DAC road traveled!
- Thread starter Randy Myers
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Randy Myers
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- #22
I am not familiar with the Shenzhen or the Matrix. I am with the Oppo and Wyred 4 Sound. I am also making an educated assumption about the Ayres.... 
.... These are the only five that I currently am aware of that actually have 9038 Pro DACs available.... if anyone is aware of others please let me know.
.... These are the only five that I currently am aware of that actually have 9038 Pro DACs available.... if anyone is aware of others please let me know.
Randy Myers
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- #23
Never tried upsampling on the fly with Redbooks. I do know that upsampling through the Wyred 4 Sound Remedy to 24/96 does a fantastic job. It definitely improved Redbooks. Of course this is reclocking using Femto clock, etc., and doing the upsampling in hardware, not in software.
Albert
New member
W4S definitely makes some nice gear and they stand behind their products. I purchased a PS-1 linear power supply a little while ago and within a couple of weeks two of the modules went out. W4S repaired the unit quickly and it is working fine now. I just wish they had returned it by USPS instead of FedEx as I was charged an extra $50 for their shuffling a few papers fee. But they did pay for the return shipping. And sent me a free t-shirt.
My Calyx Femto DAC uses a pair of ES9018 chips, the previous generation of the ES9038pro. It would be interesting to compare the two DACs. In the ever changing world of digital, what was sota a couple of years ago is almost common a couple of years later. But I am sticking with my Calyx Femto for a while as it works well in my system. I even use it for the audio from my Android TV box (kind of over kill).
As for whether digital is better than vinyl, I am going to keep the lid closed on that can of worms.
My Calyx Femto DAC uses a pair of ES9018 chips, the previous generation of the ES9038pro. It would be interesting to compare the two DACs. In the ever changing world of digital, what was sota a couple of years ago is almost common a couple of years later. But I am sticking with my Calyx Femto for a while as it works well in my system. I even use it for the audio from my Android TV box (kind of over kill).
As for whether digital is better than vinyl, I am going to keep the lid closed on that can of worms.
a.wayne
Well-known member
Do you really have a Bedini 803? rare beast .......
Albert
New member
Yes, I am a bit of a Bedini fan. I have:
Bedini BA-803
Bedini 100/100 1 meg
Bedini 25/25
two Bedini 150/150 mkII's
The 100/100 1 meg is an amazing class A amp but there is a cold solder somewhere in the left channel that I will have to get fixed. The BA-803 is also a very nice amp with plenty of power for my Acoustat 2+2 but it never sounds edgy or hard. Of the two I still prefer the older 100/100 1 meg. I'd love to find another but they are very rare.
Bedini BA-803
Bedini 100/100 1 meg
Bedini 25/25
two Bedini 150/150 mkII's
The 100/100 1 meg is an amazing class A amp but there is a cold solder somewhere in the left channel that I will have to get fixed. The BA-803 is also a very nice amp with plenty of power for my Acoustat 2+2 but it never sounds edgy or hard. Of the two I still prefer the older 100/100 1 meg. I'd love to find another but they are very rare.
a.wayne
Well-known member
Yeah the 1Meg is very, very rare ....
Femto clocks are mostly for marketing purpose. for DAC clocks, what matters is the phase and jitter performance and how close they are to the DAC chip. Lot of great DAC manufacturers don't use Femto clocks and yet sound fabulous...
https://vimeo.com/160027074
https://vimeo.com/160027074
Randy Myers
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- #30
Again, how it is implemented. I would say that nothing, in and of itself makes a DAC great. Not the 9038, not Femto clock, etc. Each being another tool for the designer to use. How the designer uses and integrates these tools is what matters.
Anyway, back to what was being discussed; the new Wyred DAC and how EJ Sarmento has integrated all of these tools.
DAC-2v2 SE, with the reference 9038PRO DAC chip
Our flagship, special edition DAC-2v2 SE builds on the DAC-2v2 and is a tour-de-force in DAC technology and a bonafide reference product by any standard. At it's heart, the new 2v2SE gets the best DAC chip on the market, the ESS 9038PRO*. This chip is absolutely state-of-the-art with respect to specs and sonics. The 2v2SE is all about no-compromise, so how could we not use the best chip available?
Enhancing the already stellar performance of our DAC-2v2, the DAC-2v2 SE includes an array of highly upgraded components: Vishay Z-Foil resistors, ultra-low noise discrete regulators, ultra-fast recovery Schottkey diodes, premium grade inductors, green OLED display and a premium upgraded fuse. The culmination of these enhancements is refined audio performance down to the minutest nuances.
