[Chodi]

  FYI - the D18 is now up on m....rop with the lowest price at $560.

I think it's a steal at that price! I have compared mine to many dacs and could never find anything under $1500 that I could say was better (I listen mostly to classical). Of course, you have to add the expense of a good usb converter but still, it is a bargain.
 
P.S. It was called to my attention that comments about this seller are not allowed. You can take my comment about the value of the D18 regardless of who is selling it. I understand it is being discontinued so discounts around the web on remaining stock are not surprising. In the $500-$600 price range the D18 would be a great value and hard to beat at twice the price.

 

[HemiSam]

  I think it's a steal at that price! I have compared mine to many dacs and could never find anything under $1500 that I could say was better (I listen mostly to classical). Of course, you have to add the expense of a good usb converter but still, it is a bargain.
 
P.S. It was called to my attention that comments about this seller are not allowed. You can take my comment about the value of the D18 regardless of who is selling it. I understand it is being discontinued so discounts around the web on remaining stock are not surprising. In the $500-$600 price range the D18 would be a great value and hard to beat at twice the price.

 
Chodi,
 
What do you use for a USB converter?  Thanks.
 
HS

 

[Chodi]

   
Chodi,
 
What do you use for a USB converter?  Thanks.
 
HS

Gustard U10 I bought from Vintage Audio Lab Taiwan. I had a Hiface 2 I used for some time but the Gustard is far better. This Gustard company is from mainland China and they are statring to get some positive comments about their dac's and headphone amps as well as the usb converter. 

 

[HemiSam]

  Gustard U10 I bought from Vintage Audio Lab Taiwan. I had a Hiface 2 I used for some time but the Gustard is far better. This Gustard company is from mainland China and they are statring to get some positive comments about their dac's and headphone amps as well as the usb converter. 

 
Thanks for sharing, Chodi!
 
 

 
HS

 

[Jerryfan]

Cab anyone tell me, if I used a passive preamplifier, could I run a subwoofer out of the rca outputs on the d18 and run the xlr out to my amplifier? Would it compromise the sound at all?

 

[itwriter]

Regarding the question of whether the D18 is reliable, mine is over two years old and is as good as the day I bought it. Just be sure to use high-quality coax and optical cables, because crap ones will result in weird clicking sounds, which I believe is the result of jitter. Use cables that do the D18 justice and you will only hear clean, sweet heaven.

 

[Jasper9395]

I can also vouch for the reliability of the D18. I've owned mine for about two years now and bought it from another headfier. I've never had any issues with it. The build quality seems to be of a high standard both inside and out.

 

[Wynnytsky]

Cab anyone tell me, if I used a passive preamplifier, could I run a subwoofer out of the rca outputs on the d18 and run the xlr out to my amplifier? Would it compromise the sound at all?

I love that the D18 has two outputs, though they are fixed.  I send the XLRs into an integrated tube amp and the RCAs into a big boy system, so it's easy to switch systems without pulling wires.
 
The SVS sub I had last had a variable pass through so if I wanted I could run the DAC's RCA outs into the sub first and then it's variable output could continue into my main amp.
 
The Gustard that Chodi suggested is also gifted with multiple functioning outputs so you can connect multiple DACs (AES,Coax,I2S,opt) to it and A/B/C'ing is just a matter of switching inputs on your preamp.  Comparing USB transports (or USB dacs) is much more painful because you have to stop your player and switch output devices in your software.
 
What I was doing for a while was connecting the Gustard to the D18 with both an AES and coax, and I would throw the switch on the D18 to make an instant comparison of cables.
 
The D18 was very critical of it's SPDIF signal -- for instance it refused to accept optical from my TV which I though was funny.

 

[itwriter]

 
The D18 was very critical of it's SPDIF signal -- for instance it refused to accept optical from my TV which I though was funny.

 
Agreed. It is very critical of optical. I finally got a QED optical cable that it wasn't too upset with. I wish it had two coax inputs and no optical at all, actually. For some reason, Toslink is a poor option as an audiophile channel, and not just with the Yulong.

 

[Wynnytsky]

bridging your media player to your DAC via optical or wifi has the one benefit of isolated circuits which should mitigate the effects of a discharge.  I think those issues are behind me, but the real test will be the dry winter air.
 
I've never used the XLR=>RCA adapters, but that would give your 2nd coax input.  What USB transport are you using that doesn't have AES?

 

[itwriter]

 
I've never used the XLR=>RCA adapters, but that would give your 2nd coax input.  What USB transport are you using that doesn't have AES?

I don't use a USB transport at all. I feed the Yulong with a networked media streamer via coax and a bluray player via optical.  The DAC does duty in my main system.

 

[conquerator2]

I wish someone compared this to the Gungnir...

 

[Jasper9395]

I wish someone compared this to the Gungnir...

That would be pretty awesome. I would really want to know how the D18 stack up against more recent DACs in general.

 

[Wynnytsky]

After 2 years I'm still smitten with my D18 (thats like 20 audiophile years).  Even ordered the power cord that Mr Yulong makes for DACs.  It's doing duty for 2 stereos so just about every single input&output is connected to something (accept optical yuk)
I recently put a bunch of iFi stuff in front of it and the improvements keep coming.
 
The DAC needn't be on the bleeding edge - 15yr old chips are still in use.  The stuff upstream from the DAC is evolving very quickly.  I was comparing two ESS-9018 DACs and the difference was very slight -- then I started changing USB cables and those changes were easily identified.

 

[Jasper9395]

Interesting stuff, and I agree. I wouldn't hesitate to buy more Yulong products. I'm quite happy with my D18. It really sounds quite nice, not as musical as my record player but its very good in its own right. By upstream you mean USB cables and the USB to SPDIF converter? I'm currently using the first version of the musical fidelity V-link so there is probably quite a bit of improvement to be had in that department for me.