[ToTo Man]

I am not trying to be smart. Serious. I am currently using an Ayre QX-5 Twenty in my smaller system. I sometimes swap out a Chord Dave. I would say the Ayre is better and it is a single 9038Pro. I was wondering if this is possibly better? It has Two 9038Pro but there is a lot more than that to a DAC. I would just guess the $13,000 DAC is better but stranger things have happened. This does look very well put together. I wonder if they paid that much attention to the sound. I do not need to waste my time ordering this if I am barking up the wrong tree. I am serious here you never know stranger things have happened indeed. I would just guess this is the best China currently has to offer nonetheless. No, I am not kidding money goes much further in China. Who knows. Opinions on this? Thanks.

I thought about it more and I would doubt it. Most of what you hear in a DAC is not the DAC chips themselves. Rather the output stage mostly. The chips play a role in the sound but I would say with any modern chip or FPGA maybe 15-20%. The L.K.S. has quality components but I am talking on a different level obviously. The Ayre has a clock 20X more accurate than a Femto. It has their dual Diamond output stage. Most importantly Charlie(R.I.P.) did not use the stock curve but came up with 2 in the 2 programmable slots. Both recognized as being far better than the stock curves. Their are even higher quality components in the rest of it. AYRE lock. Galvanicly isolated inputs. The list goes on. Much of the same can be said for the Chord DAVE. I think even the right $2,000 dac from a well known brand made in USA or JAPAN, Europe ETC. may beat this. AYRE's own Codex coes to mind. Or The Benchmark DACS plus others just to name perhaps Two.

Why? As I just said do not be so impressed by the chip(s). Mundorf, Nicjicon are okay but not best. Point in case The current Accuphase DC 950 uses 2x ES9018's for $33,000USD. It is a stellar dac and better than both the AYRE and Chord most would agree. That sort of means a ES9018K2M can do the same duty albeit at a slightly lower THD and SN. These numbers are already so high in DAC chips after 2015 that a little more does not matter much if at all. Hence my saying perhaps even the Codex would beat this thing. Same price too. It is well regarded as aiming at $6,000 DAC's.

Not sure about the L.K.S. So, given what level of equipment I am playing with I have my reservations this being better. I saw 2x ES9038PRO and thought HMM. It is all the implementation and topology and not so much any modern DAC chip(s) quite frankly. At the end of the day this is still some no name Shenzen product in a sea of them. I just do not know. I was hoping someone could perhaps inform me regarding this. I may have been right on my hunch first or now on my second thought about it. Not sure but in retrospect I kind of doubt it. It does seem novel but that does not equate to sound. Many of the best DACS out currently have 1-2 year old DAC chips for Tens of thousands of dollars. Others much cheaper may still beat it even. I just don't know but do not wish to waste money. I only buy things I will use. If anyone wishes to comment on this and not laugh at me it would be welcome.

It is not on their site because it was commissioned by AYRE in conjunction with MORION it is 19fs or something but don't quote me on that. I am just thinking I remember a demo of it by AYRE. It is not crystal but Diamond or something if I also remember correctly. I will admit if I am wrong. Since I am not entirely sure. The point is it is a $13,000 DAC and DAVE is around that as well. I do not know anything about L.K.S. I saw 2x 9038PRO but you see my second thought on this.

Anyways, no need to argue that point. I was just honestly wondering how good this L,K.S. is. I am not kidding. Like I said you never know....
The board looks pretty darn good for China. Plus 2x 9038PRO. However like I also said I do not know what else the circuit is, if they have custom programmed the 9038's and most importantly how it sounds. I am being serious because our Dollar goes a lot further in China of course. For all I know this is like a $50,000 DAC, or perhaps pretty good but not spectacular. I know nothing about this thing other than their Changlish.

My second guess was no way it is replacing the QX-5, DAVE or even Codex,Benchmark or heck Teac, Oppo. I have no idea what level this thing is at. I do not know if people are buying it for price Vs. specs or if it is a tour de force. For some reason it has caught my eye. However I only wish to purchase things I will use. I have no idea where the sound quality lies on this thing. It would be helpful if someone could compare it to a well known DAC at a given price point. Is it akin to $2,500 or $50,000? I am not trolling, if it is superb I would really like it. Since I am not trolling I would hope anyone that comments is honest. It has to be someone that knows though not someone that this is their only experience please.

Audio-GD has one too, albeit more expensive. I see these companies with 2x 9038 are :downgrading" the spec of 1 chip to make 2 chips look better. I guess this is typical Chinese stuff. For beginners. Most posts on these DAC's be them 1 or 2 chips are by 100+ Head-Fier's. I think I can answer my own question. Also having an MSB Select. These are for a different market than myself apparently. Most bang for the buck. I take it these are not reference quality, end game DAC's.

