The Objective DAC is Here!

Audiodoc

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Finally after a weeks eager waiting the ODAC finally arrives. I have been working for the last one hour to carve out an enclosure for the same from the FiiO E11 case. Fortunately I have been able to install in in a way that I can still carry the E11 in it without hindering the DAC performance. Great for potability.

Here are the specs.
NwAvGuy: ODAC Released

Price $99.

Sounds great totally transparent and analytical so less forgiving for poor recordings than my tube DIY DAC but is true to the source as expected. Is believed to sound comparable to the DAC1 Pre.

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Something I am looking at quite keenly! The O2 and the ODAC! Please, audiodoc, detailed impressions of the same.
 
That is looking very nice. Making three hole in a tin box might not sound like much, but I'm impressed that you managed it in as little as one hour, as I can imagine that the actual cutting and drilling is the easy bit: holding it, without marking it, while you did that, must have been a challenge.

I have the combination ODAC/Headphone Amp on my Want list.
 
A lot been written about it on Head Fi as well as the designers forum. in short is worth buying if you you have high quality recordings.

The flat frequency response is quiet evident as well as the fine detailed midrange. Have just received it from JDS labs US. Didn't buy the enclosure as they charge $50.

I already have three DACs (two of which are DIY the third being the FiiO E7) and the Hifiman 601 which has a NOS DAC. I needed this a an external sound card. definitely worth the $99 however would have been better if the components will be available freely so I could do some DIYing for say around half its price. Similar products from from boutique vendors cost more that twice its price.

Will listen to it on the EHHA and the A1 clone before I describe it. Though I believe an ideal DAC / amplifier should have no sound signature of its own. I think this willl be one of them.
 
Yes I have the tools for making round holes (A drill and a dremel) however the USB input was the challenge however I managed it with a tiny nail followed by a flat file and some dremel polishing from the inside. I would have preferred a hole in the shape of the usb input however made a slightly bigger rectangle to prevent the same to been in connection with the enclosure leading to some noise (as reported by some). The analog outputs are isolated from the case. Am planning to use a small plastic strip around the USB hole marked USB in will highlight the look as well as pevent any dust entering inside.
 
Yes I have the tools for making round holes (A drill and a dremel) however the USB input was the challenge however I managed it with a tiny nail followed by a flat file and some dremel polishing from the inside. I would have preferred a hole in the shape of the usb input however made a slightly bigger rectangle to prevent the same to been in connection with the enclosure leading to some noise (as reported by some). The analog outputs are isolated from the case. Am planning to use a small plastic strip around the USB hole marked USB in will highlight the look as well as pevent any dust entering inside.

You have personified the term " Ingenious "

Brilliant work
 
Great work with the enclosure.

Just curious, did you get charged any customs for this? If so, can you please post how much?
 
It is a tiny pcb came in a letter envelope via usps. The postman had drooped the same in my letter box. Small things especially PCBs and small sized / number of electronic components easily evade customs. I am happy with the quality and performance and interested in the objective desktop headphone amplifier. Let us see when it releases. BTW has anybody on the forum assembled the O2 headphone amplifier.
 
I got the ODAC and my O2 last week. Managed to solder all the components over the weekend. Putting the O2 together was a breeze as soldering took only a couple of hours and it came along with the enclosure.

I received the package via regular parcel post. No customs charged. I had Stefan @ HeadnHifi include the invoice and the paypal payment conformation print out with the package.

All in all, for $150, I have a pretty solid Headphone rig which drives the AKG without breaking a sweat!
 
Congrats Audiodoc,a good DIY work.We expect a little detailed review of this DAC & a comparison too.
 
thanks everyone.

@ surreal. Had planned for the O2 too however prefer to wait for the upcoming desktop version of the same. The desktop version will have aa better power supply circuit with full wave rectification. I currently have the hybrid EHHA as my reference desktop amplifier along with the E9 & DIY A1.
 
Congrats Doc!
I have heard good things about these DAC, looking forward for detailed impressions.
 
This is small enough to hide from your wife you just have to conceal the bill. LOL. Am doing listening sessions with three amplifiers. Will post my impressions later tonight.
 
