Help me pick a DAC kit

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This is my first into DIY world. I play FLAC/MP3 from a media streamer into a NAD C352 AMP. I'm looking at the following DACs to improve audio quality.

1. NEW V1.9 DAC WM8741 WM8805 Coaxial Optical Decoder 24Bit assembled | eBay

2. 2011 24bit/192kHz CS8416+PCM1798+ACD827 DAC Decoder Kit, DIY, Assembled | eBay

3. High Performance MUSE HI-FI DAC TDA1543 DIR9001 Decoder Digital Coaxial Optical | eBay

4. Full Assembled Kit-Lampucera CS8416+PCM1798 24Bit/192KHz DAC Stereo Decoder | eBay

5. SMSL SD-793II DIR9001+PCM1793+OPA2134 Coax/Optical MINI DAC+Headphone Amp S | eBay

The only MUST HAVE is a digital S/PDIF input. Price wise I'm tempted by the SMSL fully assembled DAC. It is probably not as good as the others, but how poor and will I be able to tell with my configuration?

I'd very much appreciate your thoughts. Thanks much in advance!
 
Really interested in also hearing peoples thoughts on this as I'm still yet to get a definitive answer to what is the difference SOUND QUALITY wise between one of these cheap DIY DACS and a £500 AudioLab M-Dac or a £5000 "High Fidelity" DAC...

At the moment I believe the only difference to be a nicer case, dials, screens, buttons and a large portion of snake oil!
 
Really interested in also hearing peoples thoughts on this as I'm still yet to get a definitive answer to what is the difference SOUND QUALITY wise between one of these cheap DIY DACS and a £500 AudioLab M-Dac or a £5000 "High Fidelity" DAC...

At the moment I believe the only difference to be a nicer case, dials, screens, buttons and a large portion of snake oil!
 
In my experience the difference between cheap and expensive DACs depends on your sensitivity to the distortion that is introduced by the DAC you are listening to. If you are insensitive, then the difference is snake oil for you. Also, to hear the difference between DACs usually takes a system that is very low in distortion since even cheap DACs tend to have less distortion than almost any other piece in the chain.

The only way to know for yourself is to swap out components in a system you are very familiar with.

It is only recently that my own system has become low enough in distortion that I can reliably tell the difference between DACs. I tried a raw, bare bones DAC without an output filter and liked it compared to my Audio Research DACs. Then, it developed problems and I am back to one of my AR DACs.

James
 
Hi,
I did order the DAC/ headphone amp SMSL SD-793II
and I will give some feedback here as soon as tested.

à AmpliFire: Non, I do not think these may be fake Wimas !
I do use them (1uF, 0,1uF and others) regularly and they look real !
Wimas are pretty cheap in quantities.
Don't be too paranoid, in case they would be fakes, the Burr Brown components
would be fake too !

Jerome
 
The red Wima film caps in the SMSL ebay add seem very counterfeit to me. Never seen any Wima without series identification and very poor labelling (printing) like those. Prepare for some genuine parts replacement....

Wima caps come with both types of marking (printed on the side and stamped on the top). It depends on the factory/machinery they were made in/on. They look legit to me.
 
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Hi, I have tried a few DAC kits. I cant make much of a diff. between them. I tried the 4396, a kit based on WM 8740, CS4397 lampucera and DAC7 now based on dual WM 8741.
inputs from a Squeezebox touch and output to a P101 mosfet based amp about 60WPC. Speakers are B&W 685. Maybe I should try the twistedpearaudio B3SE based on the famous Sabre DAC. I havent actually compared with a commercial DAC.
 
Hi, I have tried a few DAC kits. I cant make much of a diff. between them. I tried the 4396, a kit based on WM 8740, CS4397 lampucera and DAC7 now based on dual WM 8741.
inputs from a Squeezebox touch and output to a P101 mosfet based amp about 60WPC. Speakers are B&W 685. Maybe I should try the twistedpearaudio B3SE based on the famous Sabre DAC. I havent actually compared with a commercial DAC.

Are you listening to MP3 files or FLAC files via the Squeezebox?
 
SMSL SD-793II

Hi, I just received my SMSL SD-793II

I did a first short test with my cd walkman SL-S600 panasonic (not the best digital signal) , with optical connection,
for my new chinese headphone: Superlux HD330 (sounds a bit as Beyer DT990)
The package was small and very well protected.
The finish of the converter is excellent.

The sound with this headphone (150 ohms) is very good with great dynamic,
stereo separation, deep big bass, spatiality ...
(I think the sound as always can be very different with various phones.
With my headphone Sony mdr-V6, there is a lack of bass and too much high medium.)
The test today is for my Superlux HD-330, and I do not mean it will be the same for all HD-330 phones
as I did allready heard another HD-330 that had a different sound with less bass than mine.

The sound is powerfull, warm, analog or tuby like.
As the attack of each sound is soft, I guess that the DAC is oversampling in 24 bits and 192khz
(I know this kind of sound, that you can compare somewhere with sacd but with less resolution)
In consequence the effect of sharpness is relativly low at the opposite of the mp3 or the 16bits 44khz oversampling.

This is not an agressive sound, there is a lot of details and different atmospheres vibing together BUT you have to listen carefully.

I know nearly every component inside the box is of very high grade.
Burr Brown converter, one of the best.
Burr Brown OPA2134, I know it well, dynamic, warm, big bass...
it is plug on a dip8 socket and could be changed for an AD826 or a LM4562
AD826 is sharper but still warm,
LM4562 is very sharp but colder and less bass.

The three chemical capacitors inside the box are Elna,
but miniature RE3 type: they can stand verticaly.
They could be changed for Elna Silmic II, much bigger
(that I know are the best audio caps) if they can fit in horizontal position.

The small AC/DC transformer that gives the 9V to the input of the SMSL-1793
could be changed for a higher quality transformer.
When you plug it in 220 or 110V , beware there is a good side, another side give more agressive high mediums !

So I think that this is a great DAC / phone amp that can be still be easily improved, specialy for the actual low price is extremely low,
the overall quality is excellent, but like all headphone amps it can sound differently on various phones.


SMSL-1793_01.jpg


Jerome
 
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