DACs from USA ?

[ravi_d]

I do not like the treble i hear from the current setup of rotel/MA/oppo. It could be coz of no stands and oppo in general is not a warm, neutral sounding. When we auditioned oppo along with different DACs, i didn't like the highs from oppo/CA/rdac as they are bit harsh to my ears and would easily cause fatigue in 30 mins listening.

Considering my speicific personal preference for highs and not listening to any of the DACs other than CA, Audio gd and MF, would it be a safe bet to get a EE/Rega/Audiolab etc ?

From the reviews and from various forum discussions I came across I learnt the ESS Sabre 32 based DAC's tend to have analytical sound signature.

Here is a definition of Analytical sound from other famous forum

An analytical sound signature usually refers to a neutral and detail sound. Neutral as bass to mid range is relatively flat, often gives a sense of thinness and coldness. Upper vocal, especially female, tends to get better highlighted than lower (male) vocal. Plenty of sparkles and crispiness; higher in resolution and separation but usually has medium to small soundstage.

I think you should stay away from buying a DAC without trying them.

 

[square_wave]

From the reviews and from various forum discussions I came across I learnt the ESS Sabre 32 based DAC's tend to have analytical sound signature.

Here is a definition of Analytical sound from other famous forum

I think you should stay away from buying a DAC without trying them.

This is a very open ended statement.

You can make a very cold or warm or bland sounding DAC with any chip. It all depends on the implementation of different stages in the design.

Theoretically speaking, the EES Sabre has a very flat response making it a very good choice for creating DACs which are very neutral.

 

[ravi_d]

This is a very open ended statement.

You can make a very cold or warm or bland sounding DAC with any chip. It all depends on the implementation of different stages in the design.

Theoretically speaking, the EES Sabre has a very flat response making it a very good choice for creating DACs which are very neutral.

I never heard someone mentioning ESS based DAC's sounding warmer. My statement is just to warn the OP not to buy something just based on the reviews.

 

[BLASTO]

I never heard someone mentioning ESS based DAC's sounding warmer. My statement is just to warn the OP not to buy something just based on the reviews.

Did you hear the Audio GD before buying? hyeah:

 

[ravi_d]

Did you hear the Audio GD before buying? hyeah:

Good question. The UK Audio-GD dealer offers 30 days trail period. But as I'm travelling down to India in order to reduce the luggage I just ordered it from China and got it delivered to India. The UK price with 20% VAT almost equals the price from the manufacturer in China with shipping to India + customs.

What I like in Audio-GD is they top quality audio grade components and don't hide what goes into their equipment. They amount of information they provide on their products is amazing (if you can understand).

The model I bought NFB-5 has an optional op-amp based output stage along with the discrete output stage which I can use to roll the op-amps to suit my listening taste. Also Texas Instruments DIR9001 based spdif module is offered as a replacement to stock Wolfson WM8805 spdif module to those looking for more neutral performance. The WM8741 DAC chips (one chip per channel) are top of line from Wolfson.

Presently it utilizes an Adaptive USB implementation based on Tenor TE7022 usb controller with 24 bit 96 kHz support. A month later the DAC I bought was offered with an Asynchronous USB input module based on Tenor TE8802 with 24 bit 192 kHz support. Now the newer USB module is offered to the users to as an upgrade which requires little soldering skills. The same module can be used in DIY dac projects too.

The interesting part is the flexibility it offers with tweaking is not every one offer.