Is this chinese clone dac worth it?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chefguru 

Looking for a cheap little dac for my office. Saw this clone on ebay

 

 http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120668293560&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT#ht_8779wt_1122

 

I believe it's a clone of the Z-dac-1 which retails for about $850, seems like it might be a good deal?

Hi,

For $20 more you could get the NFB 3.... and believe me, this is worth every penny...

http://www.audio-gd.com/Pro/dac/NFB-2/NFB2EN.htm

Simple question.... if you have problem with the DAC on ebay... what happens ??? With Kingwa of Audio-GD, rest assured, he'll take care of you...

Just my opinion....

Denys
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chefguru 

Looking for a cheap little dac for my office. Saw this clone on ebay

 

 http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120668293560&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT#ht_8779wt_1122

 

I believe it's a clone of the Z-dac-1 which retails for about $850, seems like it might be a good deal?

It's been my experience that most specialty audio gear being sold on eBay is usually being sold there (and not directly on a website somewhere or under a well established brand name) for a good reason. Often the gear being sold isn't really that great. I think a lot of the stuff on eBay is designed with the best intentions, but when it turns out to have some obvious problem, it ends up getting "liquidated" on eBay as way to get rid of the defective inventory without putting someone's brand name at risk.

I've tested several pieces of eBay gear that others have wanted me to test. And I've yet to find one yet that didn't have one or more serious problems. You can clone the exact schematic of a great piece of gear, using very similar components, but even getting the PC board layout wrong can seriously harm the performance.

DACs, in particular, are very sensitive to PC layout, grounding issues, power supply issues, etc. And it would be very easy for a company to get one or more of those things wrong even trying to copy another design.

And with eBay gear from Asia, the vendors know very well returns are difficult and expensive. And if you try to dispute a purchase with eBay, the seller can always just abandon that eBay account and make a new one next week. So it's really very different than buying from a well established dealer with an office and support people located in the country you live in.

Oh wow - the payment history.

This thing used to be worth $150 but the price soared to $280.

There's a lot of marketing on the page so I'd be kinda wary. 

AND...

according to that page, they say this isn't a clone dac, but the z-dac is a clone of their dac.

HMMM...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Denys 

For $20 more you could get the NFB 3.... and believe me, this is worth every penny...

 

http://www.audio-gd.com/Pro/dac/NFB-2/NFB2EN.htm

 

Are you on the Audio-Gd's payroll?

Quote:

Originally Posted by mandek 

 

Are you on the Audio-Gd's payroll?

Unlikely, but I am inclined to second his opinion.

No, no A-gd affiliation here either.

Quote:

Originally Posted by mandek 

 

Are you on the Audio-Gd's payroll?

Why would you say such a thing ???? I just mentioned another solution....

I`m not on AGD payroll or any audio related company.... It just happens that I am very satisfied by both the product and the service of Audio GD.

Had the question being on headphone amp, I would have talked about the Woo products.....and I am not on Woo`s payroll either....

Denys
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by nwavguy 
It's been my experience that most specialty audio gear being sold on eBay is usually being sold there (and not directly on a website somewhere or under a well established brand name) for a good reason. Often the gear being sold isn't really that great. I think a lot of the stuff on eBay is designed with the best intentions, but when it turns out to have some obvious problem, it ends up getting "liquidated" on eBay as way to get rid of the defective inventory without putting someone's brand name at risk.

 

 

i would have to respectfully disagree with that sweeping statement about ebay products. clones they maybe but its so mucked up now its hard to recognize the diamond from glass to determine who's cloning who. this i can safely say - most if not all of the low-mid end products are China made in 1 form or another. indeed alot North American brands use rebadged or china made & thats an economical fact whether we like it or not.

that aside, i recently ordered & received a 4xTDA1543 NOS DAC all for a grand total of $63 shipped. things been performing above & beyond all my expectations. a $63 DAC (actually its only $49.99 as rest is shipping) has no biznes sounding this good & if its not for the chinese biznes model, we'd never get to sample such wares.

so it wouldnt exactly be a surprize if the DAC opined here performs or even out performs the Benchmark DAC pre for 1/3 or less. to be honest, its not even surprizing anymore if it were to be shown that the DAC pre is a chinese rebadge! so OP don be put off cos its only an "ebay dac" & take it as an opportunity to try it out & give us a review/report on how well (or not) it works. thxs in advance for daring to contribute to the collective community - goodstuff!

I'd agree w/ the idea that ebay sellers can disappear anytime, and that all those unknown/supposedly OEM/clones are often only sold on ebay for a good reason. You get a DOA, you send it back to China on your cost, the ebay seller closes his account = SOL...and yes, I've seen it happening. $330 can buy you good sounding proven gear w/ a real warranty.