Any first hand experience of this?

Cracking dac is the WL,musically complete and addictive. Great real world performance, a good product for ourswelves. The WD dream really only for not grown up naimies BUT needs a BIG system to really make that dac work.

I am just looking at the options , and was given your company as a supplier in the UK

peterthebutcher If you are still researching dac's, here's one that would interest me: www.audialonline.com/s5/

I've never heard it but there are a few members on PFM who rate it very highly.

absolutely nothing wrong with Rockna , i am sure its a great brand , distributed in Uk by Audiofreaks . Never had to use their support though 

I say old chap, some of us who own Merc's do not pay nearly four figures’ sums for servicing lol. Although we do 90% of the work ourselves, a good indie is worth their weight in gold. never stick to manufcturers service intervals (In that) over the years they have deliberately stretched out service intervals to say' Hey look' it only costs XXX to service this over a 3 year period. After that the warranty on the lease is up, its not their problem. I service our vehicles every 6000 miles oil & filter O.E (6 litres). and Castrol edge or Motul 8100 power. New air filter ever 12000, clean out at every 6000. Brake fuild changed every year’s dot 5 synthetic, all mechanical points lubed, tyre pressures checked weekly. A interim engine service on the two cars we have is £95, a second tier service is £180-220. Wipers £29 the pir from Bosch or Valeo. I only use O.E. or better parts. A gearbox service on the 7G+ boxes at my local indie is £295 inc vat, parts are genuinely £165 so as I don't have a garage and ramps any more then that’s fair no question. I did uprate the brakes and fitted braided hoses, with new disc and pads all round £480 I did that myself. To be fair genuine merc discs are £168 for the front pair and £285 for the rears. Front pads again Merc are £62 and rears are £38 that is a fair price. I never compromise on brakes. Granted if you own a E or S class it will be more agreed, but again a good indie is your friend here. The Peugeot partner teepee van we had the exhaust genuine they wanted over £800 for it FFS. A few months back I popped into a place just down the road where you are Oli (MIJ Exhausts) and had a custom stainless cat back bespoke performance system made absolutely first-class workmanship & service £500 with a life time warranty. The trick really with any vehicle is being sensible, service it regularly, use a quality oil and original filter, and with today’s direct injection engines, short runs a quality fuel helps as well. Last example I promise, I purchased a working turbocharger and exhaust manifold from damaged Merc a few weeks back my cost was £225 inc shipping, it turned out to be a wee be more shafted lol than advertised oil starvation cause bearing and shaft failure. It was bought on the premiss of using a donor. Now its turned into a bit of full on rebuild So full hybrid version, 360 degree bearings, improved diameter impeller and housing matching, new spindle, new larger compressor wheel, back cut etc. Its bib and braces bomb proof build with a mild upgraded worth around 80bhp compared to the monster jap 350+ BHP truck sized units its mild, I wished for uber strength plus a wee bit more grunt. With the remap to suit the improved flow and drop in back pressure should reach around 300hp mark. Cost for ALL of the work and I know thew company have been using them for over 20 years fo many racing projects. their charge £820 inc vat plus turbo £225. an stock O.E. turbo from merc is around £1600+vat, a reman unit is around £550 exchange. So, if you know where to look you can with any vehicle and spot of knowledge keep them running for sensible money.

You are absolutely correct Oli, you do not need to spend a lot on a dac to get a good sound a few of you have proved that over the last few years very successfully. Crickey it's rare these days I pay over a £1k for a dac (personally) however the majority are not comfortable with diy or nice Chinese casework or resale / part ex value. I feel that runs through them with whatever products they look at purchasing. It is that personal choice. A couple of weeks back I demonstrated a rather nice pre amplimer to agent who has a rather expensive very well-known pre-amplifier. Last week he called to ask, could I transplant that pre amp into his current pre amplifier casework so no one would know he had changed from brand X+, really!

Amyway you can purchase a very listenable and enjoyable dac for around a £1k no problem, will it suit everyone No, but it will work for a lot of chaps.