Delivering the highest quality audio of our digital-to-analog convertors, the DAC-2v2 SE is like the DAC-2v2 on steroids! As with all our DAC v2 products, the DAC-2v2 SE is both an incredible performer and a great value for your dollar, easily outclassing DACs 3-4x the cost. With the DAC-2v2 SE, you will enjoy simply the best sound from your music system.
Femto grade clock upgrade option for DAC-2v2 (already included in DAC-2v2 SE model)
Accuracy and overall quality of the master clock are crucial to obtaining optimum sound quality. The standard clock is no slouch but you now have the option to upgrade to the highest grade component available in its class. Implementation of this femto grade clock optimizes audio quality by lowering phase jitter by over 80% as well as greatly reducing phase noise in the digital circuit. Clocks of this grade are typically found in DAC's retailing for $5K or more! The DAC-2v2 SE model comes with this clock standard and for a modest fee you can select the upgraded clock during the checkout process for either the DAC-1v2 or DAC-2v2 models.
DAC-2v2 Features
Anyway, back to what was being discussed; the new Wyred DAC and how EJ Sarmento has integrated all of these tools.
DAC-2v2 SE, with the reference 9038PRO DAC chip
Our flagship, special edition DAC-2v2 SE builds on the DAC-2v2 and is a tour-de-force in DAC technology and a bonafide reference product by any standard. At it's heart, the new 2v2SE gets the best DAC chip on the market, the ESS 9038PRO*. This chip is absolutely state-of-the-art with respect to specs and sonics. The 2v2SE is all about no-compromise, so how could we not use the best chip available?
Enhancing the already stellar performance of our DAC-2v2, the DAC-2v2 SE includes an array of highly upgraded components: Vishay Z-Foil resistors, ultra-low noise discrete regulators, ultra-fast recovery Schottkey diodes, premium grade inductors, green OLED display and a premium upgraded fuse. The culmination of these enhancements is refined audio performance down to the minutest nuances.
Delivering the highest quality audio of our digital-to-analog convertors, the DAC-2v2 SE is like the DAC-2v2 on steroids! As with all our DAC v2 products, the DAC-2v2 SE is both an incredible performer and a great value for your dollar, easily outclassing DACs 3-4x the cost. With the DAC-2v2 SE, you will enjoy simply the best sound from your music system.
Femto grade clock upgrade option for DAC-2v2 (already included in DAC-2v2 SE model)
Accuracy and overall quality of the master clock are crucial to obtaining optimum sound quality. The standard clock is no slouch but you now have the option to upgrade to the highest grade component available in its class. Implementation of this femto grade clock optimizes audio quality by lowering phase jitter by over 80% as well as greatly reducing phase noise in the digital circuit. Clocks of this grade are typically found in DAC's retailing for $5K or more! The DAC-2v2 SE model comes with this clock standard and for a modest fee you can select the upgraded clock during the checkout process for either the DAC-1v2 or DAC-2v2 models.
DAC-2v2 Features
- ESS Sabre 9028PRO 32 bit DAC chip
- W4S proprietary discrete output stages for optimum sonics
- ESS Time Domain Jitter Eliminator®
- Automatic oversampling for precise output filtering
- Asynchronous USB input and balanced I²S input support up to 32-bit 384kHz PCM and up to DSD256
- Improved audio quality through USB input
- USB 2.0 compliancy & ASIO 2.2 (Drivers support for Mac and Linux systems)
- Galvanic isolation
- Fully balanced design with balanced and unbalanced outputs
- Upgradable Digital, Output, and USB boards (designed for future improvements)
- Oversized toroidal transformer for solid and noise-free power
- 88,000uF of filtering with W4S low ESR "super-cap" (same as used in the STP-SE)
- VFD display for input, sample rate, volume control, and configuration viewing
- Remote control
- Defeatable 32 bit volume control
- HT Bypass inputs (selectable via DC trigger)
- 2x Coax inputs
- 2x Toslink inputs
- 1x AES/EBU input
- 1x Balanced I2S input via HDMI cable (note: not standard HDMI cable format)
- Proprietary drivers for Windows (no drivers needed for Mac or Linux)
- Factory selectable mains 115/230VAC
- Compact size (8.5"W x 4.125"H x 13.5"D)
- 14 lbs.
- Covered by a 5 YEAR WARRANTY
- ESS Sabre 9038PRO 32 bit DAC chip
- Custom Vishay Z-Foil resistors (0.1% tolerance and a +/-0.5ppm/°C)
- Femto Grade Clock (82 fSec phase jitter)
- Ultra-low noise discrete regulators (100+ times quieter and faster than the stock regulator)
- Ultra-fast recovery Schottkey diodes
- Premium grade inductors
- Upgraded fuse
- Green OLED display for input, sample rate, volume control, and configuration viewing
Dr Tone
Banned
I upsample all my stuff to DSD using HQPlayer's poly-sinc-xtr filter. It's fabulous, but takes extreme CPU/Cuda power for anything over DSD256.
