chips.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Paul
United States
I have not used the Weiss DAC202 in a great while, so my memory of it is sketchy at best. I know that when I reviewed it years ago I was super impressed, but that was a long time ago, so I can’t be sure of where it stands now. On the other hand, I know the Hegel HD30 really well, having used it for months now. So my initial reaction would be to tell you to go with the Hegel. It is a really fine DAC with clear, precise sound quality. The one hesitation I have with that recommendation is knowing that Hegel recently released the new H590 integrated amplifier-DAC, with reportedly a better-sounding DAC inside than the standalone HD30. Could a new Hegel flagship DAC be too far away? Probably not.
I have no experience with the Bakoon DAC that you mention. I will give you one bit of advice, though: although I am a huge proponent of buying some products used -- amplifiers and preamps come to mind -- I don’t think buying a used DAC is necessarily the best way to go. DAC chips have gotten way better over the years. A newer DAC might outperform an older one that retailed for twice the price. In other words, DACs are always getting cheaper and better. The bottom line from my perspective is to buy as current as you can when it comes to digital. Good luck in your search. . . . Jeff Fritz
