USB and FireWire sonically equal

Weiss DAC 202 with Firewire port selected.

Daniel Weiss, the owner and designer of the renowned Weiss DACs, is now of the opinion that FireWire and USB ports are "equivalent in terms of potential audio quality".

I had e-mailed several questions to Daniel after I found out that his much sought-after and high-end DAC 202 will now offer a USB port. Weiss had championed the usage of FireWire for his DACs from the very beginning and it came as a surprise that he has finally accepted USB as being sonically equal to the FireWire.

Oyaide Neo FireWire cable that is bundled with the Weiss DAC.

The ubiquitous USB port.

I asked him that after championing FireWire for so long, was it because of market forces that he decided to offer a USB port.

His reply was: "Yes, because people are asking for it."

I then asked him if USB technology had improved so much that he now felt comfortable offering the USB port. His reply was: "Async USB (which we use) is fine."

My next question was whether he felt the FireWire connection is still superior to USB 2. He replied: "I would call them equivalent in terms of potential audio quality."

Daniel said the extra cost of the async 24/192 USB port is around 1,100 Swiss francs and the new DAC called the Weiss DAC 202U is available now.