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Yulong's new DA8
Aug 5, 2013 at 2:02 AM Post #452 of 544
I am interested too.   
 
Only found very brief comments in Chinese forum:
 
http://www.erji.net/read.php?tid=1484175&fpage=0&toread=&page=2
"Comparing DAC section only with Benchmark DAC2 and Northstar USB32,    DA8 won, by a large margin"
 
http://www.erji.net/read.php?tid=1476165&fpage=0&toread=&page=4
"The build quality of DA8 is better than Northstar Essensio,   and much better than Benchmark DAC2"
 
 
 
 
 
Quote:
microcare said:
any forum -  discussing about DA8 vs DAC2 HGC ?
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Aug 5, 2013 at 11:16 PM Post #453 of 544
Yfei, thanks for the links, ya, read that, only describe very brief about the appetence. what is more important is the SQ. looking at the specification, DAC2 is the winner. price of DAC2  is much higher, for sure, I would expect better performance  
 
Aug 6, 2013 at 12:51 AM Post #454 of 544
Quote:
microcare said:
Yfei, thanks for the links, ya, read that, only describe very brief about the appetence. what is more important is the SQ. looking at the specification, DAC2 is the winner. price of DAC2  is much higher, for sure, I would expect better performance  
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Agree.  From plots, it is clear that DAC2 has flatter frequency response,  and DA8 has a drop at high frequencies starting from 10kHz, and reaches ~ -0.2db at 22kHz.  That's a lot.       This might be the reason for many people mentioning DA8 being more listenable, and DAC2 being bright.      For this reason I will go with DAC2, because I never feel DAC1 being bright.
But at people also mentioning DA8's sound stage is more realistic, more layered lows.     It's a tough call. 
 
Aug 14, 2013 at 12:42 PM Post #455 of 544
microcare said:
Yfei, thanks for the links, ya, read that, only describe very brief about the appetence. what is more important is the SQ. looking at the specification, DAC2 is the winner. price of DAC2  is much higher, for sure, I would expect better performance  
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Price should not be a factor in sq.
 
Aug 14, 2013 at 2:30 PM Post #456 of 544
Quote:
yfei said:
 
Agree.  From plots, it is clear that DAC2 has flatter frequency response,  and DA8 has a drop at high frequencies starting from 10kHz, and reaches ~ -0.2db at 22kHz.  That's a lot.       This might be the reason for many people mentioning DA8 being more listenable, and DAC2 being bright.      For this reason I will go with DAC2, because I never feel DAC1 being bright.
But at people also mentioning DA8's sound stage is more realistic, more layered lows.     It's a tough call. 
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I think you are referring to this chart:
 
 
SABRE-da8-FR-THD.jpg

 
I really don't think a .2dB drop (which doesn't really hit until 22kHz) will make any significant difference at all. The original D100 DAC had "sound mode 2" which was -3dB above 15kHz for a "smoother" sound. It was barely audible. The D100 mkII dropped the cutoff point to 10kHz and it was more noticeable but still not super-obvious with some music. If that 3dB change was kind of hard to spot even at 10kHz, I can't imagine the DA8 with its roll-off being 15 times smaller would make any difference. 
 
Aug 16, 2013 at 11:25 AM Post #460 of 544
Quote:
rubenpp said:
I just got my DA8 back from Yulong and I'm happy to report that my previous issue regarding DSD playback has been fixed. Thanks to Rachel at GrantFidelity for the great support 
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My pleasure. We will do our very best to serve all our customers. Thank you again for your trust to us and your business. Rachel @ Grant Fidelity 
 
Oct 6, 2013 at 7:38 AM Post #461 of 544
mrcasey said:
   
As I mentioned earlier; the DA8 has a very visceral and exciting/emotionally engaging sound to me.  Difficult to make any early conclusions on.  Definitely a unique sound.
 
I might have degraded my ability to make a valuable comparative judgement of this DAC due to my recent (3 weeks) change from the LCD 2.3 to the LCD 3.  Even though it has been 3 weeks, the LCD 3 is different enough from the LCD2.3 (despite what I was expecting) that I might not have become accustomed to it to the extent that I can subtract the headphone change from my impressions of the DA8 as compared to the Hilo (my current flagship).  That being said, the DA8 seems very “exciting” and “invigorating” to listen to.  It definitely puts a smile on my face.
 
I feel the DA8 does an extraordinary job on the DSD files.  It also kicks ass with DXD files.  Please "do" try this material with the DA8 if you get the chance.  In this context (DSD) it might even rival the Hilo (on DSD 64, Hilo does not do DSD 128 or DXD).  So far I have set my DA8 only to “sharp” filter mode and “bypass” on jitter eliminator.  No doubt different settings will influence the sound of the DA8.  There are enough options to play with that it could take a while to settle down with an "final" opinion on the DA8.  Also, I have not even tried the HP out.  I doubt I will for a while as this capability is of no concern to me.
 
Quick Hilo comparison: When I listen to the Hilo I hear nothing.  It makes me forget I have a DAC.  It seems to have no specific "character" type of  influence on the sound and at the same time is relaxing and soothing to listen to while oozing detail, texture any layers of sound.  What exactly these two DACs do with those details is where they diverge.  The Hilo, IMHO, just plays them as they were laid down.  The DA8 makes you get excited about them.  I hope this makes some sort of sense. I can’t yet say which is better.
 
The DA8 is a supercar.  No doubt I am not putting this into words properly.  Take no serious impressions away from my words here.  These are still early impressions. 
 
The Hilo sounds perfect in my 2 channel system.  The synergy of the Hilo in my tube/SS class A, bi amped 2 channel system is a match made in heaven (not that I have been there).  It will be a while yet before I can try the DA8 in my 2 channel set up.  Based on initial impressions, and speculating a bit I guess, if I were to play music for friends (non audiophile) with the intent to impress, the DA8 would be my DAC of choice.  If I had a seasoned audiophile over, I would probably need to play both DACs to show off my both my HP or 2 channel system.  Do you want to arrive at destination via  Ferrari or a Royals Royce?  Two distinct rides, neither of which is likely to disappoint. IMHO, only personal preference could decide the winner.
 
I lack the exposure to enough DACs to give any sort of broad perspective on the DA8.  So far though, be sure you are wearing a seat belt before you take the DA8 for a drive.
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I'm tempted to pull the trigger on a DA8 to compare with Lynx Hilo and Antelope Gold. I've been awaiting the Antelope Platinum, but I have a feeling the Yulong w/ Amanero board will prove worthwhile.
 
I plan to run Hilo and DA8 balanced into the Gold and compare.
 
Oct 30, 2013 at 6:50 PM Post #462 of 544
Some of you may remember I had issues with my DA8. It was making noises when I switched from one type of resolution to another. I had purchased it from Tam Audio. After communicating with Yulong, and not solving the problem I sent it back in early August to Tam Audio and I just received a new one a few days ago. No issues, so now I can concentrate on the music. :cool:
 
Oct 30, 2013 at 6:53 PM Post #463 of 544
slingshot80 said:
Some of you may remember I had issues with my DA8. It was making noises when I switched from one type of resolution to another. I had purchased it from Tam Audio. After communicating with Yulong, and not solving the problem I sent it back in early August to Tam Audio and I just received a new one a few days ago. No issues, so now I can concentrate on the music.
cool.gif
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Geez, it took that long? What did they do, send it on a barge both ways?
 
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