ODAC IMPRESSIONS

ODAC_Board.jpg
odac.jpg


I am giving an initial impression of the audio performance of the ODAC and comparing it with the other gear I have. The technical aspects and measurements are already on the designers blog.
NwAvGuy: ODAC Released
https://hifiduino.wordpress.com/2012/04/18/odac-revealed/

EQUIPMENT:

Source: Dell L502X USB3.0 Ports
USB Cable: FiiO USB Cable with two ferrite cores at either ends.
Source Material: FLAC / ALAC / 320kbps mp3
Amplifiers: FiiO E9, FiiO E7, DIY Beyerdynamic A1 Clone, Embedded Hybrid Headphone Amplifier (EHHA) BJT Version. (Will check with my FiiO E11 later).
DAC: ODAC, Quad Wolfson 8740 DAC (donated by a fellow forum member), FiiO E7 (Single Wolfson 8740), DIY Burr Brown 1798 DAC, Hifiman HM601 Philips NOS DAC.
Headphones: Sennheiser HD650

Test Albums: Eagles Hotel California, Drooling Dalton, Shania Twain, MJ Billie Jean, Santana, Madonna (Frozen), George Micheal, Piya Basanti by Ustad Sultan Khan (Great bass lines), Rehman (Tracks from Roja, Bombay, Rang De Basanti), Gazals by Jagjit Singh & Mehdi Hassan etc....

ODAC:
First Impression. A very small PCB with two ICs, one being the tenor TE7022 USB interface chip and other the Sabre ES9023 DAC chip with all parts being SMD. Installed it in the FiiO E11 packaging case with still room to store the E11. No windows drivers required. Windows performs a quick check and loads the drivers and the device is recognised as ODAC. Can be connected to ipad using powered USB and camera connection kit and not directly as it derived power from the USB.

Dead Silent as expected (however all the DAC are dead silent except for some noise in the E7 around the audibility threshold). there is no audible evidence of any jitter.

24 bit Adaptive Interface. Software volume control becomes viable without loss of detail.

I prefer tight and textured bass, with the right amount of kick. On the other hand I hate treble with even a slightest bit of harshness as I find it highly fatiguing. The best part of the ODAC is it extends the high frequency spectrum without any harsh treble thereby giving a very detailed presentation (very prominent in the Hamma track from Bombay).

The midrange is very forward sounding, detailed and revealing. One can hear when the singer inhales between lines (especially prominent with some tracks by Jagjit Singh). The guitar riffs from Eagles tracks materialized in front of you with space between the various instruments unlike the low end muddied presentation of some devices that I have heard.

This detail and resolution has some caveats. Poor quality tracks (either heavily compressed or badly mastered) are unbearable to hear even on my HD650s (which is known to be forgiving). This leads to fatigue over prolonged listening sessions especially with less forgiving or treble happy headphones (As a protective mechanism in the human ear the stapedius muscle becomes taut listening to impactful bass decreasing the sensitivity to bass frequencies while higher frequencies lead to ear and headaches, so keep the volume level in check and take frequent breaks). On the other hand the HM601 retains the midrange quality however makes even 128kpbs rips sound decent (courtesy its NOS DAC and a high end roll off).

The transparent presentation helped me in distinguishing the sound signature of my amplifiers with the EHHA and E9 having a flat frequency response and the slight coloration (bass enhancement) of my DIY Beyerdynamic A1 clone due to its high output impedance (though I like its visceral effects on kick drums).

Comparisons:

The ODAC is audibly better than the FiiO E7. Its tonality is similar to the DIY burr brown DAC however its extracts more detail. When compared to the quad Wolfson 8740 the ODAC performs better in the bass and treble region however the midrange is smoother in the former.
The problem is not with the chip itself but its implementation. At the same time the Operational amplifier introduce a sound signature of their own. This may be beneficial to those who are into DIY and try opamp rolling to tailor the sound signature to their preference according to their headphone capabilities.
Final words: Great performance for the price. An ideal external sound card. Though I think the $50 custom enclosure by JDS labs is a rip off. Make your own enclosures. DIY cooking is better.

Future objective audio devices that I am interested in.
I am interested in the "Wire" headphone amplifier. If people are interested some from the forum may try with getting PCBs made from PCB power for a group buy. Here is the link:
"The Wire" Ultra-High Performance Headphone Amplifier - PCB's - diyAudio
 
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A beautiful, well-constructed speaker with class-leading soundstage, imaging and bass that is fast, deep, and precise.
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