[BenF]

Quote:

The odac should be used with an amplifier.  No wonder you are unable to differentiate a difference,  It is not meant to drive any headphone or iem.

I've used it with FIIO E17

 

[audionewbi]

I actually use ODAC to driver my CK100PRO. While ODAC is an strictly a DAC dont forget it has enough VRM to do a decent job on amplifying most IEM. You can digitally adjust volume (that is what I do).
 
I cannot recommend ODAC enough. 

 

[Poimandres]

It has voltage (2v) yes but from what I have read there isn't enough amps to correctly feed anything other than an amp.

 

[Poimandres]

The odac is easy to recommend. I am considering building the DIY audio 4396, or picking up the Weiliang DAC9.

 

[dbbloke]

He's got a DAC 8 out now btw. ESS9018. Must by far be the cheapest ESS9018 out there.
Weiliang told me in SQ terms, DAC8 is better than dac9.

 

[BenF]

Quote:

He's got a DAC 8 out now btw. ESS9018. Must by far be the cheapest ESS9018 out there.
Weiliang told me in SQ terms, DAC8 is better than dac9.

Is this it?
http://diyhifishop.com/es9018-32bit-192khz-hi-end-dac-fiber-coax-balanced-assembled-p-106.html
 
If I calculate correctly, fully assembled one with USB, transformer and enclosure costs 270$ - still quite a lot, even if it's the cheapest one of ESS9018 out there.

 

[dbbloke]

I think that's for diy people, a bit cheaper on ebay.
MUCH MUCH cheaper if you know someone who car speak chinese $160+shipping.
I emailed minishow0328 on ebay the chinese link and got a price, was a bit more but not a whole lot. Yeah, of course depends if you need USB or to upgrade the opamps etc and nice transformer.
$270 = £175. The AK4399 I think delivered was £150. Come on, people are charging $400 for a audioquest USB toy. The parts alone cost ?? You tell me. dac $40, usb $30, case $30, trans $30, circuit $30, caps/resistors etc $50, wires / sockets $20. That's $230 already in parts without labour. There can't be a huge profit being taken here.
Hey, you should be very grateful you can still buy anything for US$. I guess JPMorgan didn't get requested for any gold today Be very interested to see how you go, please report back.

 

[pukka]

Hi,

So You find the hifimediy to sound better than the fiio?

Hi

I have the hifimediy DAC built on ES9023:
http://hifimediy.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=83

It's great, and I use it to drive all my headphones directly - FIIO E17 and FIIO E6 are now unemployed.
The sound has great detail over the entire frequency range, solid bass impact and huge soundstage.

ODAC is supposed to be an affordable reference-level DAC, but it uses the same ES9023 chip and costs over 3 times more.
I am sure that it has better specifications then the hifimediy DAC, but are there any audible differences?
Can ODAC drive the headphones directly as well as hifimediy does, or does it require an amplifier?

 

[BenF]

Quote:

Hi,

So You find the hifimediy to sound better than the fiio?

Absolutely

 

[pukka]

Thanks BenF!! Been eanting to hear a Sabre based DAC for a while! Just ordered the 2 w/ TCXO upgrade.

 

[mudihan]

Quote:

I have bought the ODAC, and it's definitely not an upgrade.
 
For almost 4X difference in price, I couldn't hear any significant differences.
Hifimediy does have a more powerful output - drives HE-400 without any issues.
ODAC is 8-9DBs quieter.
 
Ordered 2 more Hifimediy DACs - want to have them plugged into every laptop/workstation/HTPC I have.

Which version of the the Hifimediy DAC did you get? 

 

[BenF]

Quote:

Which version of the the Hifimediy DAC did you get? 

http://hifimediy.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=83
 
Bought 3 of these

 

[shyamelge]

  Hifimediy does have a more powerful output - drives HE-400 without any issues.
 

I am planning to buy HifimeDIY dac, can it easily drive K701 HPs without external amp?

 

[BenF]

  I am planning to buy HifimeDIY dac, can it easily drive K701 HPs without external amp?

K701 is much more efficient than HE-400 (105dB SPL vs 92.5), so yes.

 

[money4me247]

I would also suggest looking into stoner acoustic's ud110v2 $59 (including S&H). http://stoneracoustics.blogspot.com/ pretty nice tiny portable dac, uses the PCM5102A found in the $1000 WA7 Firefly.