[tim3320070]

Quote:

i've been using the ad900x which is rated at 38 ohm. noise starts to kick in if i turn the asgard volume dial past 1 o'clock. but honestly no one should even turn a volume dial past 10 o'clock unless they want to go deaf or have a very low volume source.

That's probably the Asgard?

 

[crepuscular457]

I use it with my grados and ultrasones (both 32 ohms). no noise through my soha II unless i'm up waaaaaaaaay too loud.

 

[wje]

Quote:

So far I am very impressed with the D03K- it has replaced my Audio-gd NFB-15.1 DAC section (sold), feeding my SA-31 amp. No background noise being fed both coax and optical. I cannot think of money better spent at this point in my audio journey.

 
Ironically, I stumbled onto the D03K by FiiO a few days ago.   A guy had 4 of them on Craigslist as he was replacing the DACs in his home.  I met up with him, and I picked the one with the silver RCA inputs / outputs.  After reading over the various reviews, I thought the nod was given towards this revision.  Hopefully, I'm not wrong.
 
So far, so good, though.  A pretty impressive purchase for just $15.00, including the power adapter.  I've had experience with the following DACs in the past 6 months:
 
- Audio-GD NFB-12 (amp / DAC combo)
 
- Audio-GD "Fun" (amp / DAC combo)
 
- Schiit Modi
 
- ELE DAC (The $18.00 "wonder" from China)
 
- The Muse "Mini" DAC (USB, Optical, Digital input capable)
 
I'm running the FiiO D03K right now from my computer, using an Asus DG PCI card --> FiiO D03K ---> Schiit Modi amplifier ---> Sennheiser HD-600 headphones.   As to software and drivers, I'm running Foobar, with the ASIO drivers.  Not a sliver of background noise at all.  When using the Asus DG sound card with the analog out, it was a noisy mess.  The Audio-GD combos were a bit too rolled off, as reflected in some of the various reviews and comments that I've made.  But, so far this FiiO D03K is a "Gem" -- yes, that's what my ears are telling me.  A very dynamic presentation to the sound I'm hearing.  To date, out of all the DACs listed, and tried in the last 6 months, this is the favorite - so far.  I now need to try my Muse Mini with the optical connection instead of the USB, so I can also try the ASIO drivers with that setup too, and see how the combo fares.  My ears feel like they're just quite happy at the moment.

 

[darkarn]

How good is the Taishan with optical out from mobo soundcard (like Realtek) than say, using a USB DAC like a Fiio E07K directly?
 
Thanks!

PS: I am using a USB DAC with a Bravo Audio V2; am wanting to maximise the potential of the tube amp...

 

[wje]

Quote:

How good is the Taishan with optical out from mobo soundcard (like Realtek) than say, using a USB DAC like a Fiio E07K directly?
 
Thanks!

PS: I am using a USB DAC with a Bravo Audio V2; am wanting to maximise the potential of the tube amp...

 
I'm using mine out of the PCI-based Asus Xonar DG.  However, the optical out is pretty good, and essentially on-par with the others that I've used via USB connectivity.  I've noted though that my version - the original with the silver RCA ports, and supposed to be one of the "good" ones - when it comes to being capable of modification via an updated CAP itself.  But, also, this original version can be a bit strident and eventually cause a slight bit of fatigue from music after longer listening periods.  However, it really does have great detail and possibly a larger sound stage.
 
I contacted the guy who I had purchased the Fiio from, and asked if he had the others left, as I wanted to buy one of the newer ones for testing.  He's actually going to swap the D03K out today at lunch for me.  I'll then try one of the newer ones, which should have the Cirrus-Logic chipset in it, as opposed to the Wolfson.  I'll then be able to post some sound signature observations.  Granted, it won't mean that I'll have one that I can upgrade via the CAP, but if I would do that, it would have been months off anyway.  I've used Wolfson-based DACs in the past and others have done an extremely well implementation of the chip.  For some reason, Fiio, just apparently doesn't and I suspect that is the main reason for the strident sound emphasis that I'm catching on the original.

 

[darkarn]

That will be helpful, please do post soon! Thanks!

 

[wje]

Quote:

That will be helpful, please do post soon! Thanks!

 
I did get the D03K swapped out (silver RCA plugs for the one with the gold plugs.)  However, it appears both DACs were probably purchased during a period of "transition" in the manufacturing from the Wolfson DAC to the Cirrus DAC chip / circuit.  I had to take the plate off the DAC to confirm this - as I had to directly look at the markings on the DAC chip to confirm it.  So, with both D03K DACs that I've tried, both had the Wolfson chip in them.  Both seemed a bit "tizzy" on the upper end.  This level of extra detail tends to borrow or steal from the lower mids and lower frequency ranges.
 
The D03K with the Wolfson chip in it, might be a great DAC for someone who listens to a lot of classical music and the extended frequencies might be a benefit there.  However, for a good, economical  "all-arounder" when it comes to DACs, I'll still give the nod to the Muse Mini USB DAC.  The Burr-Brown DAC chip and circuits makes for a very neutral if not warmer sounding presentation.  Yet, the detail is not completely squashed either.
 
One final note.  The Muse Mini USB DAC is a $30.00 component.  It only can function as a USB DAC, but can convert audio from the USB to a digital (coax or optical) signal, that you can pass along to another DAC that has digital inputs.  The Fiio D03K, on the other hand, functions as digital (inputs: coax and optical) DAC, but will not perform as a USB DAC.  So, in making a selection, the D03K could only be used if your sound card had an optical or digital coax output.  There is a mini USB connector on the D03K, but that is used to connect the wall-wart power supply to in order to power the DAC itself.

