Woo Audio WDS1 Dac

[giants11214]

I recently brought a used Woo Audio Dac. I wanted to give me impressions. I sold my Benchmark 1 usb dac after hearing Resonessence Lab Invicta mark2. The Invicta sounded much more musical. The Benchmark was great for detail and picking out instrument's location and so forth, great for sound engineers. When I made my decision to purchase the Benchmark, my thought was if it's good enough for the pro's, then it's good for me.

The Woo Audio WDS1 has an upgraded Synergistic Research Red fuse and I use a Shunyata venom 3 power cable. I'm very happy I gave the Woo Dac a try. I had emailed the folks at Woo Audio and told them I'm considering Dacs in the same price range from Metrum, Wyred 4 sound, Anedio, Bel Canto, etc., and why should I consider their Woo dad.

Here's Woo Audio's reply:
"Our WDS-1 Reference DAC doesn’t try to do everything, e.g. DSD, Bluetooth streaming, up-sampling, etc. It has an analog and organic sound with inputs/outputs to accommodate most audio systems. We are confident that you’ll be pleased with our products."
I very much agree with them. The Woo dac is very musical, lush and smooth, none digital at all.

 

[giants11214]

Was having computer issues. Don't know if it's new AK or my computer.

My friend who own the Invicta thought the Woo sound fantastic, especially for the price. The Invicta and Benchmark gets really hot, while the Woo dac is cool as a cucumber. The built quality is amazing, better than both the Invicta and Benchmark. If anyone in the New York city area interested in hearing the dac, please pm me. I'll do my best.

I used to think I should get the dac with the best chip, etc. I don't think this way now. Besides the dac chip, implementation is even more important. An analogy would be if you have a Ferrari and you put an 85 year old behind the wheels. You are not going to get the most of the car in this situation.

 

[HiFiGuy528]

@giants11214 Happy to hear you're enjoying the DAC.