[bobeau]

The Dialogue II is a non-oversampling (NOS) DAC which is sold on eBay, hand built by a guy in Taiwan. I decided to check it out after reading impressions from a couple Head-fiers.

http://cgi.ebay.com/TDA1543-Non-Over...QQcmdZViewItem

The equipment chain in this comparison is

0404->TerryMX breakout->Portaphile V2->ATH-L3000

vs.

710->eBay glass toslink->Dialogue II->Ratshack rca to mini->Portaphile V2->ATH-L3000

Note the Dialogue II has only had a few hours of burn-in to this point, so things may change quite a bit in the coming week. That said I don't want to put too much detail into this yet, just give my initial thoughts.

I find the Dialogue to be quite a bit warmer than the 0404. It's hard to say if the treble is recessed, if it is it doesn't appear to be to any large degree. Mainly the treble is smoother (ie. cymbals sound more natural), mids are a bit more forward and natural, the bass is definitely more prominent, and there is a greater 'weight' or body to the instruments. More air. On the downside it seems there some loss in upper end detail, instrument separation and perhaps soundstage. The bass seems tighter and punchier with the 0404, but the mids/treble are thinner. The EMU retains I guess what would be considered a more audiophile sound. One thing which I find kinda weird, the snare drum packs an incredible wallop with the Dialogue, maybe too much, but drums in general are a bit more laid back.

In any case that's all I have for now, will follow up in a few more days...

 

[J-Pak]

I love the look of that case, more amps/DACs need to be made with reflective material

 

[Jahn]

Looks like the same folks who made the Constantine. - Same housing and everything. A little scary in the description, it would make me worried that the DAC would never make to me (at least in one piece hehe!) Glad yours is safe and sound and kickin' it!

 

[lan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bobeau 710->eBay glass toslink->Dialogue II->Ratshack rca to mini->Portaphile V2->ATH-L3000

You're putting this thing at a disadvantage by using the AV710 as transport instead of 0404 and using the ratshack cable. So it doesn't surprise me you are not getting as much detail as you could.

Your description of the general character of non oversampling sound is about right. The highs are relaxed. It's a smooth sound. Bass is big. I like it.

 

[Jahn]

Bob, Lan has a point. Could you test again, but this time compare using the 0404 analog out, then the 0404 as a digital toslink out?

 

[J-Pak]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lan You're putting this thing at a disadvantage by using the AV710 as transport instead of 0404 and using the ratshack cable. So it doesn't surprise me you are not getting as much detail as you could. Your description of the general character of non oversampling sound is about right. The highs are relaxed. It's a smooth sound. Bass is big. I like it.

Isn't the 710 bit perfect? I agree a different dac/amp interconnect should be used

 

[Jahn]

Quote:

Originally Posted by J-Pak Isn't the 710 bit perfect? I agree a different dac/amp interconnect should be used

probably the 0404 is bit perfect too. we might as well use as many similar items in the chain as possible when comparing DACs.

 

[lan]

They are all bit perfect capable. That doesn't make them the same though. The 0404 should sound better on it's digital out.


L I K E

LI KE

L I KE

Those are all "letter perfect". I didn't type the same thing though.

 

[bobeau]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jpak I love the look of that case, more amps/DACs need to be made with reflective material

It's actually a smoky plastic... pretty cool though nonetheless.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jahn Looks like the same folks who made the Constantine. - Same housing and everything. A little scary in the description, it would make me worried that the DAC would never make to me (at least in one piece hehe!) Glad yours is safe and sound and kickin' it!

Yeah, I wouldn't have bought it if it weren't for the guy's eBay feedback. The Constantine uses a better chip and I considered it, but in the end decided I'd rather take a smaller hit if the NOS sound isn't for me.

Quote:

Originally Posted by lan You're putting this thing at a disadvantage by using the AV710 as transport instead of 0404 and using the ratshack cable. So it doesn't surprise me you are not getting as much detail as you could.

Without a doubt. There's some backstory to my whole dilemma, the Portaphile will be replaced shortly by a PPX3 Slam. I have a fairly nice silver DIY interconnect ready and willing. I only purchased the cheapie IC for this test.

The reasoning behind the 710 was

- My 0404 requires a separate PC. My dual xeon work machine has PCI bus issues and doesn't work with the drivers. I literally have to PC Anywhere into the machine simply to run foobar. The 710 runs in my work machine and allows me to simplify my setup.
- From a few reports I've seen people couldn't tell any difference between a 1212 and 710 with a bit perfect output to an outboard DAC. I know the 710 has more jitter, but does it _really_ matter? Are these NOS DACs more susceptible? I'll give it a shot though and see if I can tell the difference (will have to wait until Monday).

My thinking is the biggest change will come with burn-in, then the interconnect, then jitter. Please correct me if I'm wrong in that assumption.

 

[Illah]

I saw that constantine DAC the other day but I wasn't sure if I trusted it. Seems it's actually a decent unit if it's supposed to be better than the Dialogue? I love this line in the constantine FAQ:

"I will not use DC battery as a power source because I experienced that it may cause a dumb sounding result."

Gotta love how non-native speakers often say things so blunt, when an audiophile would have needed a couple paragraphs to explain how it affected dynamics, soundstage, clarity, etc

--Illah

 

[dwc]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jahn Looks like the same folks who made the Constantine. - Same housing and everything. A little scary in the description, it would make me worried that the DAC would never make to me (at least in one piece hehe!) Glad yours is safe and sound and kickin' it!

No worries on the shipping. I've bought two dacs from this gent, and the speed at which the box reaches your door from taiwan is astounding. It was like within 5 days both times.
-Dan

 

[bobeau]

Dan,

Care to share your impressions on your Rennaisance, esp. with your PPX3->HD600 setup? If I understand correctly it's a tube based version of the Dialogue II, right?

Like I mentioned earlier I have a PPX3 Slam on the way, and am using L3000s (which are vaguely Senn 6xx-like according to some), so in a way I should be getting a similar sound once the Slam arrives... I'm a bit worried it might be much too warm.

 

[J-Pak]

Any further impressions on the Dialogue II Bob? Guessing it should be well burned in by now (if you still have it)

 

[bobeau]

I'm really digging it quite a bit, esp. now it's burned in and I have the PPX3. I also picked up a Musical Fidelity A3 24 which is reportedly a very similar DAC in topology/components/sound to a Bel Canto 2. The MF is likely going back on the market. But the sound is quite different... the NOS DACs apparently give a sweeter, less fatiguing sound. It may have less bass/extension/detail but I don't care - it just sounds more realistic. It draws you in.

I just purchased a hi-rez Ack! Dack! 2.0 to see what the best US NOS DAC can do. It's used but it has low hours an is supposed to require 250 hours of burn-in. I might do a write up on all four DACs in another month or two.

(btw, it's Beau

)

 

[Elephas]

I'm also enjoying the sound from the Dialogue II DAC. I connected it with a toslink-mini cable to an AirPort Express. The sound I'm hearing with ALAC -> iTunes -> AirPort Express is very good. I think it's better than FLAC-> foobar ASIO -> E-MU 1212m optical output.