Hi Tyler, my opinion on the DWC vs soil is that DWC takes more attention, I think, but my soil plants that I crammed in beside my DWCs are not as big as the DWC but they're not bad, will post pics and other info once harvested. Sorry, poor English , 420 ish here.
but my soul plants are last minute add ones cause I couldn't get rid of them, dirt was bought at Walmart, no slow release nutrients, just perlite, I used left over 5 gallon dwc buckets for planters with couple inches of peppbles on bottom. And, not feeding watering schedule, don't know what runoff is yet, but I garden , so I've got a bit of an idea. Lol, I'm just going by gut feel, and it's working!
the thing about DWC is one, I lost water in my system 3 or 4 times, luckily and by chance, the way I set up my system, I would still have a few inches of water in each dwc if I lost water. Came in handy, cause it happened. Also, they are linked dwc to each other and one reservoir, like mine. Once your in place, I can't move my plants now, like you could if they were in pots, not connected by tubing. Mt plants are overcrowded, and can't move them. Something I'll fix nex go, always learning, right.
also, water temperature is something to deal with. Chillers are expensive . My main reservoir is outside my growroom so it's at a lower temperature, which has kept any root rot away, something else to content with. Just things to consider, which you may not have to contend with in soil.
but, DWC, if done properly and with some luck of course, lol, seems to grow really fast. . Seen some really big days, inches, during veg, will post pics..
i plan to try soil to really compare, I'll be hitting you up for experience!