Wyred 4 Sound, of California, have announced a new DAC lineup using all-new ESS Sabre PRO DAC chips. The new DAC-1v2 uses the new 9026PRO chip while the mid-tier DAC-2v2 adds volume control and the new 9028PRO chip.

The flagship DAC-2v2SE, with extensively upgraded parts, employs ESS’ chip, the 9038PRO. These new DACs replace the DAC-1 LE, DAC-2 DSD and DAC-2 DSDse, respectively. Retail pricing for the new v2 DACs ranges from $1299 for the DAC-1v2 to $3799 for the DAC-2v2SE. The 8-channel, 32-bit ESS PRO chips represent “cutting-edge technology and a new industry benchmark for audiophile-grade performance”.

“The sonic differences between our former flagship DAC-2 DSDse and the new DAC-2v2SE were immediately and surprisingly obvious” notes Tony Holt, Marketing Director for Wyred 4 Sound. “While the DSDse is still a fantastic DAC, the new 2v2SE pulls ahead in many ways: increased soundstage width and depth, a better sense of image spacing and clarity, improved resolution without harshness, a greater sense of dimensionality and realism. I’ve had audio friends come over to hear it as well as received feedback from customers who upgraded from DSDse to 2v2SE. Their impressions were consistently clear: the new 2v2SE bests the DSDse, and is simply a brilliant performer. It’s an awesome achievement and a reference-level product—that happens to cost less than $4k.”