[RogerWilco]

I think the world of great digital has gotten alot cheaper

Thanks for all the hard work on comparing dacs.

 

[lan]

Well I'm continuing comparing these DACs but with my HE60s. It's an interesting experience.

DACh-AH stock is forward and has big bass. The zhaolu actualy has deeper and more detailed bass although not in the same quantity. It's totally fine for me in this system though as my He60s bass is rather big itself. I plugged in my modded dac-ah. the bass has leaped over the stock zhaolu.

even deeper bass and more detailed this unit also has nice space. It doesn't break up.

I plugged in m902. this sound is a bit round and not as crisp in the highs. It seems also a bit grity in the highs. The blackgates in my DAC-AH must be making it extra sweet.

now to compare my ART DI/O.

 

[lan]

Well well. my modded ART DI/O is at the top of the heap for two reason

It has lowest noise floor and is the smoothest.

So my final ranking in terms of my preferences are

modded ART DI/O
modded DAC-AH
stock zhaolu / modded overture
grace m902
DAC-AH / 0404

I predict the next modded DAC-AH and modded zhaolu rise up in the standings.

 

[TigzStudio]

lan what did you do for the mod on the dac-ah? was it opamp change? or caps? ,,,,

 

[lan]

Hello, TigzStudio. It's just standard stuff, beffter diodes,caps, regulators. I'm also usig passive I/V (resistor) for output and not using the whole output stage on there. sounds purer.

edit: i forgot i use 2 transformers in my unit.

 

[Jahn]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lan I predict the next modded DAC-AH and modded zhaolu rise up in the standings.

That's mine! Go modded DAC-AH, go!

 

[TigzStudio]

is it possible for someone to take some pics of the inside of the dac-ah after the mod? or maybe a parts list of parts they used? I am buying a hakko soldering iron... and want to try to mod the dac ah myself, but am unsure of the parts to use.

im pretty good with solder iron, and took some electronic/circuit courses before...

 

[aco]

Thanx for the reviews, made for some interesting reading.

ps. Could someone able to read chinese confirm is the
diyeden SVDAC01 plus balanced as well? after google translation i got this from this page
http://www.diyeden.com/products_01plus.htm
Quote:

....SVDAC01 the Plus sound style is accurate, is balanced; Greatly dynamic, high analysis strength, suits the broadcast overwhelming ....

And anyone know which sound card is the German tank 1723 (fire screen) sound card, I keep finding refrences to it when searching for info.

 

[TigzStudio]

well i have my integrated amp setup in a way that i can directly A/B between the EMU 0404 and DAC-ah with push of button on remote....

did some more listening.... let me say ... me likes the DAC-ah! even in its stock form.... on my speaker rig it really opens up the sound... I definitely notice the increased lower bass, while it remains controlled. I also notice the mids tend to be pushed forward, but they are quite smooth and have a nice sound to them. I feel that the vocals are quite natural, however while A/B-ing with emu 0404, the vocals seem to be very very slightly more natural to me with the emu.

But overall I prefer the sound of the DAC-ah most definitely to the emu 0404.

the emu 0404 just lacks a presence in comparison , not as wide of sound, the various instruments just pop out at you more with the DAC-ah for lack of better explanation.

The vocals might be a bit too forward, but i like this kind of sound... it really lets you enjoy listening to the music...

good stuff!

dac-ah = the win

 

[RogerWilco]

Thanx for the reviews, made for some interesting reading.

ps. Could someone able to read chinese confirm is the
diyeden SVDAC01 plus balanced as well? after google translation i got this from this page
http://www.diyeden.com/products_01plus.htm


Lawrence has the DIYEDEN DAC.Atleast he has one of them testing it right now.

He had this to say this about the headamp in the Zhaolu dac.

More detail report to you for the up-grade headphone PCB : it use very famous FET for output ( 2SJ77 and 2SK214 ) , driving FET for some famous solid state amp , eg . GOLDMUND , COUNTERPOINT .....The weak point is it does not have a good voltage regulator due to the size of the box.

I just ordered the upgraded Zhaolu dac.I will know soon what it sounds like.

 

[skysaxon]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RogerWilco I just ordered the upgraded Zhaolu dac.I will know soon what it sounds like.

Looking forward to your impressions. Just ordered the DY 2000. I'll let you know how it sounds. It will be interesting to hear how much the full monty version of the 1.3 sounds vs. the opamp only upgrade.

 

[lan]

I have just begun modifications a few days ago. power supply section is re-burning in now

 

[Romanee]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lan I have just begun modifications a few days ago. power supply section is re-burning in now

Can't wait! Ultrasonic Ears A-waiting.......

My ears are tuned!

Lan and his fan.......

Zhaolu's extended fan base waits.....

 

[ScubaSteve87]

I just talked to my dad in Shanghai, he wasn't able to find any Diyeden or Lite DAC products, but I figured that might be the case, I don't think you would find these at too many electronics stores. I emailed him back the name of a distributor of Diyeden in Shanghai, but I think he leaves Shanghai soon, so he says he will try and get his sales rep to buy it and bring it back over in January

 

[RogerWilco]

This is what lawrence had to say in a recent e-mail on his modded dac compared to a high end dac.

quote-lawrence
I have another customer who brought his MSB platinum link 24/192 to my shop last week . We try to use our fully modified D1.3X to A/B compare with MSB . MSB is better but not so much . Of course we sold out many D1.3X after this demonstation , but on the other hand it proof my speaking again.

The msb is hitting at the $4000 area i believe?