SW1X Audio Design DAC 1

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02-07-2016, 19:11
SW1X

SW1X Audio Design DAC 1

Greetings,

Please feel free to share your experience and post your questions regarding the DAC 1 here

Looking forward hearing your comments

Slawa

[IMG]http://i1224.photobucket.com/albums/...psgl4glhhh.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i1224.photobucket.com/albums/...psjkggrwfi.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i1224.photobucket.com/albums/...psjmkk2pwi.jpg[/IMG]
02-07-2016, 19:27
SW1X

SW1X Audio Design DAC 1 Signature Review

The DAC 1 Signature received a critical review by Kevin Fiske.

The review can be accessed here:

http://www.hifiwigwam.com/sw1x-audio...y-kevin-fiske/
24-07-2016, 22:21
hughandella

I am no longer working with Slawa on SW1X but wish him the very best and remain a fan of his products

thanks

chris
17-10-2016, 20:47
SW1X

Red Book NOS R2R vs Delta Sigma with DSD and Hi res

We use the high grade TDA1543, TDA1541, PCM56, PCM58 – R2R stereo D to A converters without any filtering in the digital domain solely because we found them to provide a better and smoother analogue sound than the Delta Sigma noise shaping type of chips (yes, even better than the 24Bit or 32Bit versions). Higher resolution of a DAC does not guarantee a good sound in anyway. There are so many other factors of a DAC design (such as a digital filtering, quality of passive components, I/V and output stage), that affect the quality of sound. These factors can worsen the sound beyond comprehension. The fallacy is to believe that the higher the resolution, the better the sound is. This happens until audiophiles and music lovers realise that the potential of 16Bit Red Book (CD) format is far from being fulfilled.

“Music is a time continuum from start to end which when broken is irreparably damaged and no amount of clever manipulation can restore it to its original time / frequency / amplitude duration relationship”, regardless what the prevailing dogma is.

Further information can be found here:

http://sw1xad.co.uk/delta-sigma-vs-nos-r2r-dac-designs/
18-10-2016, 07:30
Macca

Quote:

Originally Posted by SW1X

. The fallacy is to believe that the higher the resolution, the better the sound is. /[/URL]

I quite agree, but people really don't even understand the basics of digital playback and they hear better mastering and automatically assume it is due to there being more bits or a higher sampling frequency when the fact is these things make no difference at all. You've got an uphill struggle to convince the average punter, though.
18-10-2016, 08:58
SW1X

Quote:

Originally Posted by Macca

I quite agree, but people really don't even understand the basics of digital playback and they hear better mastering and automatically assume it is due to there being more bits or a higher sampling frequency when the fact is these things make no difference at all. You've got an uphill struggle to convince the average punter, though.

That is OK. It is very easy to fall into the marketing trap and those traps are everywhere. Back in the days, I myself was lead to believe that higher bits are better until I discovered that actually it is the digital filter that messes up the music.

All we can do is to encourage people to try our or any filterless DAC designs. That is the only way to find out. We are not the only company who offers filterless R2R DACs.
I can highly recommend Audio Note DACs if you come across them - they were the first to take filterless idea to the market.
18-10-2016, 09:28
SW1X

feel free to come over to find out

Feel free to come over to compare our products to any product, be it Chinese or any other products from our respected competitors.
Any product from our competitors helps us and the the customer to understand where we are coming from and that quality has its price.
We tried and tested many materials and circuit designs over the years. There is plenty of evidence that any cutting cost approach is counterproductive to the quality of sound.

I always encourage our visitors to bring over any equipment or whatever they have to an audition.
You are welcome to bring your music, any product of your choice, your system and your friends if you wish.

Please feel free to contact us or our forthcoming dealers for a no strings attached audition.
18-10-2016, 10:00
SW1X

quality has its price- what you pay is what you get

Our products appear to be expensive but the musical performance they offer is also conclusive. We have no intention to sell overpriced products made of cheap materials that will not deliver our promise.

Please feel free to read here about our performance level system that use to classify and to price our products.

http://sw1xad.co.uk/product/sw1x-aud...-level-system/

In some ways the performance level system is very similar as employed by Audio Note (UK). The idea is to offer a product that maximises its musical performance at any given price level.

Should you still feel that our products are overpriced please feel free to visit ebay and check out the availability and cost of Black Gate capacitors, Allen Bradley resistors and Germanium transistors and diodes.
We also would encourage you to visit Audio Note (UK) website to see for yourself how much the Kaisei capacitors, tantalum resistors and their other components cost that we heavily employ in our designs.

http://audionote.co.uk/comp/cap_electro.shtml
06-01-2017, 19:22
ovlov854

I have watched SW1X from the start and have been a fan of the concept.
I was using an AN Dac 1 1x whicch used the AD 1855 chip and the mini valve so beloved of AN
I thought it was pretty damn good
I now use the SW1x Dac 1 and it is much more musical with space.
There were some adjustments to make and throughout it all Slawa could not have been more helpful
with advice and some practical help as well
The DAC 1 is staying.
Anyone contemplating a stand alone dac MUST listen to this
06-01-2017, 19:45
SW1X

your feedback is appreciated

Quote:

Originally Posted by ovlov854

I have watched SW1X from the start and have been a fan of the concept.
I was using an AN Dac 1 1x whicch used the AD 1855 chip and the mini valve so beloved of AN
I thought it was pretty damn good
I now use the SW1x Dac 1 and it is much more musical with space.
There were some adjustments to make and throughout it all Slawa could not have been more helpful
with advice and some practical help as well
The DAC 1 is staying.
Anyone contemplating a stand alone dac MUST listen to this

Dear Martin,

Thank you for your kind feedback. It is utterly appreciated. You are welcome to visit us should you be in the proximity of London Stansted airport area.

We hope to be of service to you in the future.

Slawa
05-04-2017, 12:06
SW1X

Active I/V and Passive I/V

The SW1X DAC I Standard version is now available with two different I/V conversion techniques: Active or Passive. While the active current to voltage (I/V) conversion via a single specially selected transistor matches the impedances between DAC current out and the valve grid, passive conversion via a resistor provides an alternative solution with a different sound signature.

Difference in sound between Passive and Active I/V (current to voltage) conversion

There are distinct difference in sound between those conversion techniques, implemented in Active and Passive versions of SW1X DAC I. While the sound of active I/V over a specially selected transistor has a better “dynamic bite”, the passive resistor I/V method gives a more relaxed feeling to the sound. On the one hand, Active I/V of DAC I has an edge over Passive I/V in resolving details, on the other, passive I/V provides a more organic envelope to the texture of music. Both conversion techniques have merits with a particular music in mind: Active I/V version will particularly excel with energized Rock or Electronic type of music while Passive I/V will sound more harmonically with Jazzy or Classical type of music.