View Full Version : Over the top dac review?
Covenant
10-11-2010, 12:26
Have a read of this: http://www.dagogo.com/View-Article.asp?hArticle=798
Is it an unbiased review or just enthusiastic? Its a fine line, I think, between the two.
Anyway Stan this is what your next years model will be up against!
I belive he loves that DAC,the 32 bit chip by ESS is new,and just mabey this new DAC hits the sweet spot for him.
These specs are a worry:
Output Impedance : Tube 22K
Solid State 10K
If true there will be loads of systems it won't match.
jantheman
10-11-2010, 13:47
Looking at Minimax''s distributors there appears to be nothing for the UK. Nearest is France or Germany. Anyone know any different....
Recently saw that Audio -GD have released some DACs using the Sabre32 ES9018 dac chip
NFB - 11 (http://www.audio-gd.com/Pro/Headphoneamp/NFB11/NFB11EN.htm) (Price $260 + del)
NFB - 10 (http://www.audio-gd.com/Pro/Headphoneamp/NFB10XLR/NFB10EN.htm)
Looking at Minimax''s distributors there appears to be nothing for the UK. Nearest is France or Germany. Anyone know any different....
I believe I saw Eastern Electric Audio equipment on display at the last London High Fidelity Show at The Park Inn; I can't recall who was the distributor though...
StanleyB
10-11-2010, 16:34
Anyway Stan this is what your next years model will be up against!
It's in a different price range;).
I belive he loves that DAC,the 32 bit chip by ESS is new,and just mabey this new DAC hits the sweet spot for him.
I certainly hope it hits the sweet spot for me, as my unit should be arriving sometime next week from Hong Kong. It was available for pick up much earlier but I wasn't able to find the time etc to pick it up myself. Fortunately, a friend of mine will be bringing it back for me when he flies out to Hong Kong for his holiday in a couple of days time...
I've also read the dagogo.com review recently but my purchase was made very much earlier (during the recent Hong Kong High End Audio Visual Show in August) based on a forum thread I was following (audiocircle.com, if I'm not mistaken) which ran along the same line of the Audiolab 8200CD/Q thread on pinkfishmedia.net where the posters were highly influential in the development of the final product.
It might be awhile before I can post any feedback on the DAC though as I'm still waiting for the Digital Dream interconnect to arrive which I ordered from Artisan Silver Cables weeks ago. Unfortunately, things take forever to arrive in Brunei e.g. my book orders from Amazon.com takes an average of two months to arrive :lol:
Have a read of this: http://www.dagogo.com/View-Article.asp?hArticle=798
Is it an unbiased review or just enthusiastic? Its a fine line, I think, between the two.
Anyway Stan this is what your next years model will be up against!
Here's a more "objective-sounding" one :zzz:
http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/easternelectric/dac.html
I also had the pleasure of meeting Mr Alex Yeung during the HK show. He was there, working closely with Hit Audio (www.hitaudio.com), the official HK distributor, who decided that his products should have it's own exhibition "cubicle" even though Hit Audio also distributes several other more well-known marques :)
magiccarpetride
10-11-2010, 18:20
It's in a different price range;).
My recent experience confirms that no one can touch the Caiman at its price point.
Covenant
10-11-2010, 19:23
It's in a different price range;).
No doubt you have looked into this in detail Stan but I am sure many people on this forum and elsewhere would really sit up if you were to develop a higher price bracket product perhaps using the Sabre dac. Offer a trade in and they will be biting your hand off!
Maybe the Audiolab dac, when it finally arrives, will be even better. The Audiolab seems to have even more attention paid to power supplies (with async USB). It should have a much lower output impedance too. A comparison will be interesting!
The Sabre chip seems to be the DBs.
bigmarty
10-11-2010, 22:59
Hi Folks,
Very interesting, I see the guys at Audio Emotion in Scotland sell this DAC.
http://www.audioemotion.co.uk/categories/20/
Cheers
Marty
No doubt you have looked into this in detail Stan but I am sure many people on this forum and elsewhere would really sit up if you were to develop a higher price bracket product perhaps using the Sabre dac. Offer a trade in and they will be biting your hand off!
