[izquierdaste]

Has anyone tried this with an optical out from a computer sound card yet. If so, have you had any problems. This seems like a pretty nice budget-fi device.

Thanks a lot,
Brian

 

[anubisgrau]

Quote:

Originally Posted by aznsensazian Oh, i own the dac already and am going to do a dac shootout this weekend with the dac67 and zhaolu. The battery pack looks tempting and i might just go for it. The dac chip doesnt require that much power, so i think the battery pack will last longer than an hour. I think Eddie gave you some misguided info. We'll see though when i get it, ill report back on the results.

any news from the shootout?

looking forward to hear your impressions!

 

[skysaxon]

Quote:

Originally Posted by anubisgrau any news from the shootout? looking forward to hear your impressions!

I've been wondering, too.

 

[Sean H]

Quote:

Originally Posted by skysaxon I've been wondering, too.

There you are! Jeez, I was waiting forever for you to let me know how those OPA2107's sound! Heck, I've already had some for some time now, couldn't wait any longer.

 

[skysaxon]

Took forever to receive the 2107 samples from TI. Had them in for a few days now. Dunno. Fast and clear but lacks bass. My upfront bright speakers need more mellow, methinks. Nice electric guitar sound but very little warmth to balance. Let them burn in for a few more days and get a better idea and then switch back. I can't find the DY2000 so I I'm going with all three 2107s now.

 

[Sean H]

Quote:

Originally Posted by skysaxon Took forever to receive the 2107 samples from TI. Had them in for a few days now. Dunno. Fast and clear but lacks bass. My upfront bright speakers need more mellow, methinks. Nice electric guitar sound but very little warmth to balance. Let them burn in for a few more days and get a better idea and then switch back. I can't find the DY2000 so I I'm going with all three 2107s now.

Ah, I see. Huh, no kidding, I think they sound quite similar to the 2604 and the 627, all having that same old BB house sound leaning to the warmer side and relaxed side. But then we have gear that completely differs beyond that. Who knows. To me they sound like a mix beween the 2604 and 627. Funny thing is I think we both really like the 2604, if I recall correctly that you do too. Seems like I'll swap opamps in and out and then come back to the 2604's and they just click in the Zhaolu. I'll have to try it again.

 

[skysaxon]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sean H Ah, I see. Huh, no kidding, I think they sound quite similar to the 2604 and the 627, all having that same old BB house sound leaning to the warmer side and relaxed side. But then we have gear that completely differs beyond that. Who knows. To me they sound like a mix beween the 2604 and 627. Funny thing is I think we both really like the 2604, if I recall correctly that you do too. Seems like I'll swap opamps in and out and then come back to the 2604's and they just click in the Zhaolu. I'll have to try it again.

I'll need a few days to get used to the setup. I'm getting a weird imbalance with one of the channels being slightly louder than the other from the RCA outs. I checked the opamps and they seem to be snug and fine. So, that's got me a little puzzled why this is happening with the 2107's. It's only been a couple of days so maybe burn in might even things out.

 

[Horizons]

Can anyone report back on a shootout with the dac in the box vs. other similar dacs?

I have a Monica 2 on battery so I'm thinking of throwing this dac into the same box so I have NOS and OS dacs to compare.

Any advice?

 

[aznsensazian]

Sorry guys for the slow response, been in and out lately and havent gotten a chance to do a shootout. I have a 2 week break, so i will definately report on sound comparisons of both dacs

 

[snapdemon]

subscribing

 

[Azure]

Quote:

Originally Posted by aznsensazian Sorry guys for the slow response, been in and out lately and havent gotten a chance to do a shootout. I have a 2 week break, so i will definately report on sound comparisons of both dacs

Any update?

 

[aznsensazian]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Azure Any update?

Here are some quick impressions, but i had to sell my zhaolu to finance some books for school. From what i remember, both dacs are great and have their strong points. The zhaolu being the more expensive dac still sounds better to me than the dac in the box. The zhoalu has better imaging, treble extension and sound staging. It just sounds like an expensive device. Dont get me wrong though, the dac in the box for its price point is still a great performer. The one thing i like about the dac in the box is that it has more bass presence than the zhaolu which i prefer in my setup even though it cost me the qualities of the zhoalu above. So all in all, the zhaolu imo still sounds of higher quality than the dac in the box, but because i prefer the full bass of the dac in the box, ive decided to keep it in my system. The zhaolu's bass is tight and articulate which is fine for most headphones, but because my modded k340's lack some deep bass, the dac in the box helped somewhat aleviate that problem to a certain extent. So system synergy is very important in choosing a desired sound and im still in the mix in finding my "taste" in sound. Both dacs are great and depending on your system, may perform better than the other. Both are definately worthy contenders in choosing a budget dac.

 

[MichaelPublic]

I think I'll post my impressions here rather than starting new thread.
I've only had 2 DAC's.
1st was the Adcom 600, about 1995-97
2nd is the Dac in Box

Running the Dac in Box for about a month now, it's better (more detail, cymbals ring longer) than the DAC in my Toshiba4960/Samsung 841 dvd player (same player) better than the NEC multispin DAC I use too but no surprise there.

Compared to the old Adcom I'd say more details audible. a bit more bass than the Adcom (didn't do a back to back as I sold the Adcom)
DAC in box sounds great on digital upsampling out of the Chaintech AV710 soundcard playing flacs or even 192kbs mp3s.
Seems to have some kind of noise or possibly a grounding issue into my H/K A-300 tube amp, but into the Super T-amp it's wonderful and not too digital sounding.
Haven't tried it into other amps but soon the Panasonic SA-XR25 and possibly an old NAD.

 

[Azure]

Would you describe the sound of the DAC as warm or cold?

 

[aznsensazian]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Azure Would you describe the sound of the DAC as warm or cold?

nice and warm