Soekris Audiophile Line Dac's 2541, 1541, 1421, 1321, 1101
Jul 12, 2017 at 4:00 AM Thread Starter Post #1 of 477

m-i-c-k-e-y

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Since this (DAC1541) will be available this week (now in stock!) and no dedicated threads, might as well start one.

R2R Sign Magnitude DACs offered by Soekris Engineering. Web: www.soekris.dk

@soekris Soren, please free to chime in. Thank you.

DAC1541 - 27 bit R-2R sign magnitude DAC, fully balanced DAC with built in headphones amplifier. Early impression by @WB2016 at Munich High End 2017 here. Price: 1100Eur.
dac1541_front_1200.jpg

dac1541_rear_1200.jpg

dac1541_open_1200.jpg


DAC1421 - Single ended version of 1541. Price: 735Eur.

Pictures none at the moment

DAC1321 - 25 bit R-2R sign magnitude DAC, entry level single ended, no headphone amplifier. Price: 460Eur.
dac1321_front_1200.jpg

dac1321_rear_1200.jpg

dac1321_open_1200.jpg


DAC1101 - USB powered R-2R sign magnitude DAC, single ended w/ headphone amp. Price: 363Eur.
dac1101_front.jpg

dac1101_rear.jpg

dac1101_board.jpg


Where to buy: http://soekris.eu/shop/dac_modules_audiophile_line_en/
Pictures from www.soekris.dk.
 
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Jul 16, 2017 at 2:03 PM Post #2 of 477
I'm really in love with the DAC1541, but I would need at least one additional pair of 3-pin XLR outputs for variable line-out at the backside to feed my active studio monitors and my STAX energizer.
 
Jul 28, 2017 at 11:00 AM Post #3 of 477
I am really looking forward to read first reviews and comparisons of 1541, especially interested in comparisons with obvious suspects (Schiit's TOTL, Mytek brooklin, chords Hugo/Dave, etc.)
Price seems OK and I would love to read how the 1541 DAC holds against raved rivals.
 
Aug 15, 2017 at 2:47 AM Post #5 of 477
Have heard some good things about soekris products looking forward to impressions of the line above.
 
Oct 10, 2017 at 10:10 AM Post #7 of 477
So, the price after the initial launch price is 1290€. And the shop is by default excluding VAT, which means an extra 322.50€ for the European customers, bringing the total to 1612,50€
Quite a surprise going to the checkout :p

@soekris any plans for Black Friday sales perhaps, aka. all good things et cetera, or no dice at all? :p
 
Oct 12, 2017 at 2:27 AM Post #9 of 477
Yeah, I noticed this “ommision” to mention VAT during the launch price, killed the deal for me for the time being. Also the lack of reviews I find disconcerting...
I've been quite actively scouring various places for reviews and impressions, I was out of the loop for awhile for new developments this year, missed the launch price in the summer as my second daughter was born in July, although I've been on the hunt for a new DAC for some time now.

I think the tidbits around the internet have been rather overwhelmingly positive, and yeah, the advertised and discussed price in the forums/press has been that 1100/1110€, and later the 1290€. That really piqued my initial interest in the product.

IMO if the vendor is European/Danish, and the product information page has the price 1290€ (and not in DKK), with no mention of VAT at all, it's a bit odd. I wouldn't be surprised if there's a European directive, at least strongly hinting, that it's not acceptable.
Clicking and crawling as far as the store page, which has a .eu TLD, the product page seemed to match the price 1290€, and not noticing the excl. VAT option in the upper right hand corner was a shocker, when I went as far as adding the product to the cart. It was a surprise to find out that the Danish VAT could actually be higher than the Finnish one :p

The price in its current state creeps considerably above the European price for Gumby, and in my books, closer to Yggy, if you catch my drift.

I noticed the reviews and impressions have quieted down a bit, hence I was wondering if there would be a possibility of a Black Friday sale, if the sales would need boosting.
I think @soekris has infoed the public for the reasons for the price "hike", and if the sales are going well, obviously it wouldn't be the best idea for a Black Friday-sale. But if the situation is different, and a sale would dawn on us, I'd probably check my resolve again.

I highly doubt us Head-Fi'ers in Europe would be able to organize any group buys for a possible better price either, which have been discussed elsewhere.

Just trying to spruce up conversation, any further impressions here would be most welcome!
 
Oct 16, 2017 at 11:13 AM Post #10 of 477
I had an eye on the 1541 when it was first announced, and picked one up while it still had its promotional pricing. US shipping and fees added a bundle, so it was not cheap even before the price went up.

Impressions: it’s a great little DAC. I compared it quite closely to a Gumby (volume-matched with a switching box of my own design) over the course of several weeks. While sometimes I thought yes Gumby sounds a trifle richer, this wasn’t something I could reliably reproduce when I went back to double-check.

The dac1541 has a small, desk-friendly form factor and plenty of features. The built-in amp is the quietest I know for sensitive IEMs (no hint of hissing or hum at all) and works pretty well for full-sized headphones, though I consider it a bit underpowered compared to my DIY amps. Ergonomics are mostly good, and the unit is easy to understand and use.

On the whole, it’s one of the most interesting DACs on the market — since it plays in the very uncrowded R2R-multibit field — and one of the more feature rich all-in-one units available. It’s a keeper for me for the foreseeable future.

If Soekris makes a v2, my wish list includes:

1. More filters, including a NOS mode (which I doubt will happen).
2. A blackout mode so I don’t have to cover up the LEDs (I dislike bright equipment lights and cover up almost every piece of equipment).
3. Lower the minimum volume to -90 or even -100, because the stock -80 does not fully mute the output (a minor complaint).
4. Include a combined line and headphone output mode with independent volume control for each.

Items 1 and 3 can happen with firmware changes and might even be DIYable. 2 and 4 are trickier to fix, but not deal-breakers for the current production units.

Anyone in the market for a new DAC or all-in-one really should try it out.
 
Oct 25, 2017 at 10:08 AM Post #14 of 477
Isn't there a homebrew NOS filter for other Soekris DACs that may be able to be used on the 1541?
 
Oct 26, 2017 at 5:56 PM Post #15 of 477
The advantage of Soekris over Schiit is native support of DSD.

While you can feed it a DSD source, it will be converted to PCM internally by the unit before the actual digital-to-analog conversion occurs. It's useful if your source isn't a computer (or doesn't do DSD->PCM conversion), but otherwise it's nothing you can't do with any regular PCM DAC and most decent software players.

It's a fine point, but I tend to think of "native DSD" as being end-to-end pure-DSD processing, without converting to PCM first.

Fortunately the PCM conversion on the dac1541, at least (I haven't heard the other units in the line-up), is excellent.
 

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