[As compared to the Weiss DAC2/Minerva]
"After many hours of mounting comparative frustration, the upshot was that those who've always wanted a Minerva/DAC2 with USB instead of Firewire input plus a far bigger feature set including headphone drive, remote control, finely calibrated volume and SD card slot now have one. Sonics weren't just from the same school. They were from the same class and virtual doppelgängers. The one aspect I could consistently tell apart (recording permitting!) was that the Weiss with its more centralized soundstage focus lightens in density or substance towards the sides where the Invicta maintained more consistency. Its stage spread was equally solid on the sides as it was in the center. There also were very small textural/timbral differences. Those I could make out at the very beginning of each track whilst focusing down hard on individual instrumental tones. Describing it however proved elusive. What's more, this very minor change of scenery lighting receded from my attention fix so quickly that even though it was a consistent occurrence from track start to track start, it just as consistently was too subtle and slippery to remain identifiable for more than a few seconds. With properly matched levels I doubt anyone could tell these machines reliably apart. Those who hoped that 'best in the world' claims for the ESS Sabre chip meant a real rung or two higher up on that ladder in the sky would eye the Burr Brown BB1792 in the Weiss with real consternation."
[As compared to the Burson Audio HA160D]
"This distinction translated not so much as additional top-down illumination or aeration as it had with the Zodiac Gold + Voltikus vs. Burson. There textures for the Antelope machine had come across as somewhat fluffier, airier and lighter. Whilst the Burson's retrieval or recreation of recorded space was once again less keen to make it sound meatier or more robust, this wasn't 'per se'. Clearly top to bottom the Invicta did not trail it on image density. This difference seemed to simply be a psychoacoustic function. Equal material substance acquires different weighting when one is considered more on its own—just the steak, no sizzle—and the other in the context of surrounding space (with sizzle).
I must confess that whatever expectations of an unconditional next plateau or higher octave I might have had based on the firm's unusually comprehensive technical documentation were somewhat disappointed. As I was with the top Antelope machine I'm convinced that the Resonessence is digitally the more advanced. I also remain convinced that team Burson's insistence on going full-on discrete in the analog domain is responsible for their fleshier sound..."
