[zilch0md]

More praise for the Oppo Sonica DAC, having used it for several months:

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/opp...038pro-sabre-dac.819959/page-31#post-13830312

 

[Houba]

Will there be future implementations of this dac in portable devices?

 

[Whitigir]

Doubt it, 9038 Pro consumes a lot of power. Even in Desktop DAC, people is having hard time implementing it to get it working properly

 

[Sapientiam]

Relatively well-heeled DIYers can have a play now, TP has announced their 9038 solution - http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/twis...ry-achieving-escape-velocity-post5234272.html

 

[Houba]

Doubt it, 9038 Pro consumes a lot of power. Even in Desktop DAC, people is having hard time implementing it to get it working properly

So sad to hear that

Maybe a mobile version as they did for 9018/9028

 

[Whitigir]

You can have dual 9028 Pro in a dap, it is Dx200, the only1

 

[Houba]

You can have dual 9028 Pro in a dap, it is Dx200, the only1

I meant 9038 mobile version just as 9018 and 9028 releases

 

[Whitigir]

I meant 9038 mobile version just as 9018 and 9028 releases

Not too sure, 9038 Pro consumes as much power as 3x of the 9028 Pro with a little more gain in performances. I don’t think 9038pro is ever intended for Portable player. Neither does 9028pro. These lines are intended for Desktop uses.

There is only so much to cramp into a portable design. One key example is the Battery power DC supply vs Real AC main.

 

[pelopidas]

Here is an affordable 9038.
https://hifimediy.com/DACs/ready-made-dacs/uda38pro-usb-dac-es9038pro

 

[zilch0md]

Here is an affordable 9038.
https://hifimediy.com/DACs/ready-made-dacs/uda38pro-usb-dac-es9038pro

That's very cool! I wish I could find a review - I don't want to be among the early adopters, but might spring for it. Hmmm....

Thanks for posting it!

 

[Rayzilla]

^ Still, nobody else has an ES9038Pro DAC as low as Oppo's $799 offering. Other manufacturer's ESS ES9038Pro implementations are priced far higher than the Oppo Sonica DAC.

L.K.S. wants $1260 for the "standard USB" version of their dual ES9038PRO, so some might argue that's a better deal than the Oppo Sonica DAC, in that L.K.S. isn't asking $1600 (twice the cost of a Sonica).

What about something like this? Any thoughts?
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/201...DSD-HiFi-DAC-Decoder-XLR-RCA/32829296561.html

 

[zilch0md]

What about something like this? Any thoughts?
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/201...DSD-HiFi-DAC-Decoder-XLR-RCA/32829296561.html

That's getting so close to the cost of the chip itself, I would be dubious, but in the end, somebody has to buy it, listen and compare. Not me!

 

[ostewart]

The Melokin DA9.1 uses the ESS9038 Pro chip and is priced around $380

I have one, its a great DAC. It has solder pads on the board to add XLR's for balanced output too.

 

[maxxevv]

The Melokin DA9.1 uses the ESS9038 Pro chip and is priced around $380

I have one, its a great DAC. It has solder pads on the board to add XLR's for balanced output too.

That's without the USB card. Which adds another US$80.

As for the Aliexpress listing, look around, there are other similar listing for less. I have not heard them but I would tend to think that swappable op-amp chips would be be a nice feature to be available on these DAC's.
The particular model has soldered op-amp chips though.

 

[ostewart]

That's without the USB card. Which adds another US$80.

As for the Aliexpress listing, look around, there are other similar listing for less. I have not heard them but I would tend to think that swappable op-amp chips would be be a nice feature to be available on these DAC's.
The particular model has soldered op-amp chips though.

You can roll the buffer op-amp in the DA9.1, but the others are soldered.