Need expert inputs on the ES9018 DAC Board

[k_vijay12]

Need expert inputs on DAC setup

Experts, can you please help me in evaluating this DAC board?

ES9018 DAC fiber USB I2S BNC Coaxial fiber, USB DSD PCM384K DIY Kit with four layer board design.-in Consumer Electronics on Aliexpress.com

Also, does hi end DAC's decode Dolby, DTS , surround, Tru HD ?? or just PCM.

I am trying to understand the difference between different DAC's .. Can some one be kind to help me understand and decide on a DAC.

Usage : playing HD DTH TV and Blu Ray Discs, Streaming net audio and video and External HDDs (connecting through TV or Blu ray)

I suppose even HD DTH needs a DAC to enhance the audio quality, my present Videocon HD DTH sound quality is not up to mark. Would use my stereo amp with RCA / XLR inputs. Other option i considered is to buy a Blu ray player with inbuilt DAC. But,I am not sure if i can pass the TV audio signal through the Blu ray player. Can some one help me here ? much appreciated.

Thanks

 

[spirovious]

DAC uses PCM input and so you need separate decoders for DTS/DD.If you have decoder circuit,you need 3 DACs to get 5.1.Now ESS9018 has 8 parallel channels and so if they are designed that way,add decoder to get 5.1 out.Getting decoder is tough though.

 

[k_vijay12]

@Sprivious : I don't need a 5.1. Right now I need this for a stereo set up 2.0.. may be wd scale to 2.1. If only PCM output through DAC.... how different wd be the sound quality than with the DTS / Dolby.

Lets say I use a basic FIIO 0D3 DAC which gives only PCM output. what advantage / benefits do I get from ES9018/ES9023 chips over the Fiio's Cirrus chip decoder.

 

[spirovious]

ESS9018 probably is the best DAC chip till date.The one who has DAC with this chip never look for other solutions.It depends on DAC circuit design and implementation.The difference should be vast as per reviews available.Also its 32bit DAC.
Some info-
Is Sabre ES9018 the best DAC chip right now? - Page 2
New ESS9018 Multi-channel design ? looking for community feedback - diyAudio

 

[k_vijay12]

Can you advise on going for a Fiio D-07 DAC for TV/music ? I am little skeptic about shelling big money right away on a good DAC. So thinking of starting with a Fiio D-07 DAC, which costs abt 6.5k

I wd be connecting USB drives to TV / BDP and connect this DAC to TV's digital out. the DAC RCA out wd be connected to the unbalanced points of my amplifier. I think i dont need separate DAC connection for BDP, since BDP is connected to TV HDMI and sound wd be routed through the Digital out of TV.

Also, since i don't have a preamp, would it be appropriate to fix a potentiometer to my amplifier ? or should the volume control must be with DAC ?

If any one is using this kind set up, can u please guide me.