3D
Contents
We’re going to listen and connect the Weiss DAC2 to the network. Balanced out to the Hifiman Jade II amplifier and electrostatic headphones. As mentioned before, the search and find/play of tracks works like a charm. And the sound is excellent. We play the known (and unknown) tracks and enjoy.
The Weiss has what we call a ‘golden edge’ and in this DAC that was introduced many, many years ago is there is still stuff to discover. It’s a bit like we can still enjoy a good vinyl recording. The Weiss surrounds you as it were with a three-dimensional sound image. That was also part of the multitexture test of DACs.
We listen to James Taylor’s Fire And Rain, his brother Livingston Taylor Isn’t She Lovely and Vultures by John Mayer. And okay… also to Henry Mancini’s Pink Panther Theme. A recording from 1962; the instruments of the big band are deliciously dynamic and rich in detail. In all cases we are carried along in the music.
We still remember the recording session in the Artone Studio’s where we compared three high end studio monitors. The electrostats of Hifimans manage to get at least as much detail and musicality out of the tracks as the Grimms, the ATCs and the D&Ds. The speed of the electrostats is always amazing and addictive; the combination with the Weiss DAC is sublime, and Audirvana does very well as a music player. We hear the differences between the tracks very well. At Pink Panther, the orchestra stood around us, the pink panther sort of crept through our heads. Lovely.
ROON and Audirvana
We find it interesting to make a tonal comparison with ROON, so we connect our Macbook Pro to the Weiss via the optical output. Apple has almost all desktops and laptops – as well as the Airport Express base stations – equipped with a 3.5mm (minijack) output that can be used analog and optically digital. The comparison is not exactly 1 on 1, but it is via the same DAC.
To make a long story short, the differences are minimal. Sometimes we hear that ROON sounds a bit more polished than Audirvana, but these are nuances that are only noticeable in A/B equations and do not disturb in daily use.
The ease of use and completeness of the ROON package are clearly better, but you also pay a price for that. A lifetime license from Audirvana currently costs € 99.22, at ROON this is € 699.99.
Conclusion: UPnP is OK!
After listening to and enjoying Audirvana for some time, our conclusion is that UPnP is an excellent platform/protocol for streaming lossless and hi-res music. And that Audirvana supports and maintains it. So if you have a streamer that does not support ROON then with Audirvana you have a great alternative to a music player and app that allows you to continue. ROON offers more in displaying metadata, setting up music players but you will pay a serious price for that. Audirvana offers an excellent price/quality ratio in this respect.
