Audio Alchemy DDP-1 (And Other Products)
Aug 18, 2016 at 2:03 PM Post #17 of 25
  I've been asked to review this months ago already, I just can't seem to find the time to do so :/

 
Personally I think it would be pretty neat if you ever could find time to do a review on this piece. (Especially as a standalone DAC)
 
 
it's an interesting product from an interesting company, but people usually don't buy this for headphone systems.

 
Why not? I think it would most likely make a great standalone DAC (especially since it has volume control) in a headphone system that has a separate source, amplifier, etc.
 
- InsanityOne 
k701smile.gif
 
 
Sep 26, 2016 at 3:57 PM Post #18 of 25
Nice one! I really enjoyed reading what you wrote about the DDP-1. I would be very curious if a review ever comes about that can compare it to some other DACs in a similar price range like the Schiit Gungnir Multibit. I think several people will always be curious about how the DDP-1 with the external power-supply compares to the DDP-1 without the external power-supply.

- InsanityOne :dt880smile:


I prefer it to both the Yggdrasil and Hugo TT. Mind you, that's not with headphones, but on a good speaker setup. I think it's simply both more fluid and full sounding than the two. They all show compareable resolution as far as I can hear. But the smoothness and lean presentation (especially with the apodizing filter) of that DAC is something else.

Quite a bargain - especially with the PS-5. Without that it looses a bit of the umph and smoothness - a bit less character across the band.
 
Nov 12, 2016 at 2:48 PM Post #19 of 25
I now have a E.E. Minimax DAC, original, that I have modified by sticking two Burson Gen. III and two Burson Gen. IV discrete opamps. Also I substituted the volume pot w/ a Gold Point attenuator. THAT made the biggest improvement in sound. I wonder if it would be an upgrade to do the same in this Audio Alchemy unit? Any thots?
 
Nov 12, 2016 at 10:08 PM Post #20 of 25
  I now have a E.E. Minimax DAC, original, that I have modified by sticking two Burson Gen. III and two Burson Gen. IV discrete opamps. Also I substituted the volume pot w/ a Gold Point attenuator. THAT made the biggest improvement in sound. I wonder if it would be an upgrade to do the same in this Audio Alchemy unit? Any thots?

In general, if you can replace similar hardware-related (not software-related) components inside of a DAC with components of a higher-grade then the default components, then I would say you could probably garner some benefits.
 
- InsanityOne 
dt880smile.png

 
Jun 9, 2018 at 1:22 PM Post #21 of 25
I bought this unit to use at my computer as a USB DAC / external sound card and struggled to get it going on my Windows 7 desktop. Not the Audio Alchemy's fault. Driver installation worked but when I tried to enable it I accidentally deleted.... in frustration I switched to the SPDIF port which is reported to give a much cleaner audio presentation. Foiled again. This time I needed drivers for my motherboard.

Long story short I decided to try it in my regular audio system and I was thrilled with the way it sounded! I don't have a digital streamer there so I cabled it up so that my CD Player fed its output to the Audio Alchemy. I have a pretty good system and it just made it come to life. Sweetness, clarity, musicality are just outstanding.

My system is centered around Quad ESL-63 electrostatic speakers and a tube amp, an Audiomat Prelude Reference MKII. My Quads were singing! Sorry, no test of the headphones, but I really like this DAC!
 
Jun 9, 2018 at 1:53 PM Post #22 of 25
I bought this unit to use at my computer as a USB DAC / external sound card and struggled to get it going on my Windows 7 desktop. Not the Audio Alchemy's fault. Driver installation worked but when I tried to enable it I accidentally deleted.... in frustration I switched to the SPDIF port which is reported to give a much cleaner audio presentation. Foiled again. This time I needed drivers for my motherboard.

Long story short I decided to try it in my regular audio system and I was thrilled with the way it sounded! I don't have a digital streamer there so I cabled it up so that my CD Player fed its output to the Audio Alchemy. I have a pretty good system and it just made it come to life. Sweetness, clarity, musicality are just outstanding.

My system is centered around Quad ESL-63 electrostatic speakers and a tube amp, an Audiomat Prelude Reference MKII. My Quads were singing! Sorry, no test of the headphones, but I really like this DAC!

