[lithrai]

Very nice report W. I was told that dac1541 has remote control functionality but the software isn't done yet. But I didn't see infrared port on the device. Maybe I'm missing something?

 

[ToroFiestaSol]

@WB2016
Great report, thanks! Sounds like it could be the new giant killer

@lithrai A remote control would be the icing on the cake...would take the DAC1541 from bargain to **** and take my money

 

[WesMiaw]

The manual says remote control works, but a physical remote is not included.

Remote Control: The dac1541 have support for using a remote controller to adjust the volume level and to select input source. The remote need to be an Apple remote or a compatible one. The dac1541 as default will not be locked to a remote, but can be locked to a specific remote using its device code. To lock the dac1541 to a remote, first press the “XFEED” button for 4 seconds until the “CLIP” indicator lights, then press any button on the remote. If you don’t press any button on the remote before the “CLIP” indicator goes off then the dac1541 will go back to its default setting of not being locked to a specific remote. You then also need to store the new remote setting by pressing the “FILTER” button for 4 seconds.

 

[Jimster480]

Has anyone compared this to similar priced DAC's?
Even like an SMSL M8/M8A or Modi Multibit?
Since its price range for the base price is comparable to those.

 

[gr8soundz]

Has anyone compared this to similar priced DAC's?
Even like an SMSL M8/M8A or Modi Multibit?
Since its price range for the base price is comparable to those.

Wouldn't be a fair comparison since neither of those is R2R like Soekris. The SMSL is Delta-Sigma based and I haven't heard it or the Mimby (although I considered the Mimby heavily before buying the Soekris).

Implementation is more important, but the dac1101 is easily the best sounding DAC I've heard for it's price. Only other ladder DAC I know of in the same price range is the Audio-gd R2R-11.

 

[Jimster480]

Wouldn't be a fair comparison since neither of those is R2R like Soekris. The SMSL is Delta-Sigma based and I haven't heard it or the Mimby (although I considered the Mimby heavily before buying the Soekris).

Implementation is more important, but the dac1101 is easily the best sounding DAC I've heard for it's price. Only other ladder DAC I know of in the same price range is the Audio-gd R2R-11.

Delta Sigma has perfectly fine detail resolution these days. No modern (especially flagship) DS Dac's are single bit anymore and yet most ADC's today are Delta Sigma aswell.

 

[gr8soundz]

Delta Sigma has perfectly fine detail resolution these days. No modern (especially flagship) DS Dac's are single bit anymore and yet most ADC's today are Delta Sigma aswell.

True, only DSD is single bit and 5 to 8 bit D-S can sound great but they're no match for R2R designs like the Soekris which stay above 16-bits at all times. D-S is good until you hear how resolving R2R or Multibit can be.

Since getting the dac1101, I've traded away multiple D-S devices and can no longer bring myself to buy anything that isn't at least Multibit.

 

[Jimster480]

True, only DSD is single bit and 5 to 8 bit D-S can sound great but they're no match for R2R designs like the Soekris which stay above 16-bits at all times. D-S is good until you hear how resolving R2R or Multibit can be.

Since getting the dac1101, I've traded away multiple D-S devices and can no longer bring myself to buy anything that isn't at least Multibit.

I bought a Mimby and it sounded like trash, much worse than my SMSL M8 or Topping D30.

Right now I am using a Topping DX7 which is dual ES9018K2M Balanced. Even single ended it sounds much better than even my M8 which still had great details.

 

[gr8soundz]

There are also other factors involved including file/music types and personal preference. Even then differences are usually subtle and how much detail we hear depends greatly on the rest of the chain.

At one point, I lost count of how many ES9018 chipped devices I've owned. They're all detailed but not to the level of the Soekris which brings those details front and center; an almost night and day difference for me. However, for harsh or poor recordings, they won't sound as smooth compared to Delta-Sigma's crazy oversampling especially if the Soekris hasn't been warmed up for at least a couple of hours.

