Originally Posted by
AlfaGTV
Eitan, i have also been on a quest for a well sounding DAC to combine with Roon Labs. My reference is my still going strong Bladelius Embla solid state disc spinner, which also does UPnP and DAC duties.
Its user interface is somewhat long in the tooth though.
The Embla features dual DACs, selectable in software, and they still sound very, very nice even though this machine was launched in -09!
Its not in the DAC chips, it's all about the implementation! :)
Anyway, Embla Classic have three selectable DAC modes, the first one mimics the Bladelius Gondul, a very highly regarded disc spinner.
This mode is dynamic, clear and somewhat 'mechanical' sounding.
The second mode is a 'softer' DAC mode using a Wolfson DAC chip. Not bad, and quite enjoyable, particularly if you turn off upsampling (individually selectable for each mode) Sounds VERY much like older NOS DACs, such as the famed TDA-1541. Not as highly resolving and nuanced though, but very 'musical'
Lastly, there's a specially filtered mode which eliminates pre-ringing and this mode is the 'go to' mode where most music works beautifully with an naturalness much like analog sources. It doesnt sound like LP or master tape, but in that direction.
I have tried replacing this expensive machinery since i sold my first one in 2014. Many DACs and players have passed through but none have lived up to the Embla Classic.
The Pioneer N-70 is an excellent DAC in itself with streaming possibilities and it did sound very nice. Close, but no cigar though!
Benchmark DAC1 is still a very nice DAC to my ears, it may lack a bit i musicality though. Cheap as chips these days!
M2 Tech Young DSD was on home loan a couple of weeks, but that one did not make an impression at all.
I have also had a Rega DAC on home loan but that really is not to my taste. :/ Sorry!
Chord QBD76 then? Yes, why not? I liked this one, but it was not as flexible in formats and resolutions as the Embla. I wouldnt say it was better either, more like 'different'
Finally i decided to try an unknown brand as the developer had some cred in the business; The Audiobyte Black Dragon.
The guy is from Romania and has been involved in many high end brands development teams, such as MSB and Theta. He builds his more dire brand Rockna with ladder DACs but the Audiobyte is aimed at a more cost conscious customer som theres no room for ladder DACs there. It has however inherited a very nice filtering technique from the Rockna series. It uses a FPGA to build software based filtering for all inputs, which are plenty by the way. It also sports a femto grade clock internally for very low jitter.
The power supply is also very elaborate with lots and lots of ultra low noise regulators. The DACs are dual AK4396 as the Black Dragon is fully balanced, each working one channel. Output stage is running in class A and you need a pretty good preamp to better the internal volume control.
Theres also a headphone output on the front if you like, capable of driving lots of headphones, but it does have some diffculties with planar magnetic phones though, at least my Hifiman HE-1000s.
This is the first DAC that has actually bettered the Embla in my setup, and it does so at about the fifth of the cost! Huge soundstage when called for, great bass and excellent balance in its sound. Detail retreival is better than good, but never sacrificing good music in the process. Dynamic slam and power, yupp, very nice.
It got to go head to head with an MSB Diamond DAC V with PSU a couple of months ago and while bettered, there was no shame on its performance. Rather, the MSB really should have made more of an impression but was only slightly better (in most areas though)
There are som pics in my Gallery thread if your curious, but i highly recommend hearing one of these if possible? It barely makes your budget, but im pretty sure you would be impressed enough to stretch a little!
