[alpovs]

I've reached out, and their first tack seems to be 'we don't discuss possible unannounced updates to products'. It's a shame if it's true that they make conscientious improvements down the road and don't offer said improvements to customers, if it's a fairly simple update.

She (the Schiit rep) actually sent me a link to the 'Schiit Happens' chapter where Jason talks at length about changes to supply chains, etc. Some of he and Moffat's attitudes towards customers seem straight up... antagonistic. And, I don't know, something rubs me wrong about their being aware of a glitch (which is obviously, very possibly a case of 'We knew it was there!' when they didn't) and releasing a $1,000+ product anyway, and then fixing said glitch, and then almost making a joke out of not telling anyone. You can argue it's stuff that won't be heard anyway, fine, but for a company accepting good money for luxury products they are surprisingly wanton about how they treat the people potentially giving them that money.

I've enjoyed their products, and still do, but this may be the tipping point for me that leads to definitively taking my business elsewhere for when I'm looking to invest even more money into amps and DACs.

I hope now you can estimate how many things other manufacturers don't tell you. Take the recent Boeing 737 MAX issue as another example. The big difference though was that Schiit's glitch wasn't audible. They fixed it only to make measurements look better. I, for one, sent my Mimby for a firmware update for $35 plus shipping and I didn't notice any audible difference afterwards.

 

[Matthew Willims]

I had a mimby, gave it a month and donated it to a mate. Found it dry and boring..... Much preferred the S.M.S.L Sanskrit Pro-B.

That said of the 3x DAC's I've settled on around the house two are Philips R2R (TDA1541A S1 and TDA1387) while only one is oversampling. The oversampling DAC holds its own though is a rather expensive unit, though so is the TDA1541A S1 when all upgrades are factored in.

 

[Sapientiam]

As a (somewhat pedantic) point of fact, neither TDA1541A nor TDA1387 are R2R DACs as they don't use resistors to create the bit weightings. Both of them use proprietary Philips technology.

 

[Matthew Willims]

As a (somewhat pedantic) point of fact, neither TDA1541A nor TDA1387 are R2R DACs as they don't use resistors to create the bit weightings. Both of them use proprietary Philips technology.

Interesting.... I had thought it was done within the chip.... My bad. Either way, fantastic sound. Might end up trying an Airist yet too.

 

[Sapientiam]

Either way, fantastic sound.

Haven't had a serious listen to TDA1541A but TDA1387 is awesome for RBCD. When you factor in the price (next to nothing) they're unbeatable.

 

[Matthew Willims]

Haven't had a serious listen to TDA1541A but TDA1387 is awesome for RBCD. When you factor in the price (next to nothing) they're unbeatable.

Yes, using a little 4x TDA1387 USB only DAC on my desktop computer for near field listening. Easily the best I've used for PC audio.

I suspect the reason my Muji Studio DAC II sounds so good is the stock implementation + some basic upgrades. It uses 4x NE5532 for gain and a tube buffer with a pair of NOS Philips 12AX7.

I replaced the standard TDA1541A R1 for a TDA1541A S1, and the 4x NE5534 OPAMPS for DIP8 sockets. I found a pair of Burson V5i-D and a pair of Burson V6-D Vivid OPAMPS did something truly special with the sound of this unit so it's not entirely down to the DAC chip.

I've not gotten around to changing the tube coupling or output caps yet. Pandering whether some Miflex KPCU will fit as output caps. Might just have to bypass the tube coupling caps as no decent 1uf caps will likely fit.

 

[Tchoupitoulas]

Comparisons to Other DACS

Schiit Modi MB (w/ Eitr) - $379

Adding an Eitr in the replay chain ahead of the Modi MB and driving it via COAX brings things a bit closer together, however I would still place the RDAC ahead - particularly when it comes to clarity, resolution and top-end air/space.

If any of you have heard the RDAC with a Schiit Eitr would you be willing to comment on this pairing, please? If the Eitr makes for a significant improvement in sound quality for the Modi MB, does it similarly make for a worthwhile addition to the RDAC?

Thank you very much Torq for your review of the RDAC in post #4. Your recommendation played a significant part in my decision to upgrade my DAC. I have only been listening to the RDAC for a couple of hours but I'm already very much enjoying it!

 

[Burgerbassist]

If any of you have heard the RDAC with a Schiit Eitr would you be willing to comment on this pairing, please? If the Eitr makes for a significant improvement in sound quality for the Modi MB, does it similarly make for a worthwhile addition to the RDAC?

Thank you very much Torq for your review of the RDAC in post #4. Your recommendation played a significant part in my decision to upgrade my DAC. I have only been listening to the RDAC for a couple of hours but I'm already very much enjoying it!

I use the RDAC with an Eitr, but that's the only way I've used it thus far. I can A/B between the USB port and my Eitr later tonight and let you know my impressions if no one else gets to it first. I do use an Audioquest Cinnamon USB cable, so if you'd like me to use the stock cable instead, just let me know.

 

[Tchoupitoulas]

I use the RDAC with an Eitr, but that's the only way I've used it thus far. I can A/B between the USB port and my Eitr later tonight and let you know my impressions if no one else gets to it first. I do use an Audioquest Cinnamon USB cable, so if you'd like me to use the stock cable instead, just let me know.

I'd be most grateful for your impressions, thank you, and they would be fine with the Audioquest cable if that's what you're most familiar with (and if that's more convenient). I look forward to reading them!

