T+A DAC 200 or WEISS 501

After about a month, I really do like the DAC200. It really does have a beautiful sound. I’ve also found that its preamp is better than the preamp in my Vitus SS020 integrated amp. So now, I bypass the Vitus preamp internally and use it as a straight amplifier and control the volume with the DAC200.

I am looking for negatives with the DAC200 and I would say some people might find it a bit reticent. But with HQP, that can be alleviated to my tastes. I prefer a natural sound, not a hifi sound. And I think the DAC 200 achieves it. I prefer to enjoy the beauty between the notes rather than be slapped in the face by their leading edges. To me, the DAC 200 neither sounds reserved nor sounds over hyped. It sounds like real music. But I know some will prefer a faster, more exciting sound. I just strongly prefer the DAC 200’s approach.

This DAC has so much detail naturally presented within a very deep soundstage. And I find tone and timbre to be extremely well executed. The main reasons to buy the DAC 200 would be its high level of detail retrieval that is naturally presented (completely non-fatiguing) including micro details and decays - the hallmark of a high resolution component imo), its wide and deep soundstage with believable imaging and fully fleshed out images, its fabulous tone, and its spot-on timbre. So much to like.

it’s a great feeling to finally be satisfied with and even excited about digital playback in my otherwise analog front end.

@ljgm Have you played with the DAC 200’s filters to see which one you like the best? This is one of my favorite feature of the unit and enables you to have what sounds like six different DACs in one, and this is a feature set in the DAC 200 that is not discussed enough. For me, the BEZ2 filter performs the best in terms of natural delivery and resolution. Many people find themselves using BEZ1 or one of the NOS filters, but I have tested across both a very high end reference stereo setup and with high end headphone setup that BEZ2 performs best (personal opinion, of course). 

I also appreciate the WIDE bandwidth setting that enables it to go up to 200KHz. The extra headroom improves the ambient performance for detail retrieval and larger sound stage. 

@blisshifi no, I haven't even tried the DAC200 filters at all.  I've only been using HQ Player.  Of course, HQPlayer has many many more filter choices and there as well, you get the same effect of seemingly listening to entirely different DAC based on your configuration.  So I've really only used the wide bandwidth NOS setting and have been upsampling in HQP.  I've actually settled on a DSD configuration that sounds phenomenal. I'm also using the preamp volume control of the DAC200.  My Vitus SS-020 integrated amp has a preamp bypass so that it can be used as a straight amp, and I've found the DAC200's volume control (which can also be optionally bypassed) sounds better than the one in my Vitus.

@ljgm Thanks for sharing your configuration. I especially appreciate your comment on the quality of the preamp stage in the DAC 200. I have commented similarly, stating that I find it to be as good as dedicated preamps in the $3-5K range. It is definitely a differentiator for the unit, as most DACs even double its price do not have as impressive of an analog output stage or volume control. In many cases, I can recommend someone to use a DAC 200 straight into their amp, whereas I rarely advocate going from DAC straight to amp for most other competitors. 

Yeah this DAC is in a "second" (or less extravagant) system that resides in my office. My reference for line stages is a silver Emia AVC. And while the Emia does sound better, it’s overkill in this system and I use it in my big system. The DAC 200 with it’s preamp stage sounds fantastic in this setup. And it saves the extra pair of interconnects that would be otherwise necessary for an outboard preamp as well! Win win.