[Diego Dee]

I can 100% confirm that the soul shows its best side again and again after 3 months. Every week I am amazed at the wonderful sound image together with my Ether2.

 

[MRC001]

I've had mine for 2+ years of daily use, both as a DAC+preamp driving my Magnepans, and as a DAC+headphone amp driving HD-580 and LCD-2F headphones. As Jan says, the sound doesn't leap out and grab you because it is clean and neutral with no euphonics. But it has plenty of subtle detail and transparency. The build quality is top notch and also the support.

The ability to use an external DAC is nice to have for flexibility, but I would not use this feature just for "better sound quality", as the built-in DAC (dual WM8741 each in mono mode, one per channel) is quite good.

 

[ThanatosVI]

WM8741

Never heard of those, how do they compare to ESS Sabre and AKM variants? (I.e ESS are rather bright)

 

[MRC001]

The WM8741 debuted over 10 years ago, so while its numbers are very good, the latest ESS and AKM chips have better numbers. Except perhaps for the dreaded "IM hump" that the ESS chips have, in some implementations. Those chasing numbers will want a more up-to-date DAC chip.

However, my personal opinion is that the DAC implementation and preamp design (analog stage) are more important than the DAC chip used (so long as you use a good one), as that's where any noise, distortion or non-linearities we can actually hear is likely to come from. And, the same DAC chip can perform significantly differently depending on its implementation (power supply, voltage regulation, etc.). This is where the Soul shines, with switched power supplies giving rock solid DC without even a hint of 50/60 Hz hum or harmonics, fully balanced all the way through.

My prior DAC-preamp (Oppo HA-1) had an ESS chip. The Soul's treble is smoother (less grain) without being attenuated. I suspect that the difference is not the chip, but the implementation.

That said, if you read around you'll find the WM8741 has a reputation for "musicality", which of course means different things to different people.

 

[Jan Meier]

It's true, the WM8741 is limited in its technical numbers. It only accepts data upto 24 bit and a maximum sampling frequency of 192 kHz. And in the configuration used in the SOUL it doesn't accept DSD-streams either. But within the SOUL there is no need/use for these numbers. The DSP-chip inside, although state-of-the-art, does not accept 32-bit/384kHz/DSD signals anyway. And to be honest, do you really believe you can hear a difference between 24/192 and 32/384 recordings????

Yes, with most DAC-chips the exact implementation is very important for sound quality. The reason is, that these chips output a current signal and not a voltage signal. Consequently I-V conversion stages are needed and the design of this stage determines sound quality considerably.
With the WM8741 though, these conversion stages are built into the DAC-chip. Thus these stages can be exactly tuned to the characteristics of the DA-part. The external design is less critical.

Nonetheless, the WM8741 inside the SOUL sounds much better than regular implementations of the WM8741. And the reason for that is that with help of the DSP the first stage of the FF-technique (see my website) now has been forwarded into the digital domain. This makes the job for the DA-conversion-chip much easier and that truly can be heard.

The WM8741, as noted by Mike, indeed has a reputation of being very musical. And within the SOUL .......

I have to admit though, that I never experimented with ESS or AKM DAC-chips. My time and resources are limited and the WM8741 always fitted my taste.

Cheers

Jan

 

[Diego Dee]

A difference between 192/24 and 384/32????


If the recording is poorly mastered, it doesn't matter if you hear 30,000 / 685, it sounds modest. If the mastering is very good, you can already have a great listening experience at 44.1 / 16.

 

[Gene4797]

I’m in couple days will be new owner of Corda Soul and I will try connect to Mytek Brooklyn Bridge and Ifi pro idsd , interesting if someone try to use Corda Soul as preamplifier and amplifier ?

 

[MRC001]

... interesting if someone try to use Corda Soul as preamplifier and amplifier ?

I use it as a DAC, DSP, headphone amp, and preamp driving a power amp (Adcom 5800) and speakers (Magnepan 3.6).

 

[Gene4797]

Hello guys, just received Corda Soul and connected to computer, I’m using Tidal ......,what I can say, Soul really touched my soul,sound real good,detail, all instruments sound really natural, it’s not wow, but when i got deep I start realize how clean , natural , separately sound all notes and instruments, voices, real good bass , I’m really surprised, forgot to mention, I’m using Audeze lcd mx4, sorry for my English

 

[MRC001]

The mx4 has much higher voltage sensitivity than the LCD-4, a 50 mV output drives it to about 96 dB SPL. That means you're likely using the low end of the range of the volume knob. This reminds me of an important point. The SNR of most headphone amps is rated at full output. But nobody actually listens at full output, it's way too loud for listening. Typical listening levels are roughly 30 dB below full output. With conventional amp volume controls (both analog & digital), SNR drops roughly 1:1 with volume as you turn it down. So that means the SNR is roughly 30 dB worse than the specification. And with analog volume controls, the channel balance is typically uneven at the low end range of the knob.

The Soul is particularly useful for these highly sensitive headphones, as its volume control works differently from most other devices, addressing both of these issues. As you turn down the volume, it preserves high SNR, having low noise & perfect channel balance at all volume settings.

 

[Gene4797]

The mx4 has much higher voltage sensitivity than the LCD-4, a 50 mV output drives it to about 96 dB SPL. That means you're likely using the low end of the range of the volume knob. This reminds me of an important point. The SNR of most headphone amps is rated at full output. But nobody actually listens at full output, it's way too loud for listening. Typical listening levels are roughly 30 dB below full output. With conventional amp volume controls (both analog & digital), SNR drops roughly 1:1 with volume as you turn it down. So that means the SNR is roughly 30 dB worse than the specification. And with analog volume controls, the channel balance is typically uneven at the low end range of the knob.

The Soul is particularly useful for these highly sensitive headphones, as its volume control works differently from most other devices, addressing both of these issues. As you turn down the volume, it preserves high SNR, having low noise & perfect channel balance at all volume settings.

I tried to connect lcd4 but , maybe I didn’t find out right way to connect, the same with lcd3, but hifiman he1000se sound like never before, I’m really surprised how sound Dac, match better than other dacs which one hase real higher numbers, this guys knows what they doing

 

[MRC001]

... this guys knows what they doing

Indeed. The design and features of the Soul reflect that Jan considers both engineering and psychoacoustics in his gear.

 

[Gene4797]

Before I got Soul I couldn’t stop to looking for gear with better sound, I have ifi pro idsd and ican, Mytek Brooklyn Bridge, I just sold Phonitor x , all of them sound good , but no one can’t camper in sound with Soul, at least for my taste

 

[Gene4797]

I must confess, this hobby to me like addiction

 

[Jan Meier]

Dear Gene,

Glad to hear you like your amp. It's always a bit of a gamble when you buy something that you haven't been able to test before.

"I tried to connect lcd4 but , maybe I didn’t find out right way to connect, the same with lcd3"

Were you not able to physically connect or is something wrong with the sound? Just send me an e-mail at meier-audio@t-online.de if you experience any problems.

Also contact me if you need drivers for Windows-systems.

With computer-audio please make sure you have bit-perfect data-transfer. This really makes a difference that can be clearly heard.

Enjoy your new toy,

Jan