[realmassy]

agree,   yulong posted that he achieved better measurements compared to weiss 202.     early listener's impression is that performance is on par with 202, the only difference is sound characteristics.    

from the measurement charts on erji.net, it is on par with benchmark dac2 hgc's plots.   can't find good chars of 202 measurements online.

http://www.stereophile.com/content/weiss-dac202-firewire-da-converter-measurements

The Weiss DAC202 is the best-measuring D/A processor I have measured in my quarter-century career at Stereophile. It just doesn't get any better than this!—John Atkinson

 

[mrcasey]

Now, if somebody who knows how to read all those charts would be kind enough to decipher them for those of us who don't.

 

[mrcasey]

I was able to find this out although it seems that there are no surprises with this:
 
"DA8 is an intergrated unit but headphone amplification cannot compete with A18 - according to Yulong. It will be better than A100, but not as good as A18. "
 
No problem.  It is my intent to pair the DA8 with the A18 anyway.

 

[project86]

Quote:

Now, if somebody who knows how to read all those charts would be kind enough to decipher them for those of us who don't.

 
Essentially it translates to a very linear performance, both in the analog and digital domains. Exceedingly low noise floor, very high resolution, very low distortion. 
 
Quote:

I was able to find this out although it seems that there are no surprises with this:
 
"DA8 is an intergrated unit but headphone amplification cannot compete with A18 - according to Yulong. It will be better than A100, but not as good as A18. "
 
No problem.  It is my intent to pair the DA8 with the A18 anyway.

 
It's cool that it even exceeds the A100 - which is a pretty nice little amp on its own! 

 

[mrcasey]

Thanks project86.  Are you able to discern how the DA8 compares to the DAC202 from what these charts show?

 

[project86]

Quote:

Thanks project86.  Are you able to discern how the DA8 compares to the DAC202 from what these charts show?

 
 
Nope. Just that they both offer exceptional measured performance, up there with some of the very best I've seen. But that's no guarantee that they sound similar. 

 

[T.F.O.A]

Project86, you'll be reviewing this one too right?

 

[project86]

Quote:

Project86, you'll be reviewing this one too right?

 
We'll see. I'm super interested in it, but also happen to be crazy busy with other stuff. But I'd like to try and make time for it. 

 

[Grant Fidelity]

Official listing is posted now - http://shop.grantfidelity.com/Yulong-Sabre-DA8-Ultra-Low-Distortion-DSD-32bit-384KHz-D-A-Converter-Balanced-Pre-Amplifier-Class-A-Headphone-Amplifier.html
 
The MSRP is set by Yulong for outside of China at 1299 USD (including shipping). Pre-order is open with $100 discount matching discount offered in China. 
 
Grant Fidelity and Yulong Audio will also participate to support Boston bombing victims by donating 1 out 10 sales proceeds to The One Fund Boston for all sales on DA8 from now until July 1st. 
 
Thanks for everyone's support and interest in Yulong products. 
Rachel @ Grant Fidelity 

 

[EraserXIV]

 and here I was hesitating at $1100, now it rises to $1200 within a matter of minutes.

 

[Grant Fidelity]

Quote:

 and here I was hesitating at $1100, now it rises to $1200 within a matter of minutes.

sorry - it was a misunderstanding whether the $1100 includes shipping or not. We have to abide by same price as set by Yulong and in line with all other dealers. 

 

[khaine1711]

Can we get a translation on this?
 

 
If I understand/guess it correctly, the Amanero is drawing power from the toroidal, and feed the Sabre in 2 way, the normal way which still has the reclocking of Sabre, and direct via I2S bypassing all reclocking?
 
If this is the case, I'm quite interested in the unit. My DAC is using a similar approach (also an Amanero OEM board, drawing power from toroidal, feeding a R2R dac via i2s). Also a DA8 + P18 bundle would be nice =p.

 

[mrcasey]

I just ordered the DA8 in silver from Grant Fidelity.  It will match my P18/A18 stack quite nice I think.  Now what to do with the D18???   

 

[project86]

Quote:

Official listing is posted now - http://shop.grantfidelity.com/Yulong-Sabre-DA8-Ultra-Low-Distortion-DSD-32bit-384KHz-D-A-Converter-Balanced-Pre-Amplifier-Class-A-Headphone-Amplifier.html
 
The MSRP is set by Yulong for outside of China at 1299 USD (including shipping). Pre-order is open with $100 discount matching discount offered in China. 
 
Grant Fidelity and Yulong Audio will also participate to support Boston bombing victims by donating 1 out 10 sales proceeds to The One Fund Boston for all sales on DA8 from now until July 1st. 
 
Thanks for everyone's support and interest in Yulong products. 
Rachel @ Grant Fidelity 

 
Nice!
 
Quote:

 and here I was hesitating at $1100, now it rises to $1200 within a matter of minutes.

 
 
Well to be fair, the very first post in this thread does estimate a range of $1000-1300 USD. Of course cheaper is always better but this isn't an unexpected price.
 
 
Quote:

Can we get a translation on this?
 

 
If I understand/guess it correctly, the Amanero is drawing power from the toroidal, and feed the Sabre in 2 way, the normal way which still has the filters of Sabre, and direct via I2S bypassing all filters (same as AES input)?
 
If this is the case, I'm quite interested in the unit. My DAC is using a similar approach (also an Amanero OEM board, drawing power from toroidal, feeding a R2R dac via i2s). Also a DA8 + P18 bundle would be nice =p.

 
It definitely looks like the Amanero gets power from the PSU rather than the USB line. I'm not sure what you mean about filters though - looks like all inputs feed into that mystery chip (to the right of Amanero in the pic) and then out to the ES9018. That chip has integrated filters inside, probably two from ESS and 3 from Yulong (I'm guessing on that part). But I don't know what you mean when you say "bypassing" the filters. Your R2R DAC probably requires a separate chip like a PMD100 or something, but the ESS chips have internal filters. 
 
Quote:

I just ordered the DA8 in silver from Grant Fidelity.  It will match my P18/A18 stack quite nice I think.  Now what to do with the D18???   

 
You're just a Yulong fiend aren't you! Poor D18 will get out out to pasture I suppose. 

 

[mrcasey]

I did break with tradition and purchased a Lynx Hilo recently.  J Without a doubt though, I am a big fan of Yulong’s products.  I'll probably hang on to the D18.  Still love that DAC and mixing a matching can be a lot of fun.