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Valab Dac-First Impressions
Feb 2, 2009 at 4:42 PM Post #783 of 1,583
Quote:

Originally Posted by Fidelity /img/forum/go_quote.gif
$150, $180, now $200?!!!

It won't be too long before they jack up the price again, the DAC is very cheap to build, for the price there are better DACs available for less.


Have you heard this dac? Which dac did you have in mind that trumps the valab? I think to many this would still fit snugly into a budget setup.
 
Feb 2, 2009 at 4:53 PM Post #784 of 1,583
FYI, I just did a mini comparo with the Bel Canto DAC3 ($2500) over the weekend and the Valab absolutely killed the BC in terms of emotion and realistic musical presentation. The BC was able to extract the details, mapped out the soundstage with the accuracy of a blue print with all the objective measurements, spacing, etc. However, the presentation was dry, sterile sounding and cold if I were to label the sound. In other words the "music" and its essence were gone. YMMV

If you have not listened to this super little DAC, you don't know what you're missing and obviously don't know what you're talking about.

Kenobi

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fidelity /img/forum/go_quote.gif
$150, $180, now $200?!!!

It won't be too long before they jack up the price again, the DAC is very cheap to build, for the price there are better DACs available for less.


 
Feb 2, 2009 at 5:06 PM Post #785 of 1,583
Only few tells us about his other gear with which they have tested our little DAC.
I follow the suggestion that I have read here so I'll write my impressions after the burn in of about 300 hours, i.e. 14 days run.
The new DAC of January seems more gentle in combining with the other equipment, so it sounds good from the start up.
Now it runs since days and it is not so hot as the previous model. Good job, Kevin!
A friend told me that the lack of an output buffer of the previous DAC could cause some interconnect problems with the preamplifier because Dac's output impedance (about 2K ohm) differs from the impedance of the preamplifier (50 to 400 ohm). Could it be truth?
Ciao from Rome,
Hist.
 
Feb 2, 2009 at 5:10 PM Post #786 of 1,583
Quote:

Originally Posted by dwong /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Have you heard this dac? Which dac did you have in mind that trumps the valab? I think to many this would still fit snugly into a budget setup.


Quote:

Originally Posted by Kenobi /img/forum/go_quote.gif
FYI, I just did a mini comparo with the Bel Canto DAC3 ($2500) over the weekend and the Valab absolutely killed the BC in terms of emotion and realistic musical presentation. The BC was able to extract the details, mapped out the soundstage like a blue print with all the objective measurements, spacing, etc. However, the presentation was dry, sterile sounding and cold if I were to label the sound. In other words the "music" and its essence were gone. YMMV

If you have not listened to this super little DAC, you don't know what you're missing and obviously don't know what you're talking about.

Kenobi


I do agree with you dwong and Kenobi. Although I don't have a chance to have a listen to the DAC 3, I still really impressed by my 2009 version Valab
atsmile.gif
, amazing sound in it's value and have headroom of improve by replacing better parts such as caps and resistors.
 
Feb 2, 2009 at 10:24 PM Post #789 of 1,583
Finally got around to doing a head to head A/B of the 2009Valab board vs. the old board. (No mods).

Conclusion: The 2009 Valab Dac sounds much better.

How much better you ask... Lots Better! The sound is simply more relaxed and heading towards the sound of live instruments. At first I thought this was happening at the expense of a loss of resolution, but further listening proved this was not the case. In fact resolution is dramatically increased in the 3 dimensional soundstage. I first noticed this in the bass, but I now I hear that it extends to the whole frequency range. Bongo's, drums, cymbals, triangles, guitar, massed strings.... everything!

The soundstage sounds softer because the instruments are now presented in real 3D space. The old board still sounds natural with the same huge soundstage but the individual instruments are not as 3D, it’s as if they are compressed into a smaller space. This makes them sound louder but definitely not as realistic. If your system can take advantage of this "live" presentation then in you are in for a real treat.

I always had trouble listening to Classical music with digital audio, it just sounded hyped up. Anybody who attends live Classical performances will know what I mean. The overall sound is "soft", yet at times a trombone can rip your head off and a triangle can ring in your ear from 100 feet away. The new board brings this kind of relaxed dynamic presentation with the noise free, flat frequency response that only digital provides. Very cool!

Digging deeper into my music library I discovered that this effect was not just limited to acoustic instruments but to any properly recorded music. Dire Straits Brothers in Arm which I always thought was a tad bright and a bit heavy handed on the EQ, came off very natural sounding with guitar riffs that simply..... Crunched!

All this for $200 …. you have got to be @#$%+&* kidding me! If this doesn't work for you, it's not the Dac, it your crappy sounding system.
 
Feb 3, 2009 at 12:07 AM Post #790 of 1,583
Quote:

Originally Posted by Bill Allen /img/forum/go_quote.gif
All this for $200 …. you have got to be @#$%+&* kidding me! If this doesn't work for you, it's not the Dac, it your crappy sounding system.



Well, I tried the late Dec. 2008 version, and I don't like it that much. The DAC has now about 200 hrs, maybe more. First of all, after 2-3 hour operation it's getting really hot, and crackling noises apper instead of bass. Even at low temp, right after turning it on, I clearly hear a lot of distortion when testing with sine wave from a signal generator. Even with an internal sound card (ESI Juli@ and SB Live! 24-bit) I get perfectly clear sound using the same software generator. I don't know if this is my DAC only, or it is the TDA1543 chip creating those high harmonics, but I don't like it. I'm shipping it back now, and I'm not sure if I should try the 2009 version, or jump to the Keces 151 mk2.
 
Feb 3, 2009 at 12:55 AM Post #791 of 1,583
Quote:

Originally Posted by Bill Allen /img/forum/go_quote.gif
All this for $200 …. you have got to be @#$%+&* kidding me!


That is Great!
The description you give the 2009 sounds like what my modded 2008 sounds like. Imagine what is going to happen with your 2009 after it burns in it's mods.

I also imagine a few of these DACs do show up with assembly line faults. They don't call it the bleeding edge for nothing. Early adopters pay dues. In 30 days my DAC is already a 'previous version.' But the price? C'mon. Big win.
 
Feb 3, 2009 at 1:39 AM Post #792 of 1,583
well, dont' know if i'd call it bleeding edge, hehe, the dac chip is about 20 years old, and the design is pretty old too, just an updated DAC-AH really. I sure wish mine would show up, Keces is looking better everyday, though it comes from China too, hehe to bad nothing american made competes at this price range.. i'd have to spend 600$ on something like a Channel Islands VDA-2. Though, admitedly the vda-2 probably best both of these. I got fine dining taste on a mcdonalds budget.
 
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