YuLong Sabre DAC D18 Review.

KiranPS

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I finally received the YuLong Sabre DAC D18 (32bit 192Khz). I had been hunting for a good DAC for a long time. I heard quite a few DACs and most American ones were rather bright for Indian songs (Ilayaraja and AR Rehman) where our recording engineers seem to hi-light the highs. I also consulted with others who had heard other DACs and after a lot of research, I found the YuLong Sabre DAC D18. This DAC uses a very expensive ESS Sabre DAC chip, which are found only in high end DACS. Well expensive dac chip is only as good as the analog section in the DAC. I read reviews that even the analog section was well designed and the D18 audio was smooth and warm. I felt this would compensate for the highs in the music I listen to.

I did consider their more expensive DA8 DAC, which has USB input and a pre-amp built in, but did not go in because I had very good USB to SPDIF converters (the CA SM6 and the NA7004) and a pre-amp. The D18 also
gives me more room to experiment with preamps. For some, omission of USB input in the D18 would be a no-go but for me I did not mind it much.

When I played it, I was not disappointed , the D18 not only met my expectations, but blew them away.
First I heard my usual reference tracks, Color of the moon, Old Fashioned Saturday Night, VTV (Tamil) etc, in all these tracks the highs and harshness went away without loosing the details. The Channel separation and imaging was awesome, in "Angel Of Harlem" I could clearly make out where each singer was standing.

To compare it against the DACs/Streamers I have had the chance to hear for some time.
I didn't want to include DACs that I auditioned just for a few mins.
I am a little intolerant to bright systems, so my views are totally biased in that respect. I have seen a lot of people appreciate the details that bright systems provide and sometimes don't even mind the harshness.

1) Marantz NA7004 (Streamer/DAC)
Marantz has a great analog section but I always felt that it was a tad bit bright. It has all the details but the highs always overwhelmed me. Although initially you appreciate the details , during long listening sessions it does become fatiguing. Paired with Pass B1, the highs are lower but still not warm enough for my taste. The imaging is very good but
instrument separation can be better.

2) Cambridge Audio Stream Magic 6 (Supposed to be similar to DAC Magic).
CA is smoother than NA7004 but it lacks the Rich feel . The separation and imaging good but not as good as the NA7004. CA is completely non fatiguing, but sometimes you miss the fine details. The software stack on the device is much better, with constant updates and bug-fixes and the Remote app also is much better. Marantz Actually does not have a remote app for NA7004 , we have to use a third party app.

3) Musical Fidelity M1 DAC. This was also an exceptional DAC for its price,
but again, it had a brighter signature for my taste. This had all the details and had good imaging too.


4) Naim DAC, This was a very musical DAC, the music was smooth and non-fatiguing, It does lack fine details, but makes up for it by being clear and clean without ever being harsh. You can hear hours of music without ever feeling fatigued.


The only DAC I have heard that sounds better than the D18 was an old Audio Research DAC (DAC1-20), but that was able to play only 16 bit CD streams.
More importantly, it was not in the same league in either the price or build.


I believe the Yulong D18 gives the Best Bang for the Buck. The more I listen to the D18 the more I seem to love it. This is very well designed and built DAC , you just have to get past the fact that it is from a relatively unknown brand in China.
 
a good dac indeed
congratualtions

however the comparisons you did with it with the marantz and cambridge arent exactly fair, wouldnt you say

the naim is one sweet DAC though
 
a good dac indeed
congratualtions

however the comparisons you did with it with the marantz and cambridge arent exactly fair, wouldnt you say

the naim is one sweet DAC though

That's true Magma , yulong is not in the same category as marantz or ca, but the funny thing is they all cost me about the same.
 
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