[bimmer100]

   
Hi bimmer100, is there a kit that includes all the parts like the picture you posted?
 
Thank you!

that's not a kit...those are just two dam1021 0.02% boards with the included parts.
 
basics of what you'll need. PM me for more info...but I'll post more about the components of my build soon

 

[morinu]

  that's not a kit...those are just two dam1021 0.02% boards with the included parts.
 
basics of what you'll need. PM me for more info...but I'll post more about the components of my build soon

Thank you bimmer100! I will look forward to your posts about your build and I will PM you if I have questions.

 

[Luckbad]

Doing some initial comparisons now of the Soekris dac1101 and MHDT Labs Atlantis going into a Schiit Sys then the ampsandsound Mogwai.
 
The first challenge is volume matching. The Soekris needs to be turned down a bit from max or it's louder than the MHDT.
 
The Atlantis has two AD1862N-J chips (R/2R, of course) and a tube buffer. The tube buffer is currently using a Russian 6н3п-др tube. It is currently being unfairly fed BNC from a Mutec MC-3+ Smart Clock USB. I'll do direct USB tomorrow. It's been turned on for a day or two straight.
 
The Soekris dac1101 is using the stock USB cable coming from my motherboard's USB DAC-UP ports that theoretically provide clean 5V power. It's been turned on for 30 minutes.
 
Both offer a nice organic sound. The Soekris does not sound like a Delta-Sigma DAC. It has a good deal of the timbre of resistor ladder DACs. I can already tell you that I like the DAC part of this better than the Schiit Bifrost Multibit. I found the Schiit to be a little grainy and slightly harsh despite many users commenting on its warmth.
 
I'll have to let the Soekris stay powered up and playing music for a fair amount of time. Comparing a cold piece of gear to one that is warmed up and fully burned in is kinda mean.
Since I don't want to leave you hanging too much, I'll say that the Soekris feels like it's compressing the music just a bit compared to the MHDT (so it's less dynamic). It's a little brighter (expected), which will be more to the liking of many. It is not bright like a Sabre, but brighter than a NOS dac with a tube buffer (like all of the other dacs in the world).
 
The soundstage on the Soekris isn't as deep as the MHDT but it's about the same width. The sound presented by the Soekris is far from thin, but it's not as full as the MHDT. It's a little more analytical versus the musical Atlantis. Again, I'd be incredibly surprised if it wasn't.
 
Most people would prefer the slightly more analytical and less-warm sound of the Soekris compared to the gooey and warm sound of the Atlantis. Most would prefer the depth of soundstage and dynamics of the MHDT over the Soekris.
 
So far the feeling of compression is my only complaint about the Soekris dac1101. I didn't notice it at work because I couldn't instantly swap between DACs. It might improve as the unit warms up and/or burns in. Right now, when I switch away from the Soekris, my ears relax a bit and I feel like I can breath more freely. By compression, I really mean two things: One is that it feels a little closed in, and the other (which is probably the cause of the first) is that the volume of instruments seems closer together on the Soekris than on the MHDT.
 
As far as tuning the sound to your liking, the Soekris has 4 filter options that you can cycle through at the touch of a button. This is awesome and I appreciate that companies are starting to provide this option (I've also had two other DACs that did it: the Audio-GD NFB-2.32 and Emotiva Big Ego). I believe that you'll also be able to tinker with the firmware of the unit (not sure what that does to the warranty) since you can do so with the DIY versions of the Soekris gear.
 
The MHDT Labs Atlantis can be tuned in a couple ways. First is that you can choose three different firmware options for the USB input if that's what you're using. The changes are very subtle. The much more significant tuning option is tubes--you have dozens of options, and each impacts various parts of the sound in different ways. 
 
You can also tweak in front of both, but I won't talk much about it. The important thing to note is that USB is the only input on the Soekris dac1101 and it is always powered by USB. The Atlantis is powered via a power cord and accepts USB, BNC, RCA, and TOSLINK.
 
So far, the Soekris dac1101 is very good. Is it bested by my $750+ DAC that is much larger, has no amp, and has an $1100 USB->S/P-DIF converter in front of it? Yep. But I already prefer it to the Schiit Bifrost Multibit and would probably recommend the dac1101 as the best entry into R/2R that I'm aware of. Small form factor, integrated headphone amp, filter options, line out, good price.

 

[Luckbad]

Useful info from Soren:
 

Volume Knob: The “VOL” LED indicates current volume, from off when at -80 dB to full on when +10 dB. The volume knob is using a digital encoder to set the volume level digitally from -80 dB to +10 dB in 1 dB steps. If you connect the Line Out to a system with a volume knob you might want to set the dac1101 Line Out volume startup level to digital 0 dB, you can do that by selecting Line Out, turning the volume up to max, then turn it back exactly 10 clicks and store the startup setting by pressing and holding the middle rear switch for 4 seconds.
 

 
Essentially, you're going to want to do this to avoid clipping in line out mode. It's pretty cool that each volume knob click is 1dB too.
 
Running the dac1101 all night has already created some change to the sound. I can't be sure on the sound changes, but I am sure that the soundstage has changed. It is now a bit deeper but also slightly narrower than I remember it being (perhaps just a side effect of it being deeper).
 
