Yulong Sabre D18 thread: reviews, impressions, discussion (full review added 2/5) - Page 57

I'll third GrumpyOldMan.  I find the D18 neither too warm or over-analytical.  I suppose if a person owned an analytical DAC before the D-18 then he may have already tweaked/softened his system to compensate, and then that would make the initial impression.

Hello project86
Thank you for your original review of the D18. As a result of reading your review I purchased the D18 and am now using it with the U18 (with separate p/s). I am very pleased with the sound (driving ATC50 active speakers directly over XLR) on high quality music, but find the sound uncomfortable on some lower quality recordings (even though they are 16/44) In the high frequencies. The ATC speakers are derived from true studio monitors and have a very quick response ie a sharp leading edge to the sound. Someone has suggested that I would get all the detail, but a more comfortable sound if I swapped to the Eximus DP1 DAC. This DAC also has a built in preamp (which may contribute to the more analogue sound) as well as providing an analogue volume control.
Have you or any other reader compared the sound from the D18 and the Eximus DP1. I should be most interested to hear your comments.

I have the Eximus DP1, but havent heard the D18. But I do have a Ressonnessence Concero which uses a Sabre chip, but not really a comparison. First I wouldnt use the preamp section. Its good, but not great. I really like the headphone section, if thats what you will be using. The Dac section is the bomb. Slightly warm, lush mids and really good detail retrieval. Like a really comfy couch. When I think of the Sabre dac I hear a really tall image with lots of space, air. The DP1 is more about density, saturation, tone and is very musical. But its expensive. Ive heard the ATC50 and they can sound bright. They are a nearfield monitor? 

Anyways.. kind of useless since its not a comparison. lol GL

Thanks. I appreciate your comments even if not a direct comparison. I intend to use the ATC speakers rather than the headphone. They are mid field speakers and have the very quick response as they are active (with powerful amp just behind very large magnets to exert total control over the driver). So, what is your concern over the DP1 preamp?

I guess it's a good preamp, but I like tubes in the signal path. I guess that's the only reason. Really, I've always used a tube pre.

You can always try a tube buffer in the signal path :)

Today I got my D18. As always, before even turning it on, I've opened the case to check the internals. 

Perhaps you should email Yulong and attach at least a few of the pictures.  If anybody should know what is up with things it would be him.   

 

http://audio-sz.com/en/contact.asp

Edited by mrcasey - 3/20/13 at 8:29pm

Yeah I would e-mail Yulong or possibly even Grant Fidelity to see if they could get some more information about it. Just curious, which seller did you buy it from and was it advertised as new?

Whoa just took a closer look at the pictures. It may possibly be some sort of revision that wasn't advertised.. the PCB is different and has been changed (if only slightly). The C79 position on the PCB with the extra capacitor doesn't even exist on the picture of the original version. Same goes with C64 position which houses a new resistor that doesn't exist in the original version.

 

You can see it in this picture: http://smg.photobucket.com/user/ggmesquita/media/IMG_20130320_183718_234.jpg.html

Compare to this picture: http://smg.photobucket.com/user/ggmesquita/media/d18original.jpeg.html

 

Doesn't change the fact that it's very sloppy.. but it is interesting.

Edited by EraserXIV - 3/20/13 at 9:09pm

+1. Even if it's indeed a revision, it's a sloppy one.
 

So curiosity got the better of me, and since the D18 was about the only equipment I hadn't had a peek into, I just did:

 

 

 

I've had mine for a while, still with the green power button. I think the "official" photos may have been of a pre-production board. However it is pretty obvious that ggmesquita's board was put together by technician who was somewhat inexperienced, in a hurry, having a bad day, or a combination of those. I guess since it passed QC in terms of working, it shouldn't affect sound... they probably assumed what consumer will look inside anyway? :\

 

If you want to check yours, a tip: you only have to remove the top 2 corner screws in the front & back, the top half can then be lifted off (may require a bit of prying depending how straight the front & back plates line up) That's some solid build quality though, given how thick the plates are.