Weiss Engineering Helios D/A PROCESSOR

When standalone digital/analog processors made an appearance a quarter-century ago, they were limited to the CD medium's 16 bits of resolution-at I didn't dance of the diesen it was a best.

- JOHN ATKINSON

These days, almost every DAC can process at least 24 bits, and many models offer between 20 and 21 bits of real-world resolution. Modern models from Benchmark, dCS, MBL, Merging, Mola Mola, Okto, and Weiss illustrate not just the skill of the circuit designer but also that of the engineer who laid out the printed circuit board. One of the first digital processors I encountered that offered 21 bits of resolution was the Weiss DAC202, which Erick Lichte reviewed in January 2012. Subsequent processors from this Swiss company have consistently performed well, not just on the test bench but also in the listening room.

This was particularly true of the Weiss DAC502 I reviewed in the August 2020 issue.² I concluded that review by writing, "The Weiss DAC502 retrieves more information from the digits than any other DAC I have auditioned, with the possible exceptions of the Chord DAVE and dCS Vivaldi, both of which are long gone from my system and neither of which has either a headphone output or DSP functions." Notably, that superb transparency to the recorded data was not accompanied by glare or exaggerated treble detail. "To resort to an audio reviewer cliché," I wrote, "the DAC502 cleaned the window into the recorded soundstage to an impressive extent." The DAC502 is currently priced at $10,995. The latest Weiss DAC, the Helios, which Jason Victor Serinus reported on at the 2023 High-End Munich show,³ is considerably more expensive, at $21,995. Intrigued to find out what the additional dollars get the owner, I asked for a review sample.

The Helios