And all the poor people (eg. Me) will be happy to snap (pun intended) up all the secondhand
Caimans at bargain prices. Everyone will be happy!
Sent from my HTC Tattoo using Tapatalk
Most of the commercial designs I've seen using the Sabre are not exactly that great regarding layout and psu's. The Sabres are fantastic imo but due to their design are harder and more expensive than other chips to get full potential out of them. I'd be wary of any budget dac using this chip. The Audiolab and Weiss looks to be the best I've seen so far. I wouldn't touch the Audio-GD one personally
I don't understand why some places add fuzz circuits as output stages with one of the highest spec chips on the market
jantheman
11-11-2010, 08:05
Hi Folks,
Very interesting, I see the guys at Audio Emotion in Scotland sell this DAC.
http://www.audioemotion.co.uk/categories/20/
Cheers
Marty
Nice one. Thanks for the heads up. I see the £ to $ has taken on a whole new meaning.
I wouldn't touch the Audio-GD one personally
Could you please elaborate...
Could you please elaborate...
The layout doesn't look great, the regulation needs to be close to the chip as possible not running down long lengths of wires and track. The Sabres don't have internal switching capacitors in the output section, the advantage is it gives the chip a lot less signature, the downside is it makes the dacs voltage sources for the internal bias etc far more critical. You need multiple regulation with lowest output impedance to get the best from the chip, using fewer supplies supplying multiple circuitry running long lengths of track won't get the best out of it.
The Audio-GD's look ok for the price but I wouldn't get excited over it just because it uses the Sabre, the implementation is always important, more so with these chips.
I would wait until you hear this unit, I was somewhat suprised at how _ _ _ _ it sounded, please fill in the blanks.
Clue it begins with N and ends with F lol
Again, listen to a AKM 4399 and then you realise how 'impressive' the Sabre is, its just ashame about the musciality and involvement factor
I would wait until you hear this unit, I was somewhat suprised at how _ _ _ _ it sounded, please fill in the blanks.
Clue it begins with N and ends with F lol
Again, listen to a AKM 4399 and then you realise how 'impressive' the Sabre is, its just ashame about the musciality and involvement factor
Which unit are you referring to as been n_ _ f? The Eastern Electric originally mentioned?
I wouldn't get excited over it just because it uses the Sabre, the implementation is always important, more so with these chips.
I certainly wasn't getting excited over it because it used the Sabre chip, I simply posted it as an alternative to other DACs using the Sabre chip costing 3 times as much...
Audio-GD's products are well built and generally sound pretty good...
I would wait until you hear this unit, I was somewhat suprised at how _ _ _ _ it sounded, please fill in the blanks.
Clue it begins with N and ends with F lol
Again, listen to a AKM 4399 and then you realise how 'impressive' the Sabre is, its just ashame about the musciality and involvement factor
is an AF missing :lol:
You heard the W4S dac Tone? I heard one recently and didn't like it at all.
Must check out the AKM, is it just the evaluation boards or is there anything else suited for the fiddlers?
purite audio
13-11-2010, 11:21
Leo Hi, I heard a W4S here, I had such high hopes for it, same chip as the 202 etc, what a disappointment!
I even asked a friend over to confirm, closed shut in and lifeless.
Keith.
is an AF missing :lol:
You heard the W4S dac Tone? I heard one recently and didn't like it at all.
Must check out the AKM, is it just the evaluation boards or is there anything else suited for the fiddlers?
Hello Leo,
You are indeed correct NAFF is very apat :lol:
The W4S is very 'dac 64' stylee at best, certainly I could not live with in any way, very much like a more detailed and forceful upgraded cullen dac :rolleyes:
The Sabre requires very careful implimentation, quality idependent fully regulated psu's also fully isolated ground planes and clock circutry. Ah and I know you are fully aware of the output stage configurations too.
Pay attentions to these issues and it will show you what it can do :)
For us the AKM 4799 gives all the benefits of the Sabre however the texture and sound filed depth is streets ahead, it provides a more richer yet invloving sound that even the dire hard turntable guys give into.
How are you BTW? I suspect busy as usual?
Cheers Tone
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