Some of the nuances in more dynamic songs have improved. The sense of compression has reduced noticeably. Instrument separation is more obvious as a result, and volume changes within the song are more evident.

 

[landroni]

  But I already prefer it to the Schiit Bifrost Multibit and would probably recommend the dac1101 as the best entry into R/2R that I'm aware of. Small form factor, integrated headphone amp, filter options, line out, good price.

It's curious to hear that dac1101 does better than  Schiit's Bifrost MB. Is there a less expensive Soekris product (without integrated amp) that only does DAC?

 

[Luckbad]

It's curious to hear that dac1101 does better than  Schiit's Bifrost MB. Is there a less expensive Soekris product (without integrated amp) that only does DAC?

 
It's better to me than the Schiit Bifrost Multibit. In my opinion, the amp section of the dac1101 isn't amazing. It's fine, but it's better as a DAC than an Amp. I don't think it adds much to the cost of the unit either, so I don't foresee a cheaper prebuilt alternative from them that is at the same level.
 
There are DIY products from Soekris that can be built easily into a DAC if you have some chops that the dac1101 is based on called the dam1021.

 

[landroni]

 
 
It's better to me than the Schiit Bifrost Multibit. In my opinion, the amp section of the dac1101 isn't amazing. It's fine, but it's better as a DAC than an Amp. I don't think it adds much to the cost of the unit either, so I don't foresee a cheaper prebuilt alternative from them that is at the same level.

 
There are DIY products from Soekris that can be built easily into a DAC if you have some chops that the dac1101 is based on called the dam1021.

Oh, yes, I always read these pronouncements with a huge IMOYMMVETC banner sparking up... And indeed I wouldn't expect the amp section to be particularly impressive.
 
I was also looking at the dam1021 board but they're not very clear on what it actually provides. What are the inputs/outputs (if any)? And how do you stitch it into a working DAC? I'm not really sure what it takes to make such a board into a fully working DAC...

 

[audiojun]

   
It's better to me than the Schiit Bifrost Multibit.

Do you have a Bifrost to do an A/B? Or are you just going off of memory?

 

[Luckbad]

Do you have a Bifrost to do an A/B? Or are you just going off of memory?

 
Memory, unfortunately. But I have heard the Atlantis vs. Bimby, so I'm using that as reference.
 
The Atlantis is much warmer than the Bimby, and still warmer than the Soekris.
 
The important thing about the comparison is that ultimately I thought the Bifrost Multibit was very capable and would be the right DAC for many, but it wasn't the right DAC for me.
 
The Soekris dac1101 is a DAC I'd be happy with myself.

 

[Luckbad]

 
Oh, yes, I always read these pronouncements with a huge IMOYMMVETC banner sparking up... And indeed I wouldn't expect the amp section to be particularly impressive.
 
I was also looking at the dam1021 board but they're not very clear on what it actually provides. What are the inputs/outputs (if any)? And how do you stitch it into a working DAC? I'm not really sure what it takes to make such a board into a fully working DAC...

 
Head to diyAudio. That's where all of the details on building from the base boards can be found.

 

[landroni]

 
 
Head to diyAudio. That's where all of the details on building from the base boards can be found.

Yeah, from what I see the Soekris vanilla boards are not for the faint-hearted...

 

[landroni]

  The Soekris dac1101 is a DAC I'd be happy with myself.

A pity though it comes with an integrated amp section, and with no SPDIF inputs...

 

[audiojun]

Memory, unfortunately. But I have heard the Atlantis vs. Bimby, so I'm using that as reference.

The Atlantis is much warmer than the Bimby, and still warmer than the Soekris.

The important thing about the comparison is that ultimately I thought the Bifrost Multibit was very capable and would be the right DAC for many, but it wasn't the right DAC for me.

The Soekris dac1101 is a DAC I'd be happy with myself.

Thinking about your sound preferences, (I see you are running a tube dac into a tube amp) soekris should be a warm dac because you like it lol. Even bimby was considered warm by some people. My crack is also a warm sounding amp. I am going towards a torpedo III build soon and that would make my set up less warm. I am interested in the soekris dac but I'd need to hear it with my set up first.

 

[Luckbad]

Thinking about your sound preferences, (I see you are running a tube dac into a tube amp) soekris should be a warm dac because you like it lol. Even bimby was considered warm by some people. My crack is also a warm sounding amp. I am going towards a torpedo III build soon and that would make my set up less warm. I am interested in the soekris dac but I'd need to hear it with my set up first.

 
Frankly, the Bimby being called warm was not remotely my experience at all. I hear the Gumby as warmer and more musical than the Bimby.
 
The Soekris is definitely less warm than my NOS tube dac, but it's also not bright, brittle, or digital-hashy. It is far more capable than what I expected out of a USB-powered DAC.
 
I realize I'm in the minority of people for all of my preferences, including when it comes to the Bifrost Multibit which seems almost universally beloved. To put things into perspective, the only Schiit product I currently own is the Schiit Sys for testing gear, and the only Schiit product I'd consider purchasing in the future from their current lineup is the Gungnir Multibit (I significantly prefer it to the Yggdrasil).

 

[FallenAngel]

A pity though it comes with an integrated amp section, and with no SPDIF inputs...

The spdif receiver circuit is so easy to build though, and not expensive. It's like $5 in parts and a 10 minute job.