I also see that there is not even a lot of interest in L.K.S. let alone similar DAC's with 1 chip. These are not hundreds of pages long like high end name brand DAC's often are. I think that is what it boils down to. These product's offer someone a lot for a little but they are not super high end products. I am sure most actual high end DAC's with just 1 9038 or FPGA or R2R or even 9018k2m will wipe the floor with almost all of these Chinese products. That is my understanding.

Again, I am not trolling. I really hoped this or others were incredible regardless of their respective prices. If I am wrong I hope someone will correct me. I hope this is better than true TOTL DAC's. That would be great. Apparently there is so little interest in these that no one has yet to answer the question I have posed several times now. After this I shall drop it. I also will refrain from purchasing any no name Chines gear. I do not know where I got the idea that these are better than well known TOTL, end game DAC's. I kind of doubt they are. Who knows.........

I was truly interested in this but for whatever reason I guess I shall never know. I am certainly not one to Gamble $1,600. Even though I have DAC's here 50x that price. Regardless, I do not waste money no matter what the sum. Perhaps you guy's are all too busy laughing at me? I really wish I knew how these sound but not buying one to find out. Why I was hoping for help from those here. Oh well. It is not like I am lacking in DAC's anyways but I always welcome other great components. If indeed it is at that level. I know nothing about these Chinese components seemingly flooding the market. I did wish to however. It is also interesting to date AFAIK no true high brand has implemented dual 9038's. Some did implement dual 9018's or a single 9018K2M. In fact some are currently. It is really not the chip that matters so much after a certain point. I know that much.

I was not kidding. On the basis that our Dollar goes much further there. This looking to be the best they have to offer in this segment. For all I know this is really outstanding. Even amongst DAC's many times it's price. Or it could be some Chinese junk. I was just hoping someone could tell me where this lies. IE, what name brand DAC is the best it stacks up against. I see that the "Elders" here have no interest in this. So don't worry I will move on. Nice idea of mine but really stupid I guess. Most likely this can not compete with a Teac or Oppo is why few got defensive. I think that pretty much spells it out. I guess honestly it is Mid-FI at best. I apologize for intruding upon your thread.

As for my math That is funny. Look at Ayre's specs. Looking on Morion's site of all things. I have a good feeling my question was unanswered because this is absolutely not anything special. Perhaps I should ask is it as good as a $200 DAC? Okay, now I am trolling. I had good intentions but they were met with insults and sarcasm. It is no sweat off my back to pass by a subpar product made in a factory with a dirt floor by child laborers most likely. If the end result was incredible sound I could care less but apparently that is not the case. A more serious question prevails however. Wouldn't those with a $1,600 budget be better served by the likes of Oppo, Teac, Ifi, Meridian ETC? Also being Chinese all of them but perhaps not slapped together. Good luck if you need warranty and they do not cover burned down house.

You do not have to worry I will not be back to this thread. Since I honestly I had very little interest in such an item to begin with. As a seasoned professional I may suggest purchasing products from established companies with a US presence. Pacific valve Co. went out of business due to all the casualties related to the products they were importing from China. Is this UL, CE rated? I think I can answer that. Anyways have fun with this thing. Not sure what the allure is over name brand items even if of Chinese origin. No one cared to tell me. OH-Well.

You sure do have a bad case of verbal diarrhoea...

 

[music_man]

That is very interesting since TOTO is the leading manufacturer of TOILETS in the world! LMAO! What an amazing coincidence

Everyone come back when you have at least 3,000 posts here. Or just enjoy your junk Chinese equipment because you are either newbies or poor or both. or a TOILET. Seriously, may I suggest a Teac or Oppo if you want Chinese products. At least those are good quality. Not slapped together. I guess I was just baffled why anyone would buy this stuff after the fiascos with similar products that are now defunct.
I admit I could not help myself I trolled from the beginning here. I come clean. Of course this cannot hold a candle to TOTL equipment. This is pretty much bottom of the barrel IMO. I am pretty experienced with this. why do you not partake in the reading of my nearly 4,000 posts? I have won multiple Grammy's so I think that pretty much speaks for itself. There is proof within these pages before you look stupid and call my bluff on that.

Anyways I do apologize nonetheless, I really did not need to do this. In fact I do not know why I did this. It is unlike me. I am really sorry for being a jerk in this thread. That is all I have to say and you do have every right to be mad at me for doing so.

