The Weiss 501 DAC
-Photos courtesy The Music Room
This DAC is the perfect example of a great, slightly used product. Having just finished my review on the Weiss 502, they explain the difference between the 501 and 502 is the latter having a balanced, 4 pin headphone output on the rear face of the unit. This is the $1,000 difference in the retail prices of the new units at $11k and $12k respectively.
The unit available here at TMR has a few nicks in it, but at $6,299 is a great deal in a high performance DAC. You can purchase this one by clicking here.
The $10k-ish DAC market may well be the most highly competitive, because there are a lot of great DACs at this level. The Weiss serves up a very neutral tonal balance, is incredibly dynamic, and major weight. If you love heavy rock, large scale classical music, and hip-hop or electronica, you’ll be excited. It also serves up any kind of streaming service at your disposal and is ROON ready. Merely plug your Ethernet cable in the back and you’re rocking.
The rear panel view reveals SPDIF inputs (RCA and Optical) along with USB, and AES/EBU. Analog output is via RCA or XLR. This is one very versatile DAC.
As you can see from the front panel, there’s a 1/4″ headphone jack for personal listening. Weiss has done an excellent job here as well. Giving my review sample a spin with Focal, Audeze, Meze and Grado phones proved excellent – so I’m guessing whatever cans you have at your disposal should work equally well.
However, what makes the Weiss DACs (remember the 501 and 502 both share identical circuitry in this respect) is it’s additional functions available in the digital domain. There is a parametric EQ, the usual selection of digital filters, a “Vinyl Emulation” mode, and a De-esser, all adjustable in fine increments. Personally, the De-esser is lovely for those early 80s digital recordings that more often than not, a little on the crunchy side. Go easy with this control and you will be highly rewarded.
Finally, like every pre-owned TMR product for sale, this Weiss DAC has been thoroughly checked out by the service staff and will arrive in perfect working order. Oh yeah, there’s a great, compact remote control too! What’s not to love?