Intro
Contents
The Helios is Weiss’ reference DAC/streamer and has been on the market since 2023-24. We got to test the Helios for a longer period. There are not many devices that have played in the homes of all editors; the Weiss Helios deserves that honour. Why? Read on!
The length of this review reflects how much there is to tell about the Helios. The Weiss Helios was also used in the reviews of the Kora TA-480 power amplifier and the Eversolo T-8 streamer and in this review you can read how we experienced this DAC/streamer.
Streaming: Qobuz Connect, UPnP and Roon
The Weiss Helios is not exclusively a DAC, but has software to process digital streams over the network in addition to digital inputs. In April 2026, Weiss released a firmware update. To our surprise, Qobuz Connect was added in addition to UPnP and Roon, which are the existing protocols for streaming on the Helios. It works fine; it mostly adds ease of use. Sound-wise, Audirvāna remains better but we expect to hear an improvement with each firmware. It is very nice to be able to control the Helios directly without the intervention of a computer or Pi.
The Weiss engineers connected Qobuz Connect to their own written software. This means that the digital signal is retrieved from the Qobuz servers and processed within the in-house engine, and the whole set of available built-in digital filters also work with Qobuz Connect.
But before we look at the hardware and start listening, we dive into Daniel Weiss’ background to put the Helios in perspective.