New Pro.DAC with CS4398 chip! (56k beware...)

[forsberg]

So I went into wai wai (aka Zhaolu shop) in Hong Kong @ Apliu Street today and picked up their new Pro.DAC. Eddie's shop looked very professional and as soon as I went in I was blown away by their gear. They had about 10 DAC In A Box and 4 Pro.DACs burning in. There were also tons of Zhaolu 2.5s as well, along with all these other hi-fi gear.

He tested the Pro.DAC for me on his full blown loudspeaker system using spdif via CD player as well as USB via foobar of course, and it sounded great. But will have to test against my own amp, pa2v2 to give a more detailed analysis.

According to Eddie, the difference between Pro.DAC (pink) and DAC in a box (blue) is that DAC in a box uses the CS4397 chip while Pro.DAC uses the CS4398. Also supported in Pro.DAC is USB connectivity which is great for us computer users.

Anyways, here are some pics. Will give impressions later.

Included Accessories:



Back:



Front:



Size:

[Nebby]

Nice pics, looks quite small and compact. Looking forward to your impressions!

BTW, is it easy to find the the Zhaolu shop? I'll be in HK somewhat soon and would like to pick up a Zhaolu while I'm there.

[forsberg]

Originally Posted by Nebby

Nice pics, looks quite small and compact. Looking forward to your impressions!

BTW, is it easy to find the the Zhaolu shop? I'll be in HK somewhat soon and would like to pick up a Zhaolu while I'm there.

Haha, no, it's quite hard to find actually. It is on the 1st floor (not ground floor), so you need to make your way up these really ghetto stairs between two electronics stores. You can easily miss it if you don't pay attention to the numbers. Then once u reach 1/F you will see two hi-fi shops. Wai Wai is one of them. Only open after 2pm.

[Herbal]

Looks like a nice little unit.

I would be grateful to know how this compares to an Alien DAC as I'm looking for a USB-DAC for my laptop in work.

[Nebby]

Originally Posted by forsberg

Haha, no, it's quite hard to find actually. It is on the 1st floor (not ground floor), so you need to make your way up these really ghetto stairs between two electronics stores. You can easily miss it if you don't pay attention to the numbers. Then once u reach 1/F you will see two hi-fi shops. Wai Wai is one of them. Only open after 2pm.

Oh great, guess I'll have to ask around when I get around that area

[manhattanproj]

how does it compare to the zhaolu? and how much is it?

[forsberg]

I have never heard the zhaolu so I cannot comment.

I paid $730HKD for it (~ $90 USD)

Initial impressions vs tbaam is that the Pro.DAC is much more quiet than tbaam. With the TBAAM, if you play it loud enough, you would sometimes hear hiss around each note that is being played, albeit very very minor. The DAC eliminates that and thus gives a much more clear sound. The positioning of different instruments is a bit more accurate, sort of like each instrument has a "distinct" position to it.

Note that all my comparisons are with the 5 pro. I will only be using IEMs so don't ask me about full size cans.

So far all my tests have been USB. Will try testing with optical cable tomorrow through the TBAAM opt out. Eddie says the optical connection should give a better SQ than USB.

Now if only my Westone 3s arrive... and somehow get this pa2v2 magically turn into a hornet.....

[OakIris]

forsberg - Sorry to revive an old thread, but I am interested in this DAC and wonder if you ever tried out the optical in to compare the sound to the USB in connection?

This seems to be the only thread on head-fi about this DAC so I am wondering whether or not it is a good unit. Certainly a great price for my needs!

[infinitesymphony]

I've seen that DAC on eBay for months and always wondered about its quality... Very interesting.

[user5412]

Would you mind opening it up and taking a few photos of the inside?