[Earbones]

Advantages of keeping the DAC•iT X
 
I'm very happy with the sound, for the most part
 
Around $200 cheaper
 
Being silver, I guess it matches my Woo WA3 better. That might matter to my girlfriend. Not much to me.
 
Advantages of switching to the Resonessence Concero
 
While I'm happy with the performance of the DAC•iT X, I don't know if it's "perfect"... For instance, while I am aware there are many vastly more expensive and technically superior amps to my WA3, I've listened to quite a few of them, and while they were great, I didn't feel they were that much better than the WA3... In many cases, I liked them less. Particularly with the tube selection I have dialed in. For me, it's basically perfect, and if I had a million dollars to spend on audio tomorrow, I don't know that I'd get rid of it... Probably just buy a bunch of NOS W.E. 421As, and other rare tubes, ha ha. While the DAC•iT X is great... Is it perfect for me? I'm not sure. I'm very open to the idea of liking something else better. I just haven't found anything. Yet.
 
I really like the idea of ditching a power cable by having a DAC that runs of USB power, and the Concero has shown in tests the USB power doesn't add noise to it's design.
 
It might sound better. Certainly the people who've reviewed it seem to think so. 
 
Being tiny and USB-powered, it can go with me when I travel. 
 
 
 
Reading the above, I almost feel like I've answered my own question. But if anyone else has any advantages for either camp that I haven't thought of, I'd love to see them. Also I'd love to read something from someone who's listened to both...

 

[sacaudio]

I'm trying to build a system around a pair of sennheiser 650's. I'm thinking of the WA3, that I'm hoping to find used in this forum. That being said what DAC is recommended with it? The Dac it?

 

[Earbones]

I run HD650's... The WA3 is indeed incredible with them. Incredible.
 
For DACs, the big name that gets thrown around here is the Schiit Bitfrost.
 
The DAC•iT X comes up often as well, though not with as much frequency. The Bitfrost has come to be seen as one of the best sub-$500 performers from a niche audiophile brand. The DAC•iT is a great sub-$500 performer as well... In fact, my searches for comparisons revealed a pretty even matchup.
 
Cooler heads comparing the two seem to think that while they have different signatures, they are roughly equal performers. Not-so-cool heads will often say one "destroys" the other, etc... The funny thing being that which one destroys the other generally varies, depending on which DAC those individuals had first. The story always seems to go: "I had the Bitfrost, but when I got the DAC•iT, there was no comparison"... Or exactly vice-versa. Not exactly a clear consensus, ha ha. I took it to mean that you couldn't go wrong with either, and ended up getting the DAC•iT X simply because there was one at my local Best Buy in the Magnolia department.
 
The reason I was considering going for the Concero and not trying the Bitfrost (beyond the stuff listed in my first post) is because with the Uber Analog upgrade and the USB option, the Bitfrost comes in at $520. Everything I've read points to the Resonessence Concero being a solid rung or two up the performance ladder from the Bitfrost and DAC•iT X, while being only $80 more than the fully-loaded Bitfrost...