[rubenpp]

Quote:

Shipping back to GF is not the same as shipping back to China. GF is located in Calgary. I suspect you will be promptly looked after.

      It was GF that actually instructed me to ship directly to China. I hope your suspicions come to fruition . Thanks for the support .

 

[cwtim01]

      Thanks MrCasey..definitely trying everything to avoid having to ship it back to China. 
     I bought my DA8 through Grant Fidelity , it is part of their warranty that the customers are responsible for shipping back to them  ..unfortunately I did not read this before making the order.
     
     Would appreciate any advice if anyone here has had previous experience with returns or repair to Yulong?

     TIA

Like mrcasey said you should send it to GF and not to China. But just in case here is my experience when my previous D18 was sent to Yulong for pair:

1. I had a few mail exchanges with Yulong beforehand, to be sure the unit is most likely faulty.
2. Courier it to Yulong's office in Shenzhen. This is the most tricky part, sending any hardware into China are taxable, and one has to highlight it's return for repair (and in Chinese) or else it has a good chance of stucked in the Customs.
3. Once it arrived Yulong's office, he fixed it within a day and even enhanced the heat sink in my unit.
4. It was sent back to me one day after, and Yulong took care of the return shipping cost.

I was extremely impressed with their service

 

[rubenpp]

Quote:

Like mrcasey said you should send it to GF and not to China. But just in case here is my experience when my previous D18 was sent to Yulong for pair:

1. I had a few mail exchanges with Yulong beforehand, to be sure the unit is most likely faulty.
2. Courier it to Yulong's office in Shenzhen. This is the most tricky part, sending any hardware into China are taxable, and one has to highlight it's return for repair (and in Chinese) or else it has a good chance of stucked in the Customs.
3. Once it arrived Yulong's office, he fixed it within a day and even enhanced the heat sink in my unit.
4. It was sent back to me one day after, and Yulong took care of the return shipping cost.

I was extremely impressed with their service

 
Many thanks cwtim01.  I will contact GF again.

 

[Grant Fidelity]

Quote:

 
Many thanks cwtim01.  I will contact GF again.

For DA8 being a high end digital products, there is no known repair shop in North America who can repair a unit as good as Yulong can at the factory without compromising performance. When a unit is reported to have software-like issues, it should definitely be tested by Yulong at factory with the right equipment. Typical repair shops in North America may not have the tools or the knowledge to repair to the level of Yulong will do. All DA8 units if reported with issues with be given a very detailed return shipping instruction to ship to Yulong in China directly for quick repair and/or replacement if deemed necessary. 
 
For those who have concerns with postage to China is more expensive than to Canada, Grant Fidelity will refund the postage difference - all you need to do is to send us the postage payment receipt by .pdf. 
 
Hope this helps clarifies the matter. It's to the buyer's benefit to have a quick repair and service by sending to Yulong directly. Grant Fidelity will cover replacement postage from China once the unit is repaired. 

 

[rubenpp]

Quote:

For DA8 being a high end digital products, there is no known repair shop in North America who can repair a unit as good as Yulong can at the factory without compromising performance. When a unit is reported to have software-like issues, it should definitely be tested by Yulong at factory with the right equipment. Typical repair shops in North America may not have the tools or the knowledge to repair to the level of Yulong will do. All DA8 units if reported with issues with be given a very detailed return shipping instruction to ship to Yulong in China directly for quick repair and/or replacement if deemed necessary. 
 
For those who have concerns with postage to China is more expensive than to Canada, Grant Fidelity will refund the postage difference - all you need to do is to send us the postage payment receipt by .pdf. 
 
Hope this helps clarifies the matter. It's to the buyer's benefit to have a quick repair and service by sending to Yulong directly. Grant Fidelity will cover replacement postage from China once the unit is repaired. 

Thank you for the quick response.

 

[Esprit]

Quote:

For DA8 being a high end digital products, there is no known repair shop in North America who can repair a unit as good as Yulong can at the factory without compromising performance.

 
In Europe we risk to pay customs again if we re import the goods from China.
It's not only a problem of shipping costs. In Europe the seller, not the factory, is obliged by european laws to provide the repair or replacement of the defective goods. 
Now it would be better, for a brand new product, that the seller receives the good then he controls and replace it  with a new unit.
There is something that sellers do not understand: whether they are dollars, yen or euros, the money of the customers are always perfect and have no flaws...
 
