Valab NOS DAC, anyone using it?
Oct 26, 2008 at 11:56 PM Thread Starter Post #1 of 54
espressogeek

espressogeek

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Oct 27, 2008 at 3:34 AM Post #3 of 54
i have the moon dac which looks like the valab with some slight differences which was $200 delivered.
i luuuuuvv this dac,what a wonderful musical organic sounding dac!!
one thing to note that it sounds bright and harsh for the first 100 hours and then it smooths right out and warms right up
dt880smile.png

great value for little coin!
its also very transportable!
 
Oct 27, 2008 at 4:14 PM Post #4 of 54
I've contacted the builder several times to buy one and I keep getting the same answer that they are not ready, he was having a problem sourcing some parts. There is an English forum where a Valab owner claimed it bettered his Pink Triangle Decapo Dac which I believe are pretty pricey.

Phill
 
Oct 27, 2008 at 4:52 PM Post #5 of 54
Well, I just went to E-bay and they had one available for $150.00 with free shipping so I bought it, seems like an excellent value. I'll let you know what I think when I get it, I'll be able to compare it with a Paradisea Dac.

Phill
 
Oct 27, 2008 at 5:01 PM Post #6 of 54
Never seen that one mentioned before.
But it certainly seems like a quite nice and affordable DAC.
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Oct 27, 2008 at 6:30 PM Post #7 of 54
The board layout looks to be different on the Valab and the Moon Dac, otherwise they look to be very similar. It looks like there are 5 more Valab Dacs available on E-Bay, of course I have no affiliation just a customer with the ebee jebees waiting for this thing to arrive.

Phill
 
Oct 27, 2008 at 6:49 PM Post #8 of 54
So.... tempted....

I need a DAC as well. Hmmm, should really get an amp first.
 
Oct 30, 2008 at 2:32 AM Post #10 of 54
Wow thanks for the feedback. I think I will pick this up if I can find an affordable CDP that has optical out. I could just use my laptop and USB (i think) but I not nuts about that. I just like to rock the CD.
 
Oct 31, 2008 at 2:46 AM Post #12 of 54
I wouldn't be surprised if the NOS DAC had become a bit of the rage in China as its fairly simple circuit would be easy to manufacture cheaply.
 
Oct 31, 2008 at 5:31 PM Post #13 of 54
Quote:

Originally Posted by tubes /img/forum/go_quote.gif
I'll have a Valab Dac delivered later next week and I'll let you know what I think.


Nice! We need impressions of highly affordable DAC's like this one, since more and more Head-Fi'ers get their eyes up for external DACs. But not all of them have loads of $$ to spend.

Keep us posted!
biggrin.gif
 
Oct 31, 2008 at 5:44 PM Post #14 of 54
I e-mailed the ebay seller. There should be more up in the next week or so. He is currently building the new batch.

I am tempted. But then im really keen to see what iBasso pull out with the D10...
 
Oct 31, 2008 at 9:18 PM Post #15 of 54
One of the features I like about this Dac is the aluminum heat sink that covers the 8 Dac chips which throw off considerable heat, I also like the lack of an op-amp in the output stage, it also appears that there is plenty of room to go in and upgrade caps if desired. Hell if this thing is good I'll get another for my 2nd system. On his webpage he mentions something about reclocking, not very clear but hopefully it will not be over sensitive to transports.

BTW, tracking tells me it's in the air headed for JFK.

Phill
 
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