Hi Carlos - you have very eloquently and succinctly summarised my own 'concerns' regarding the Wadax reference DAC. I too suspected DSP when I read about 'paradigm shifts' in DAC performance, as articulated by forum members I trust and respect. After all, my team uses Universal Audio plugins (for example) in the studio when producing, to get the sound we are after (and that consumers hear). And funnily enough..... the Studer A800 tape plugin almost always features. I am about to invest hard-earned money in a flagship DAC for pleasure (not work) - so Wadax hit my radar, along with dCS and MSB. But my due-diligence is throwing-up some red flags, also.
Absolutely, the issue is not if they are clever and implementing soft clipping & the addition of harmonics through saturation emulation. The big concern, if they are in deed doing this, is with the deception. Something smells not kosher here and the fact that did not submit review samples to Stereophile is all too telling. Glad to see someone else on this forum has experience with “sweetening” plug-ins.