Add: We have two years of warranty.
Who wants to sell in Europe must comply with the European laws, there is no distinction between big or small companies:
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/london/news-to-know-italy-fines-apple-sweary-siri-new-year-cell-service/1931
http://www.zdnet.com/apple-tweaks-eu-two-year-warranty-policy-7000016756/

 

[Gordian]

Quote:

 
In Europe we risk to pay customs again if we re import the goods from China.
 

 
Nope, you only pay once customs tax and VAT. If you 're-import' the goods from China, you just need to show your tax receipt to avoid paying them again (or to get refunded)

 

[Esprit]

If you sent the item in China when it returns there are as minimum vat and customs on the shipping cost and on the repair. 
 
You have to pay a carrier even to correctly fill all the documentation (incoming and outgoing)
Since the seller is responsible for the European law, he has (not the customer...) all these problems and costs 

 

[mcullinan]

So Project.. Is this the new standard for Dacs? Whats the word over there?? Remember Loose lips sink ships. And You can lead a horse to water but he will still drink curdled milk and..... 

 

[simomat]

Quote:

The DAC doesn't need driver for Mac. It's "integer" with A+
It uses the Italian Amanero : http://amanero.com

Thank you Esprit I knew You would be there to help me! 

 

[project86]

Quote:

So Project.. Is this the new standard for Dacs? Whats the word over there?? Remember Loose lips sink ships. And You can lead a horse to water but he will still drink curdled milk and..... 

 
To be honest, I haven't had as much time with it as I would have liked. Been a crazy week, sick kids, all kinds of stuff. And I just wrapped up two other reviews that required some last minute listening. But now I'm hoping to have more time to spend with it in the coming weeks. 
 
That said, from the time I've spend with it, it is definitely up there. Direct comparison with the D18 shows the DA8 to be superior in almost every way. Which is saying a lot. The DA8 headphone stage is surprisingly good too - running an HD800 straight from there, it's really enjoyable, to the point where I don't know I'd bother getting an external amp unless it was rather high end. 
 
Is the DA8 better than the Matrix X-Sabre, or even the Anedio D2? That I can't say for sure. Yet. So far I'd say it is probably up there, but once you get to that level it becomes a battle of small aspects rather than huge sweeping improvements. Time will tell. 

 

[didge70]

And compared to the Violectric V800? Is the V800 also in the same league?

 

[project86]

Quote:

And compared to the Violectric V800? Is the V800 also in the same league?

 
Yes, definitely in the same league. Better? Not sure yet. Maybe. Probably more like "different" rather than "better" but you never know. 

 

[customNuts]

Quote:

 
Many thanks cwtim01.  I will contact GF again.

Hi Ruben, have you had a chance to compare the usb input with the OR5?? 
 
Also Grant Fid are excellent to deal with whether it's a warranty or a purchase. They will look after you mate, just follow their instructions. 

 

[project86]

So I got a chance to spend some time with the DA8 yesterday. I removed the Audiophilleo AP1 + PurePower from the chain and connected my Auraliti PK90 server directly to the DA8 via USB. I was able to successfully play several different DSD tracks without issue. I tried DXD and it didn't work right, but I've had that issue before so I suspect it might be an issue with the PK90 rather than the DA8. 
 
Anyway, playing really high quality PCM and DSD tracks through the DA8, then out to a Stax SRA-12S powering an SR-007mkII, the result was phenomenal. I used my favorite DSD track of all time - Eric Bibb "Where the Green Grass Grows". Dang. The DA8 handles it extremely well. It's "Hi-Fi" without sounding forced in the least. Very natural, with a sense of ease to it, like it isn't even trying hard. 
 
Next I tried some plain old PCM tracks, classics like Tears in Heaven and Comfortably Numb and even Hotel California (yuck, not again). Despite its easy going nature, the DA8 really digs an amazing amount of detail out of these redbook tracks. So in that sense it isn't quite as laid back as the D18. At the same time, it's not as forward and detail oriented overall as the Anedio D2 or Violectric V800, and definitely less so than the Firestone Audio Tobby. 
 
After that, I realized my description of the DA8 was lining up closely with my description of the Matrix X-Sabre. I moved some things around in my rack and got them both connected to my SRA-12S for easy switching back and forth. But that's where I ran into trouble - I intended to run the DA8 straight from my Auraliti server, and the X-Sabre from a laptop over USB. But as I grabbed the laptop I realized the battery was dead. Oops! I have another laptop but it's got drivers loaded for a different DAC and I don't like to install more than one at a time, so I couldn't use that. Discouraged, and running out of time, I quite for the night. But I'll be back for more soon!