Glad to hear that your experience with the DDP-1 was good overall! For me on Windows 10 the DDP-1 works with the native USB Audio 2 driver which is really nice, the unit sounds fantastic! Did you get the PS-1 as well or not?
 
Jun 9, 2018 at 3:06 PM Post #23 of 25
Glad to hear that your experience with the DDP-1 was good overall! For me on Windows 10 the DDP-1 works with the native USB Audio 2 driver which is really nice, the unit sounds fantastic! Did you get the PS-1 as well or not?

I definitely got the upgraded power supply.

Years ago my audio repair guy unwittingly did me a huge favor. He had opened the cover of my DVD player and sort of sneered when he saw its switch mode power supply. So of course I asked him about it. He taught me that linear power supplies are far more musical. So I now make a point of looking for linear power supplies whenever I buy something. Adding it to the Audio Alchemy was a no brainer decision.

Now I don't know what to do with it. I did after all buy it for my desktop computer. But I really really like it in my regular system. Hmmmmm.
 
Jun 9, 2018 at 3:15 PM Post #24 of 25
I prefer it to both the Yggdrasil and Hugo TT. Mind you, that's not with headphones, but on a good speaker setup. I think it's simply both more fluid and full sounding than the two. They all show compareable resolution as far as I can hear. But the smoothness and lean presentation (especially with the apodizing filter) of that DAC is something else.

Quite a bargain - especially with the PS-5. Without that it looses a bit of the umph and smoothness - a bit less character across the band.

You did me a big favor when said you prefer the Audio Alchemy DDP-1 to the Yggdrasil. I had been chatting about DACs and the Yggdrasil was much recommended. I was thinking of auditioning it to see if it bettered the DDP-1. Now I don't need to do that. Besides, it bothered me that the Yggdrasil needs such a lengthy break in, which presumably also means you dare not let it sit around very long unplayed.
 
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Jan 18, 2019 at 9:04 AM Post #25 of 25
Hello Everyone,

I'm back again with some good news from our friends at ELAC / Audio Alchemy. First of all, the "Audio Alchemy" was purchased by ELAC and absorbed into their lineup, any new products coming from Audio Alchemy will now be released under the ELAC "Alchemy" series. Speaking of which, we have THREE new products being released by the team at Audio Alchemy!

1.) ELAC Alchemy DDP-2: (MSRP $2499)

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ELAC_Alchemy_DDP2_01_Front.jpg


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Link to buy: https://www.musicdirect.com/preamp/...Decoding-Preamplifier-DAC-Headphone-Amplifier

2.) ELAC Alchemy DPA-2: (MSRP $1499)

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ELAC_Alchemy_DPA2_01_Front.jpg


ELAC_Alchemy_DPA2_02_Back.jpg

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Link to buy: https://www.musicdirect.com/power-amp/Elac-Alchemy-DPA-2-Power-Amplifier

3.) ELAC Alchemy PPA-2: (MSRP $999)

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ELAC_Alchemy_PPA2_01_Front.jpg


ELAC_Alchemy_PPA2_02_Back.jpg

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Link to buy: https://www.audioadvisor.com/prodinfo.asp?number=ELASPPA2

Secondly, I would like to talk about my good experience with ELAC / Audio Alchemy's customer service. A few months about my DDP-1 and PS-5 power-supply unit shorted out and burned up a voltage regulator inside the PS-5. This was a due to user error it seems like as the umbilical cord that passes power between the PS-5 and DDP-1 had developed a bent pin which shorted the unit to ground. However, I paid for shipping both units back to ELAC in California and they fixed up my PS-5, updated the firmware on the DDP-1, and cleaned up both units very nicely and then shipped them back to me. The whole process only took about 1 - 2 weeks and I only had to pay to ship the units one-way to California. Also, throughout the whole experience I was in contact with the ELAC customer service team who kept me updated on the progress of my units repair. It was overall a very nice experience! I absolutely love my DDP-1, and I don't think I will ever want to upgrade to another DAC, except maybe the DDP-2. I think the team at Audio Alchemy deserve some more recognition in the community as their gear performs WAY above its price-point.

DISCLAIMER: I AM IN NO WAY AFFILIATED OR SPONSORED BY ELAC / AUDIO ALCHEMY, ALL OF THE STATEMENTS HEREIN ARE MY OWN THOUGHTS AND OPINIONS.
 
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