 

[darkarn]

Thanks for helping with this out promptly; was a pity that you can't test out the one with Cirrus DAC.
 
I am thinking of hooking it up with my Bravo Audio V2 tube amp, will it be less strident?

And the Muse Mini is not my type, I am planning to use the optical out from my soundcard (be it laptop onboard or my computer's X-Fi) directly to my tube amp with as few things between as possible.

 

[Starionn]

Quote:

 
Ironically, I stumbled onto the D03K by FiiO a few days ago.   A guy had 4 of them on Craigslist as he was replacing the DACs in his home.  I met up with him, and I picked the one with the silver RCA inputs / outputs.  After reading over the various reviews, I thought the nod was given towards this revision.  Hopefully, I'm not wrong.
 
So far, so good, though.  A pretty impressive purchase for just $15.00, including the power adapter.  I've had experience with the following DACs in the past 6 months:
 
- Audio-GD NFB-12 (amp / DAC combo)
 
- Audio-GD "Fun" (amp / DAC combo)
 
- Schiit Modi
 
- ELE DAC (The $18.00 "wonder" from China)
 
- The Muse "Mini" DAC (USB, Optical, Digital input capable)
 
I'm running the FiiO D03K right now from my computer, using an Asus DG PCI card --> FiiO D03K ---> Schiit Modi amplifier ---> Sennheiser HD-600 headphones.   As to software and drivers, I'm running Foobar, with the ASIO drivers.  Not a sliver of background noise at all.  When using the Asus DG sound card with the analog out, it was a noisy mess.  The Audio-GD combos were a bit too rolled off, as reflected in some of the various reviews and comments that I've made.  But, so far this FiiO D03K is a "Gem" -- yes, that's what my ears are telling me.  A very dynamic presentation to the sound I'm hearing.  To date, out of all the DACs listed, and tried in the last 6 months, this is the favorite - so far.  I now need to try my Muse Mini with the optical connection instead of the USB, so I can also try the ASIO drivers with that setup too, and see how the combo fares.  My ears feel like they're just quite happy at the moment.

Just so I'm clear, you liked the D3 over the Modi?

I don't suppose you have any experience with Music Streamer dac's? Right now I'm trying to decide between a new Schiit Modi or a used MSII (maybe even a +) to pair with my Schiit Magni amp; I guess I need to consider a D3 as well. Have you tried any of the Fostex T50RP variants with it?

 

[wje]

Quote:

Just so I'm clear, you liked the D3 over the Modi?

I don't suppose you have any experience with Music Streamer dac's? Right now I'm trying to decide between a new Schiit Modi or a used MSII (maybe even a +) to pair with my Schiit Magni amp; I guess I need to consider a D3 as well. Have you tried any of the Fostex T50RP variants with it?

 
Oh oh.  Now, I've been put on the spot.  I've had the HRT Music Streamer II also in the past.  For $110 or so, used, it is an excellent DAC and features asychronous USB, too.  The gentlman (Halverson is his last name) with HRT, seems very good at communicating and interacting with the various communities on his products, much like the way Schiit does their stuff, too.
 
As to my listing, the D03K was a good performer and I thought for the going price, it was a very good option.  The Wolfson chip (DAC) though, has been used in quite a few DACs that I've heard.  From my experience, Fiio seems to be doing things a bit different when incorporating the DAC in theirs.  The sound field and sound stage was quite airy and good.  The bottom end was there, too.  But, there were also times when I felt that the upper end would appear a bit strident at times.  However, in the big picture of it being what it is - a $25.00 DAC (on Amazon) it does well for the cost.  People are flipping over the ELE DAC for $18 / $19, but you have to wait 2+ weeks to get it from China.  The Fiio D03K has indicators on it that will show you when a signal is "locked" after you've made the connection with your digital cable.
 
In my situation, I never was able to get the Wasapi driver to function with this DAC under Foobar.  However, the ASIO driver functioned without any issues at all.  But, to be fair, I had been swapping a handful of DACs in and out of my system, so I could have tripped something up so the Wasapi driver couldn't recognize the DAC, or the DAC couldn't use the Wasapi driver for the output.

 

[MegaMushroom]

Guess I'm going to bring this thread back from the dead, but would I be able to use it as a go between a blu-ray and my headphone amp?  Unfortunately the HiFiMAN EF2A is USB only, and the only sound output from the player is coaxial.  I'm assuming I can change around a few settings to have the player output stereo... 
 

Spoiler: Player%20in%20question

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00AWKC0JM/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

 
Hell... if it sounds good enough compared to the EF2A onboard might run optical from my PC as well. 

 

[JamesFiiO]

Guess I'm going to bring this thread back from the dead, but would I be able to use it as a go between a blu-ray and my headphone amp?  Unfortunately the HiFiMAN EF2A is USB only, and the only sound output from the player is coaxial.  I'm assuming I can change around a few settings to have the player output stereo... 

Spoiler: Player in question

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00AWKC0JM/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

Hell... if it sounds good enough compared to the EF2A onboard might run optical from my PC as well. 

sure, be noted set the digital output format to LPCM in your bluy-ray player

 

[Hal Rockwell]

What DAC will act as a better line out to connect to powered speakers, the D03K or E10?

 

[Cla55clown]

Probably won't be able to tell a difference. Do you need the amp section also that is in the e10? If not then the D03K should do fine and for about half the price. Remember too that the e10 will not process 192/24bit signal and the other D3 will.

I myself have the e10 and have the line out connected to powered computer speakers and also use the 3.5mm port for headphone listening.

 

[Hal Rockwell]

What headphone amp (preferably a tube amp) can be a good pairing for the D03K?