DAC501

About the DAC501

The Weiss DAC501 is a half‑width high‑end streaming DAC, headphone amplifier, and digital signal processor with extensive onboard DSP tailored for both loudspeakers and headphones. It employs oversampling multi‑bit sigma‑delta D/A converters with two converter channels per audio channel, using ESS Sabre 32‑bit DAC chips per channel. It supports PCM from 44.1 kHz up to 384 kHz and DSD64/DSD128, and offers network streaming via Ethernet with UPnP/DLNA and Roon Ready support, alongside AES/EBU, S/PDIF (coax and optical), and USB inputs. The built‑in DSP platform provides algorithms such as Room Equalizer, Creative Equalizer (tone control), De‑Essing, Loudness Control, Vinyl Emulation, Crosstalk Cancelling (XTC), Headphone Equalizer, and Crossfeed, enabling advanced room, tonal, and headphone optimization. Analog outputs include balanced XLR and unbalanced RCA line outputs plus a 1/4" headphone jack, all fed from discrete output stages with independently configurable coarse output level steps for line and headphone. Internally, signals are upsampled and processed at about 195 kHz using a high‑precision low‑jitter clock, and the unit is designed for studio‑grade, low‑distortion, low‑noise performance. The DAC501 is available in silver or black, features a front‑panel display with network/streaming control, and is positioned as a compact reference‑grade hub for digital playback, DSP, and headphone listening. The original DAC501 has been superseded by the DAC501 MK2 and is no longer in production.