Okay, I have read the entire thread. It is basically compared in detail to nothing. Scarred? Only one Headphonus Supremis in the entire thread. He had SR009 as do I, among many other TOTL Phones and loudspeakers. He had the L.K.S. because he was in the process of "downgrading" his system. Next highest in thread is a 500 Headfier. It was "compared" or asked many times can it beat a $10K-$30K DAC and was pretty much never answered by anyone else. "It is a good deal at the price", I might agree with. Someone said someone else they heard ditched DAVE for it, hearsay. Many people did say it sounds like it is 10x it's price ETC. Newbies and their car is a KIA but they pretend it is an aston martin while emiting exhaust sounds out of their pie hole. People are modding it a lot. You do not do this with a real TOTL DAC. Most importantly I will not be getting it because, go figure it is plagued with problems. Stick with a major name brand is my advice. Wait for the fires forthcoming. I am sorry I ruined your party. I actually had intentions of buying this. This nastiness on my part emanated from my questions not being answered. Instead being met with sarcasm and rudeness. I am well known for my good reputation here. I am sorry(for myself) that I even went down this rabbit hole. Luckily for all of us, myself included I will not be buying this. The AYRE QX5-Twenty, DAVE, certainly my MSB Select will wipe the floor with this without my even hearing it. That is no surprise, Right? I do once again also apologize that I interrupted your thread. Carry on without my presence....... If no one insults me or mentions me again here I shall not reply to this thread again, deal? I am sorry I intruded(originally with good intentions) andplease just continue with your conversation. Sans myself. I would agree, I have a lot to say. Worthwhile or not. I shall not continue so long as no one mentions me again in this thread. Just pretend I never got caught up in this. It was my mistake and I apologize for doing so.

 

[xiamen]

No. You will not have the last word. Just give us another 20 posts of your crap.

 

[rikm]

I'd be interested to know how the Regen works out. What PS are you using? I recently scored a used Intona (industrial version) and I like it. Placed between my laptop and the LKS seems to give me some extra clarity and consistency over time. Main purpose is to isolate LKS from whatever the computer is doing that might degrade.

...well, the Regen [the ISO model] seems to have helped, it has Uptone's LP1 for power, everything else is plugged directly into a filter strip into a filtering UPS and all is quiet

I should point out that the computer in the listening room is a headless Cubox-i4, so very low power and fanless and isn't really doing anything else but getting the file from the music server and handing it off to the DAC...more of that minimalist approach thing I guess...

In any case, at this point have the DSD phase lock BW down to 8 from 11...will probably continue to play around with things for a while, but I think 7 or 8 is what I remember reading as ok

 

[littlexx26]

anyone compared 004 to the new Teac 505 series?

 

[xiamen]

...well, the Regen [the ISO model] seems to have helped, it has Uptone's LP1 for power, everything else is plugged directly into a filter strip into a filtering UPS and all is quiet

I should point out that the computer in the listening room is a headless Cubox-i4, so very low power and fanless and isn't really doing anything else but getting the file from the music server and handing it off to the DAC...more of that minimalist approach thing I guess...

In any case, at this point have the DSD phase lock BW down to 8 from 11...will probably continue to play around with things for a while, but I think 7 or 8 is what I remember reading as ok

I always wonder if DPLL or BW makes that much different. According to the LKSI think it does but if I switch from say 8 to 9 during play, I struggle to hear any differences. According to a post I read once from another forum:

"The Sabre DPLL has adjustable bandwidth. Setting the bandwidth to its lowest value results in maximum jitter reduction. However if the bandwidth is “too low”, the DPLL will loose lock and you will hear dropouts. Thus the usable lowest bandwidth setting is one where no dropouts occur."

So if you have already greatly reduce jitter using purifier such as Regen between the source and dac, does BW level matters anymore?

 

[aggielaw]

This is a fascinating question, and I would add to it the questions "What (all) does the DPLL bandwidth do?" That is, "when you change the bandwidth, by what means is jitter being reduced?"

I think the answer to this is important in part because users on this forum, including me, have assumed that BW01 is best, and BW15 is worst, but my own listening did not bear this out. Frankly, I find the BW01 setting a little "edgy" and the settings in the BW10-12 range less so, if only by a minuscule amount.

So, could it be that the DAC is passing through a purer signal at BW15 than at any higher bandwidth?

 

[rikm]

I always wonder if DPLL or BW makes that much different. According to the LKSI think it does but if I switch from say 8 to 9 during play, I struggle to hear any differences. According to a post I read once from another forum:

"The Sabre DPLL has adjustable bandwidth. Setting the bandwidth to its lowest value results in maximum jitter reduction. However if the bandwidth is “too low”, the DPLL will loose lock and you will hear dropouts. Thus the usable lowest bandwidth setting is one where no dropouts occur."