 

[alpovs]

As a (somewhat pedantic) point of fact, neither TDA1541A nor TDA1387 are R2R DACs as they don't use resistors to create the bit weightings. Both of them use proprietary Philips technology.

Interesting reads on the TDA1541A and the TDA1387 DACs.

TDA1541A: "True 16-bit performance is achieved by each channel using three 2-bit active dividers, operating on the dynamic element matching principle, in combination with a 10-bit passive current divider, based on emitter scaling."
"What is a TDA1541 DAC?
The TDA1541 series are multi-bit DACs employing a DEM (dynamic element matching) circuit.
What is DEM?
To put it simply, DEM (patented by R. van der Plassche) is a superior system developed by Philips technicians that employs 4 to 5 current sources inside the DAC applied in turn to achieve a 1/4 to 1/5 reduction in DAC conversion errors. At first, the TDA1541 was used in combination with the Philips-made SAA7220P/A 4x over sampling digital filter (a noise shaper circuit was not required and was not used)."

TDA1387: "The TDA1387T is a member of a generation of digital-to-analog converters which incorporates the innovative technique of Continuous Calibration. The largest bit currents are repeatedly generated from one single reference current. This duplication is based upon an internal charge storage principle and has an accuracy which is insensitive to ageing, temperature and process variations."

 

[Torq]

If any of you have heard the RDAC with a Schiit Eitr would you be willing to comment on this pairing, please? If the Eitr makes for a significant improvement in sound quality for the Modi MB, does it similarly make for a worthwhile addition to the RDAC?

It's going to be highly dependent on your USB output and what/if/how-bad any issues with it are. There won't necessarily be one specific type of improvement ... if you have unstable, rather than noisy, USB power lines, for example, the audible impacts from adding an Eitr will be different. I did find, from the loaded (and noisy-as-all-hell-power-lines) Dell workstation sitting at my day-job, that Eitr resulted in a generally less "tense" and smoother sound out of the RDAC. From my custom streamer at home, it made no difference that I could discern.

Can't really say anything more specific than whether it may, or may not, improve "things" for any given case, and if it does "what" is likely to be variable.

 

[Burgerbassist]

I'd be most grateful for your impressions, thank you, and they would be fine with the Audioquest cable if that's what you're most familiar with (and if that's more convenient). I look forward to reading them!

So I did some listening tonight, through Tidal on a MacBook, both with the Eitr and also straight USB into the RDAC. What I found is that, in my system (Tidal on MacBook -> RDAC -> Sansui 7070 -> Klipsch Heresy III), the Eitr made everything I listened to more holographic. I didn’t notice any major differences In sound signature or soundstage width, but everything sounded a good bit flatter in terms of depth when listening through the RDAC’s USB port. I’ll do some headphone comparing next. That setup will be the MacBook -> the RDAC -> a Massdrop Liquid Carbon X -> MrSpeakers Aeon Flow Closed.

 

[Burgerbassist]

Some quick headphone listening yielded similar results to what I heard on my two channel setup, but the headphone setup also revealed more micro-details through the Eitr than straight through USB. Things like the pick strumming against guitar strings shine through a little more with the Eitr, making for a more life-like and revealing listen. I would classify the differences as fairly minor, but noticeable. The RDAC doesn’t sound bad through its USB port, but it does sound a bit better (to my ears) through the Eitr. I had a similar experience with my Metrum Amethyst, as well.

 

[Tchoupitoulas]

Some quick headphone listening yielded similar results to what I heard on my two channel setup, but the headphone setup also revealed more micro-details through the Eitr than straight through USB. Things like the pick strumming against guitar strings shine through a little more with the Eitr, making for a more life-like and revealing listen. I would classify the differences as fairly minor, but noticeable. The RDAC doesn’t sound bad through its USB port, but it does sound a bit better (to my ears) through the Eitr. I had a similar experience with my Metrum Amethyst, as well.

Thank you for taking the time to reply to my query, Torq, and thank you Burgerbassist for going to the trouble of testing your two-channel and headphone setups with and without the Eitr. You are most kind.

These are all very helpful observations. I now appreciate better that I ought to try the device with my specific setup before committing to a purchase. I can’t say that I had noticed any particular benefit from adding an Audioquest Jitterbug, which I received as a gift, to my chain. The negligible difference might be because I use a fairly old (2012) MacBook Pro as a source: the computer is used just to rip CDs and play music; as I only ever use one USB port, and since I try to minimize the number of applications running, I may have a fairly quiet USB connection, as far as these things go. Once I’ve spent a good deal more time listening carefully to the RDAC, I may consider test driving an Eitr - thank you Torq.

I can’t say that I’m in any way disappointed with the RDAC now that I have been listening to it for several hours. I’m listening with my MCTH amp and HD 6XX headphones, and I’m still trying to appreciate the differences I’m hearing. Once I come to a better understanding of this setup, and the advantages afforded by the RDAC, I’ll move on to trying it with my HD 800, which is a recent purchase, one that I’m still getting used to. I wonder if the benefits of the Eitr you described, Burgerbassist, will be more apparent to me with the HD 800’s soundstage, speed, clarity, and micro-details. So, thank you again for the generous impressions, I very much appreciate them.

 

[zaintachik]

Hey guys, need your assistance. Ive posted on the drop. Cant seem to get any sound out hooked up on my Mac to the DAC selected USB2.0... nothing