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Yulong's new DA8
Jun 10, 2013 at 5:32 PM Post #242 of 544
Quote:
mojolo said:
 
Thanks for the continued impressions mrcasey. This dac sounds impressive and the fact that it's rivaling much more expensive foes and has native DSD ticks all the boxes. When I saw tamaudio's offering $200 off, I had to bite... DA8 here we come. If anyone else is interested, Tam Audio's 4th anniversary coupons are on their blog (good until June 30). I've dealt with them before - smooth transaction and responsive to emails. Most head-fiers bought their M-stage amps from them so there's lots of info in the forums.
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Warning: Coupon is either invalid, expired or reached it's usage limit!
 
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Jun 10, 2013 at 6:01 PM Post #244 of 544
Quote:
mojolo said:
Had the same problem at first... you need to create an account and be logged in, and then the coupon will work.
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That worked. Thanks!!
 
Jun 11, 2013 at 9:38 AM Post #245 of 544
So I spent some more time with the DA8 yesterday, and have a few more observations.
 
*The headphone amp is just great. Was using LCD-2 and HD800, and it sounded as good as many stand along amps in the $400-700 range. Definitely "good enough" for a lot of users where it could be their only amp, and great for bringing the option of quality headphone listening to people who would normally run the DA8 in a speaker rig.
 
*Jitter reduction on/off does make a difference. So far I like it better when turned off, but I've been using really low jitter transports so perhaps that's why.
 
*The filter (slow or fast) makes a smaller difference than the jitter reduction. You might notice it but it's definitely not night and day.
 
*The option to go pure DAC with fixed outputs is very welcome. And the push button activation is quite intuitive. 
 
*The DA8 is significantly better than the D18. Which is impressive. I tried both back to back on my Stax rig, and the D18 sounds great..... until you switch to the DA8. It reminds me of switching from the LCD-2 to the Stax Omega 2 - all sounds great and you don't think it could possibly be better. Then you switch and it really is better. 
 
*Still haven't had a chance to try DSD. Dang. Laptop was having issues so it took up the time I intended to use for that. Will try again. 
 
Jun 11, 2013 at 12:45 PM Post #248 of 544
I am very curious where exactly is DA8s DAC section placed amongst its competition, especially newest stuff like X-Sabre, Tobby, DAC-100 etc. My Svetlana 2 should be finished in a week or so and now it's time to finally make my mind on DAC (that's why I am not interested in DA8 in any other regard, just as pure DAC. No disrespect to its internal headamp but I don't think it can keep it up with Svetlana 2). For a while I thought I could settle down with X-Sabre, but DA8s coming really shook my decision on that and now I am buried in reviews, impressions and comparisons again :)
 
Jun 11, 2013 at 12:49 PM Post #249 of 544
Quote:
mcullinan said:
Nice project... what about warmth wise. Way more neutral. A touch more. About the same? Ill be using single ended out to speakers and the head amp of course... to my HD598.
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It's interesting.... I'd call it similarly warm overall, but yet it comes off as more detailed due to not having the slight downward tilt on the top end like D18 does. In a way it's a departure from the D18 sound, but it's still got some family resemblance. 
 
I'm also curious to hear the Audio GD Ref 7.1 comparison because I've heard descriptions of the Master 8 that make it seem similar to the DA8. 
 
Jun 11, 2013 at 5:15 PM Post #250 of 544
Some very brief comparisons between DA8 and D100 MK1:
Soundstage wise, DA8 is significantly better than D100. Because of bigger soundstage, DA8 has better layering and is more capable of identifying the locations of each instrument.
Smoothness: DA8 sounds much smoother compared to D100, which results in a more analog sounding of DA8.
Lows: DA8 is more controlled, but D100 is also a good performer. DA8 is also slightly more punchier. 
Mids: Compared to DA8, D100 is more recessed and has less clarity (how to define this?).
Highs: DA8's doesn't extend to what I've expected to be, but I'm not saying DA8 doesn't has a good high extension.
Overall, DA8 makes my D100 MK1 feels like a flat and harsh sounding DAC :frowning2:...
But if you just listen to D100 MK1, it definitly does a good job in that price range.
 
Thanks,
 
Robin
 
Jun 11, 2013 at 5:24 PM Post #251 of 544
Quote:
superliu said:
Some very brief comparisons between DA8 and D100:
Soundstage wise, DA8 is significantly better than D100. Because of bigger soundstage, DA8 has better layering and is more capable of identifying the locations of each instrument.
Smoothness: DA8 sounds much smoother compared to D100, which results in a more analog sounding of DA8.
Lows: DA8 is more controlled, but D100 is also a good performer. DA8 is also slightly more punchier. 
Mids: Compared to DA8, D100 is more recessed and has less clarity (how to define this?).
Highs: DA8's doesn't extend to what I've expected to be, but I'm not saying DA8 doesn't has a good high extension.
Overall, DA8 makes my D100 feels like a flat and harsh sounding DAC :frowning2:...
But if you just listen to D100, it definitly does a good job in that price range.
 
Thanks,
 
Robin
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Good impressions. Can you clarify - is that D100 mkII or original model?
 
Jun 11, 2013 at 6:04 PM Post #253 of 544
Quote:
superliu said:
It is D100 MK1.  I've already clarified in the original post. Thanks!
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Thanks, I can see how the DA8 might sound less extended compared to the original D100. That whole device is tilted a little towards the top end so comparisons can be somewhat difficult.
 
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