I mainly use line out from the dac1101 into a tube amp so judging its DAC performance vs. using the built-in headphone amp will change how it compares to other all-in-ones. I think the new dac1541 would make a better comparison to your balanced Topping. Might be easier to judge which topology (and integrated amp) you'd prefer.

 

[Jimster480]

There are also other factors involved including file/music types and personal preference. Even then differences are usually subtle and how much detail we hear depends greatly on the rest of the chain.

At one point, I lost count of how many ES9018 chipped devices I've owned. They're all detailed but not to the level of the Soekris which brings those details front and center; an almost night and day difference for me. However, for harsh or poor recordings, they won't sound as smooth compared to Delta-Sigma's crazy oversampling especially if the Soekris hasn't been warmed up for at least a couple of hours.

I mainly use line out from the dac1101 into a tube amp so judging its DAC performance vs. using the built-in headphone amp will change how it compares to other all-in-ones. I think the new dac1541 would make a better comparison to your balanced Topping. Might be easier to judge which topology (and integrated amp) you'd prefer.

Well maybe in the future I will buy one of these to try it out and see. I'm always open to checking out new things!
Right now I'm not using my Topping for Balanced output, only for single ended.

 

[gr8soundz]

The Soekris is the only R2R device I have but I also own a Multibit player with DAC capability. Both play songs more accurately and with more details than all my D-S stuff. There are parts of several songs where I can tell D-S is dropping bits of data, leaving out audible portions that I wish I'd been aware of years ago. Perhaps with a TOTL amp and TOTL headphone attached I could hear some of those extra details via D-S but (for me) R2R and Multibit accomplish this so effortlessly I can hear everything no matter which headphones I'm using.

 

[Jimster480]

The Soekris is the only R2R device I have but I also own a Multibit player with DAC capability. Both play songs more accurately and with more details than all my D-S stuff. There are parts of several songs where I can tell D-S is dropping bits of data, leaving out audible portions that I wish I'd been aware of years ago. Perhaps with a TOTL amp and TOTL headphone attached I could hear some of those extra details via D-S but (for me) R2R and Multibit accomplish this so effortlessly I can hear everything no matter which headphones I'm using.

Well this is how I felt when I went to the DX7 from the M8/M8A.
The dual DAC's had much better detail resolution in songs that can take advantage of it.
If you are listening to normal EDM/House/Rap (especially modern Rap) you won't hear it, but since I listen to alot of Classical and Jazz I was able to tell the difference almost immediately.

Edit:
The 1321 looks like it has upsampling options from 1x-8x?
The R2R-11 doesn't have any upsampling options its strictly NOS.

 

[gr8soundz]

If you are listening to normal EDM/House/Rap (especially modern Rap) you won't hear it, but since I listen to alot of Classical and Jazz I was able to tell the difference almost immediately.

The 1321 looks like it has upsampling options from 1x-8x?
The R2R-11 doesn't have any upsampling options its strictly NOS.

The dac1101 has about 8x oversampling as well but Delta Sigma runs at 64x and up. NOS is great if done right but can be even more harsh for poor recordings.

I also listen to mainly Jazz along with a lot of Soul and have to agree with you on recent Rap. I grew up listening to classic/real Hip-Hop but the stuff being made nowadays is so bad I don't even know what to call it.

 

[Jimster480]

The dac1101 has about 8x oversampling as well but Delta Sigma runs at 64x and up. NOS is great if done right but can be even more harsh for poor recordings.

I also listen to mainly Jazz along with a lot of Soul and have to agree with you on recent Rap. I grew up listening to classic/real Hip-Hop but the stuff being made nowadays is so bad I don't even know what to call it.

Yes all DS DAC's have different amounts of oversampling but its usually a high number.
But its based on how they form the wave, because they oversample and do multiple passes to resolve detail.

I also grew up listening to Rap / Hip-Hop and I have some playlists of 90's and early 2000s rap. But the rap of today isn't even really music.

 

[mocenigo]

The manual says remote control works, but a physical remote is not included.

I use an Apple TV remote. Works very well, immediately responsive.

Roberto