This is a fascinating question, and I would add to it the questions "What (all) does the DPLL bandwidth do?" That is, "when you change the bandwidth, by what means is jitter being reduced?"

I think the answer to this is important in part because users on this forum, including me, have assumed that BW01 is best, and BW15 is worst, but my own listening did not bear this out. Frankly, I find the BW01 setting a little "edgy" and the settings in the BW10-12 range less so, if only by a minuscule amount.

So, could it be that the DAC is passing through a purer signal at BW15 than at any higher bandwidth?

===

...well these are good points, and I have googled around and about and there is lots of complicated whitepaper-level stuff on DPLL, so I am doing my best not to go all OCD on the BW settings...that and the filter setting is more than I want to have to worry about...

That said, I would also be interested in seeing a discussion on the topic--as it relates to the simple but elusive 'what should sound better' I mean...hopefully skipping right over the obvious 'It depends' and maybe breaking down some of the denser bits of some of those whitepapers...

 

[dcguy73]

Well, the day finally came...I upgraded from the LKS DAC to the KTE Holo Audio Spring L3 DAC. While the LKS MH-DA004 DAC punches way above its weight and price, the (2X the price) KTE L3 DAC is an improvement. Much more of a lateral move than a step ahead, as the KTE is an R2R DAC and the LKS is a Delta Sigma DAC. Not easy to compare one to the other -- they're like apples and oranges.

So, once I retrieve the (giant, double) shipping box from storage this weekend, I will be looking to sell my (single-owner) LKS MH-DA004 DAC. I will be sad to part with its rock-solid build (seriously!), awesome feature set, and remote control, but upgrading and moving on is the way of audiophiles.

 

[Whitigir]

Well, the day finally came...I upgraded from the LKS DAC to the KTE Holo Audio Spring L3 DAC. While the LKS MH-DA004 DAC punches way above its weight and price, the (2X the price) KTE L3 DAC is an improvement. Much more of a lateral move than a step ahead, as the KTE is an R2R DAC and the LKS is a Delta Sigma DAC. Not easy to compare one to the other -- they're like apples and oranges.

So, once I retrieve the (giant, double) shipping box from storage this weekend, I will be looking to sell my (single-owner) LKS MH-DA004 DAC. I will be sad to part with its rock-solid build (seriously!), awesome feature set, and remote control, but upgrading and moving on is the way of audiophiles.

Sound like sidegrading to another different sonic signature

How is the Vertical rendering on the HS vs the 004 ?

 

[dcguy73]

Sound like sidegrading to another different sonic signature

How is the Vertical rendering on the HS vs the 004 ?

Sidegrading is a good way to put it!

When you say vertical rendering, I assume you mean the soundstage?

I just received the HS DAC last night, so I don't have a good sense of its soundstaging capabilities yet. I'll get back to you on that after I've had some more time to listen.

 

[Whitigir]

Sidegrading is a good way to put it!

When you say vertical rendering, I assume you mean the soundstage?

I just received the HS DAC last night, so I don't have a good sense of its soundstaging capabilities yet. I'll get back to you on that after I've had some more time to listen.

Yes, I have been searching for something that has better vertical sense than 004. The Z axis

 

[rettib2001]

Hi everyone.

100 hours of listening on the clock and still really enjoying enjoying what I'm hearing.

I searched this thread to see if anybody had replaced the fuse in the 004 but there wasn't much information.

I think one person changed it for a fairly expensive fuse but as it turns out prefers the stock one!

Any thoughts on the matter?

 

[Whitigir]

Hi everyone.

100 hours of listening on the clock and still really enjoying enjoying what I'm hearing.

I searched this thread to see if anybody had replaced the fuse in the 004 but there wasn't much information.

I think one person changed it for a fairly expensive fuse but as it turns out prefers the stock one!

Any thoughts on the matter?

I don’t think it matter at all. I tried other expensive fuses but no changes in my system. Cables is another story

 

[aggielaw]

Regarding the fuse, I have a Synergistic Red in at the moment. My initial impression holds: a little more body (specifically in the midbass) and a more coherent, but shrunken, soundstage. Soundstage is still very good, just not amazing as it is with the stock fuse. The problem with the stock fuse soundstage is on some recordings certain instruments will get out of hand and appear very far away from where they probably should. I don't mind an exaggerated soundstage, but I remember once hearing a guitar higher on the Z axis (see Whitigir's recent post) than the singer's voice and far off to the right. I wish I could remember which recording that was so others could see if they have the same experience.

I will probably go back to the stock fuse when I have time to sit and listen for a while again. I'm tempted to try a Mundorf fuse in the LKS. If I do that I'll report back soon.