[muad]

It's been recommended in the Fun not to use the dac output at all. The preamp output is buffered and sound perfect. The dac out sounds harsh and very digital. That being said Kingwa recently made a new dac module for the Fun, using the WM8741. It's also gonna be the stock dac module for the Fun version a from here on out. He says it's less harsh than the ad1852. So it may make the dac output usable... maybe
 
From the way kingwa described the sound of the new dac module it definitley sounded like the thing to fix the one complaint people had about the Fun without losing the detail or dynamics that the AD1852.
 

 

[nManJofo]

So would it be worth it to order WM8741 module to replace AD1852 in Sparrow? Has anyone tried both?

 

[Currawong]

Quote:

It's been recommended in the Fun not to use the dac output at all. The preamp output is buffered and sound perfect. The dac out sounds harsh and very digital. That being said Kingwa recently made a new dac module for the Fun, using the WM8741. It's also gonna be the stock dac module for the Fun version a from here on out. He says it's less harsh than the ad1852. So it may make the dac output usable... maybe
 
From the way kingwa described the sound of the new dac module it definitley sounded like the thing to fix the one complaint people had about the Fun without losing the detail or dynamics that the AD1852.
 

YMMV.  Kingwa suggested in cases where one was using the DAC output, that one should try the pre-amp output instead.  Sometimes you get some benefit, sometimes not.  I never found the DAC output to sound "harsh and digital" as you put it.
 
I'd be reluctant to suggest a change in DAC module is going to make any kind of large difference. However, for me, sometimes a small, subtle change for the better has made my listening more enjoyable over time.  Just posting this to put things in perspective. It's fun to play around with these things though to see how they affect the sound though. 

 

[Cya|\|]

Wich one do you prefer curran, to connect the fun to another amp? The dac out, or the headphone out?

 

[Currawong]

I've had better luck with the DAC out with the gear I've tried.  I'm using the Fun as a pre-amp for a Parasound Zamp at the moment though, so I have no choice in the matter.

 

[mythless]

Quick question, how do you select the stand alone DAC, DAC+Preamp, stand alone preamp selection on the Sparrow?  Would it be wrong of me to assume that it would depends on the input selection?

 

[muad]

you can't... the only inputs are digital. So you have to use the dac and preamp/headphone amp at all times. The Fun has the ability to separate the headphone amp/preamp/dac sections.

 

[mythless]

That's what I thought too, but the website wasn't very clear, lol.
 
lol I think audio-gd needs a better chinese to english translator!

 

[muad]

 
Quote:

That's what I thought too, but the website wasn't very clear, lol.
 
lol I think audio-gd needs a better chinese to english translator!

 
I agree

 

[SoupRKnowva]

i cant wait till mine gets here, it shipped out the 10th  

 

[mythless]

Hrmm, I guess if it sounds fine off headphones, off another amp it shouldn't be any different, besides extra coloration (if any, lol I don't trust the website translation anymore!)

 

[haloxt]

What held me back from really fixing up audio-gd's site is that there's some technical inaccuracies that I don't have the knowledge to solve and now people don't have the grammar cues that there's technical information mistakes. If you find some technical mistakes or very poor wordings, send a revision to me or Kingwa, but if the wording is only a little misleading, don't bother. I left some weird wording "as is" so people get the hint they need to read the site with a grain of salt, but if someone with the technical expertise looks things over I'll make sure all the grammar and word choice is easy to understand.
 
I think the sparrow description on dac and dac+preamp is a little confusing but is fine, because if I took out the part where it says the sparrow can be a dac, it may scare people away from using the sparrow headphone output into a preamplifier or another headphone amplifier which, according to Kingwa, is perfectly fine.
 
Looking at the current page, I notice there's something new about a dac line-in on the sparrow but I don't see it in the pictures yet.

 

[miyinan]

Now, the USB chip. Is the TE7022 really better than the original USB chip(PCM2706/7 I'd assume)?Same for the DA chip, is the WM8741 really better than AD1852?  If I only have 16/44.1 files, is the extra cost of the A version really worthwhile?
 
Thanks

 

[Currawong]

miyinan: I think you've got the wrong idea when you say you "only have 16/44.1 files".  Most gear can't get the best out of those, and the benefits of 24/96 arguably only manifest when they are the digital masters, as the only technical benefit is a lower noise floor.  I wouldn't about the DAC chip to be honest, as everything else in the Sparrow or Fun will have considerably more of an effect on the sound.  The WM8741 is the superior design which measures much better than the more common WM8740, but most people will be straining to hear a lot of difference in the Sparrow, excepting any tuning Kingwa has done to the sound. It's nice to have the better option when it's available though. 

 

[miyinan]

Quote:

miyinan: I think you've got the wrong idea when you say you "only have 16/44.1 files".  Most gear can't get the best out of those, and the benefits of 24/96 arguably only manifest when they are the digital masters, as the only technical benefit is a lower noise floor.  I wouldn't about the DAC chip to be honest, as everything else in the Sparrow or Fun will have considerably more of an effect on the sound.  The WM8741 is the superior design which measures much better than the more common WM8740, but most people will be straining to hear a lot of difference in the Sparrow, excepting any tuning Kingwa has done to the sound. It's nice to have the better option when it's available though. 

Thanks Currawong. When I said ONLY have 16/44.1 files, I didn't mean that there were bad or not good enough for my ear or something. What I meant was that I don't have any 24/96 music files, and I was wondering if the TE7022 usb chip is better than the PCM2706/7 when only playing 16/44.1 files.