Roon through HQPlayer to a sms-200 in NAA mode.
To 512 in Windows ? YES. Not certain about upping to 256 though.
Indeed I have a percussion track that sounds great and I told a pal to try it. He said the music was good but not the recording quality. It then struck me that I listened to it upped to 512 and he listened as straight RBCD.
I haven't heard a B7 in a while. I have a GG and have heard the Atlantic plus extensively.Hey Norman, Yea I know the Big7 is supposed to be amazing... but....
The maximum I have is DSD256, and glad to have that since my Benchmark only did DSD64. That was a specific choice on their part which has always bewildered me. Even if they don't believe it is an improvement, purely from a marketing point it makes no sense.
I have not seen any music that I am interested in available in DSD512. I do have 4 albums in DSD256, either 14 or 15 in DSD128, and over 100 in DSD64. I absolutely love DSD.
Previous DACs I have owned appeared to better in either PCM or DSD. The Wyred does not. It seems to be absolutely superior in both PCM and DSD!!!
What kinda computer and CPU do you have. -xtr is a bet of a filter and apparently need CUDA offload to run right.
I have a measly 4ghz 4790K and n graphics card.
Randy Myers
Well-known member
- Thread Author
- #35
Just going by your sig Norman
... would love to try a Lampi... but as it is now really am liking the new Wyred DAC... definitely world class!Jack
Active member
Randy
Just curious. Since you and I last discussed the subject have you actually seen or heard a Sonica DAC and if not how do you know it is inferior. Is this just some more of "you read it?" If so you really need to quit believing everything you read and repeating it as fact. Is it the equal of the Ayre or the W4S, I don't know because I haven't actually heard them though I do own a DAC-2 and have for a couple of years. I will reserve my judgement until I do. But it is also not $4000 or $9000 and is also a streamer. It is purpose built to a price point and has features and an app that can be improved through software upgrades just like Aurender, Lumin and the others. If you want to compare the $800 Sonica to the other two then use one of the ones that Dan Wright is upgrading and then even though it will still be cheaper it will be closer in price.
Just curious. Since you and I last discussed the subject have you actually seen or heard a Sonica DAC and if not how do you know it is inferior. Is this just some more of "you read it?" If so you really need to quit believing everything you read and repeating it as fact. Is it the equal of the Ayre or the W4S, I don't know because I haven't actually heard them though I do own a DAC-2 and have for a couple of years. I will reserve my judgement until I do. But it is also not $4000 or $9000 and is also a streamer. It is purpose built to a price point and has features and an app that can be improved through software upgrades just like Aurender, Lumin and the others. If you want to compare the $800 Sonica to the other two then use one of the ones that Dan Wright is upgrading and then even though it will still be cheaper it will be closer in price.
Randy Myers
Well-known member
- Thread Author
- #38
Yes the Oppo offers a lot for the money, however my comments where only about the sound of the DAC itself, not the other capabilities. And I have checked it out. EJ has one... he checks out lots of DACs. Almost like a hobby. He was going to grab my Teac but a club member wanted it so he let him grab it instead.
Jack
Active member
Glad you at least "checked it out" in someone elses' system and liked one better at 5 times the cost. Is that preference in a system voiced to your liking or a matter of one being inferior. One is a brand new product and the other is the third or fourth revision of a long standing product. Choice of terminology being the issue here. Liking one product better personally does not make one superior and the other inferior. As you know I have a lot of respect for EJ's products and have owned five of them and still have four.
Randy Myers
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- #40
Fair enough Jack. As I said, I personally believe the Oppo offers a good value. However I do believe it is not as good as the Wyred. This does not mean it is a "bad" product, only not as good as the other. And yes, it is a lot less money. Ala, good value. I also believe that the Wyred is probably inferior to some other DACs, although I have not heard one yet.
Oppo also has a few generations in making DACs. I do believe the new W4S SE model is also a great value, but it also costs $3800. So it is not inexpensive, but there are others that cost a ton more.
By the way, EJ would let me bring the Oppo home and check it out in my system. I do not want to. Checking it out in his system was enough for me.
Oppo also has a few generations in making DACs. I do believe the new W4S SE model is also a great value, but it also costs $3800. So it is not inexpensive, but there are others that cost a ton more.
By the way, EJ would let me bring the Oppo home and check it out in my system. I do not want to. Checking it out in his system was enough for me.