[junki]

Posted this on /r/headphones:

Brief & concise exuberance for the OL DAC

I love this thing. I ordered mine with the SPDIF TOSLINK option and preinstalled with the people's filter, giving me access to all five of the AK4490's anti-aliasing low pass filters.

John Seaber told me that the OL DAC uses the NJM4556 op amp to sum the DAC's differential output, but looking at the PCB, it actually uses an OPA2227, which is what's used in the EL DAC. The OPA2227 has slightly better specs, but both op amps get their jobs done more or less identically, and it was nice to discover the OL DAC being identical with the EL DAC in this regard. In fact, the signal circuit and components used between the OL DAC and EL DAC look identical as well!

So, for $130 you get a wonderful DAC that measures well, sounds great, supports S/PDIF input, gives you access to all of AK4490's filter options, and is quite literally the smaller sibling of the EL DAC. Even when only considering the S/PDIF input and providing full access to the DAC's filter options, I cannot think of another DAC at this price point that offers this.

I ordered this little guy to use with my TV, but playing with it with my desktop setup and using AKM's Super Slow filter, I'm loving it. The OL DAC is an incredible value and is really all the DAC 99% of people need.

 

[jseaber]

Posted this on /r/headphones:

Brief & concise exuberance for the OL DAC
John Seaber told me that the OL DAC uses the NJM4556 op amp to sum the DAC's differential output, but looking at the PCB, it actually uses an OPA2227, which is what's used in the EL DAC. The OPA2227 has slightly better specs, but both op amps get their jobs done more or less identically, and it was nice to discover the OL DAC being identical with the EL DAC in this regard. In fact, the signal circuit and components used between the OL DAC and EL DAC look identical as well!

That is true! Some batches of OL DAC were also built with OPA2227. All USB Editions are built w/ NJM4556.

 

[ostewart]

That is true! Some batches of OL DAC were also built with OPA2227. All USB Editions are built w/ NJM4556.

I'll have to check mine, as it's the beta version. Unless @jseaber you know which op-amp is in the OO-USB Beta v0.50 sept 2016?

 

[junki]

Someone said @jseaber will send me swag if I post a picture of my OL DAC?

 

[theotherjude]

@junki that is a beautiful photo, the JDS Labs office loves it! We do have a photo contest on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook where we choose our favorite submissions and the winner gets a T-shirt.

 

[Makiah S]

I agree that is very lovely!

@theotherjude I'm excited to say I'll be dropping the ELDac & Subjective 3/OlSwitcher into my living room speaker system here soon! With the introduction of the JBL 305 MKII's I figured it's time I dip into 2 channel for music and not just movies! So stay tuned guys!!

 

[junki]

@junki that is a beautiful photo, the JDS Labs office loves it! We do have a photo contest on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook where we choose our favorite submissions and the winner gets a T-shirt.

Are you trying to tell me I won a t-shirt?

 

[Oscar-HiFi]

@junki that is a beautiful photo, the JDS Labs office loves it! We do have a photo contest on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook where we choose our favorite submissions and the winner gets a T-shirt.

I still have my JDS Labs T-Shirt, they are super comfy!

 

[VRacer-111]

I just had a B-stock EL DAC come in Tuesday for my desktop rig (secondary system for dynamics/planars, main rig setup with higher end DAC is for my STAX L300LE)... am liking it quite well, good enough DAC for modded TH-X00s and M1060 level headphones:

 

[ostewart]

JDS Labs is now all available in the UK from HiFiHeadphones!

 

[Renato Fury]

I own both and can't really say there is much difference

Oh really ? So what are the advantages of paying $ 150 more?

 

[Renato Fury]

@jseaber So you mean that $150 more is in the coaxial and aesthetic parts? Is not the sound really superior to Ol Dac?

 

[musicfan145]

@jseaber So you mean that $150 more is in the coaxial and aesthetic parts? Is not the sound really superior to Ol Dac?

$99 OL DAC is USB only.
$139 OL DAC is USB + optical
$249 EL DAC is coaxial, optical, and Class 2 USB

From the EL DAC website:
“EL DAC supports up to 32/384kHz audio using a dedicated 45/49MHz clock pair. While we claim no measurable superiority of high sampling rates, UAC2 and ASIO support satisfy your pursuit of bitperfect listening.”

So they aren’t claiming the EL sounds better or measures better, just that it supports higher bit rates & depths. It’s up to you to decide if files encoded at (or upscaled to) those higher bitrates/depths sound better.

 

[Renato Fury]

$99 OL DAC is USB only.
$139 OL DAC is USB + optical
$249 EL DAC is coaxial, optical, and Class 2 USB

From the EL DAC website:
“EL DAC supports up to 32/384kHz audio using a dedicated 45/49MHz clock pair. While we claim no measurable superiority of high sampling rates, UAC2 and ASIO support satisfy your pursuit of bitperfect listening.”

So they aren’t claiming the EL sounds better or measures better, just that it supports higher bit rates & depths. It’s up to you to decide if files encoded at (or upscaled to) those higher bitrates/depths sound better.

Well, I plan to run the dac through the USB port and my audio files do not exceed 16/44. Still the benefits of having El Dac or Ol Dac already suit me?

 

[musicfan145]

Well, I plan to run the dac through the USB port and my audio files do not exceed 16/44. Still the benefits of having El Dac or Ol Dac already suit me?

At 16/44 over USB, the only advantage of the EL would be the cool looking LED ring on the front and possibly the form factor. (I considered paying the extra for the EL’s wider chassis just so I could stack a Vali 2 on top of it.)