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Valab Dac-First Impressions - Page 2

post #16 of 1580
11/6/08 at 1:28pm
Why is the guy selling his Valab that quickly?
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post #17 of 1580
11/6/08 at 1:30pm
Thread Starter 
One difference you can see between the Gigalab and the Valab is the aluminum heat sink over the dac chips on the Valab. I like this feature as the dac does generate some heat. The board layout does appear different, which is better?

Phill
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post #18 of 1580
11/6/08 at 1:31pm
I don't think anyone knows until you post high resolution quality pictures of the layout on here!
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post #19 of 1580
11/6/08 at 1:31pm
Thread Starter 
The Valab he is selling is a pre production model according to his posts, maybe he is selling to get a production version?

Phill
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post #20 of 1580
11/6/08 at 1:33pm
Found the auction of the guy you were talking about, his unit lacked the USB option and was badly scratched all over...
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post #21 of 1580
11/6/08 at 3:36pm
oh the european guy?

Here's the one I bought

Reviews from his feedback are all positive. The page also has higher resolution pictures of the circuit board
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post #22 of 1580
11/6/08 at 3:39pm
I definitely plan to use this paired with my desktop pc via USB, and I'll compare that with the coaxial out of my motherboard. In addition, I will be using it alongside my Oppo 9831HD. Definitely looking forward to it ... it's gonna be Christmas in November

Oh, and this will be paired with a Topping MK-10 T-amp and then to a Tekton 4" Full Range monitor
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post #23 of 1580
11/9/08 at 2:30pm
Any news on how the Paradisea+ compares to the Valab?
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post #24 of 1580
11/9/08 at 3:08pm
As I knew, these 2 DACs were from the same design team. The original concept of 8 parallel TDA1543 is from others. They just incorporated more new ICs to improve the audio quality and functions. The one from Valab is an improved version of the others. However, the infrastructure for them is the same. The differences between them include PCB layout, USB interface design, XO, and the external box. For the Valab one, there is indeed some place to upgrade. Maybe next version will be a upgraded one.

Quote:
Originally Posted by tubes View Post
One difference you can see between the Gigalab and the Valab is the aluminum heat sink over the dac chips on the Valab. I like this feature as the dac does generate some heat. The board layout does appear different, which is better?

Phill
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post #25 of 1580
11/9/08 at 3:17pm
Some of 80$ included the improvement for input interface, USB interface, upgraded components and external box.
Quote:
Originally Posted by apatN View Post
Easy. They're already making 30$ more on every unit than before. The budget DACs in China pop up like mushrooms and that's because all the factors (labour, knowledge, parts) are widely available.

EDIT: Lol, check this as well:


Got it from here

So unless they changed a LOT of things in their DAC (and I wouldn't know) the price has gone up 80$ for profit only.
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post #26 of 1580
11/9/08 at 4:02pm
Thread Starter 
I have done a quick A/B between the two but i'm going to hold off on any further comments until the Valab has fully broken in. The reason is the Valab has changed some during break in as expected so any comments at this point may not apply after more break in. I will say that the Valab has very nice dynamics, it can punch out a tune when asked to, nicely balanced from top to bottom as I previously noted. On the minus side it developed a bit of edge to high guitar notes, also a slight overlying grain/hash which hopefully will go away with break in, I'm already noticing guitars are starting to smooth out. These are minor nits at this point and I still think the Valab is a steal at the price.

I spoke with Kevin at Valab and inquired about the output caps, he said yes they can be replaced and you will get an improvement, they are the 2 blue caps located next to the clock crystal, I'll have to pop the lid but it looks like they are 10uf caps, quality caps may not fit in the space available, I'm going to look into this further.

Phill
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post #27 of 1580
11/10/08 at 9:14am
@tubes
hi, do you have Kevin email, i can't find them in ebay
i'm looking for bang for buck DAC, i'm considering this and paradisea, but at 1/3 paradisea price, these must be a steal!
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post #28 of 1580
11/10/08 at 10:49am
Thread Starter 
Just go to E-Bay and do a search for Valab, click on one of the items he sells and send him an E-Mail.

Phill
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post #29 of 1580
11/10/08 at 10:56am
@tubes
already send a message, they don't have one in stock right now, but will supply some within this week
btw do you hear more improvement from burning-in Valab DAC?

Regards
Andrian
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post #30 of 1580
11/10/08 at 11:05am
Thread Starter 
As it breaks in it gets a little warmer and fleshes out, it's starting to get smoother also, the overlying grain I noticed has diminished.

Phill
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