The Sabre ESS DAC I believe has surpassed the AKM. Amazing sound especially with ripped DSD files.
Ok, let's try to get back to the topic...
Amir from ASR liked the Topping D90 very much and most measurements indicate some good engineering.
Sandu from Soundnews liked the way it sounds. He says that most former AKM dacs were too mellow sounding for his taste, but that this one combines smoothness with slam.
Sandu writes: “A small change from DX7 PRO is that the LPF op-amps are not socketed anymore but are soldered directly on the mother-board. DIP8 op-amps were replaced by SOIC op-amps so no more op-amp rolling for you..”
I see on Shenzhenaudio that it uses LME49720 opamps and OPA1612 for I/V
Has anyone more info on the Topping D90? For 700 USD it seems an atractive offer.
Amir from ASR liked the Topping D90 very much and most measurements indicate some good engineering.
Sandu from Soundnews liked the way it sounds. He says that most former AKM dacs were too mellow sounding for his taste, but that this one combines smoothness with slam.
Sandu writes: “A small change from DX7 PRO is that the LPF op-amps are not socketed anymore but are soldered directly on the mother-board. DIP8 op-amps were replaced by SOIC op-amps so no more op-amp rolling for you..”
I see on Shenzhenaudio that it uses LME49720 opamps and OPA1612 for I/V
Has anyone more info on the Topping D90? For 700 USD it seems an atractive offer.
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Looks like the D90 has simplified some of the power supplies compared to what AKM uses on the eval board.
The Topping D90 measures a bit better (at ASR) than the 1000 USD Gustard A22 dac. It seems that the Gustard is a kind of preproduction model, so maybe that one will get some tweaks...
The Gustard has a discrete output stage, and that appeals to me a lot. On the other hand it will be difficult to mod because most of the components are smd as well.
The PSU of the Gustard seems a bit beefier.
What do others think of this Gustard, or of the way this brand designs their dacs in general?
The Gustard has a discrete output stage, and that appeals to me a lot. On the other hand it will be difficult to mod because most of the components are smd as well.
The PSU of the Gustard seems a bit beefier.
What do others think of this Gustard, or of the way this brand designs their dacs in general?
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More AK4499 dacs have appeared in China
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Here is the WEILIANG AUDIO DC-400 dac that costs only about 500 Euro, which is very cheap for a AK4499 implementation...
It has a discrete I/V.
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Here is the WEILIANG AUDIO DC-400 dac that costs only about 500 Euro, which is very cheap for a AK4499 implementation...
It has a discrete I/V.
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And the HXMelody AK4499 2019. This looks very nice with a separate digital board and swappable opamps.
It costs about 1000 USD, so a direct competitor to the Gustard.
Some nice pictures of the interior are here: Доступ с вашего IP-адреса временно ограничен — Авито
Maybe some of the more experienced DAC designers here can add some insight to the technical design of these new Chinese dacs (as far as pictures tell anything)?
It costs about 1000 USD, so a direct competitor to the Gustard.
Some nice pictures of the interior are here: Доступ с вашего IP-адреса временно ограничен — Авито
Maybe some of the more experienced DAC designers here can add some insight to the technical design of these new Chinese dacs (as far as pictures tell anything)?
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Looks pretty nice, I like the power supply layout.
And there's a knob! Very important IMO 😀
A pre stage is not the same without a proper knob.
Where are you seeing it for 750 USD? Can only find it for 100$ more.
I see they recommend using the AES input, claiming it measures better than the SPDIF.
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YinLuMei have the M400, they are using the PGA2311UA for volume control. Intended for use with phones.
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Hard to say much from most of the pictures. If they were close-up enough to read part numbers off the chips that might help some.
There is the eval board that could be used as a starting point. Modded mine a little to facilitate running some experiments. Satisfied it is possible to make it sound quite good, but it sure is a lot more complicated in tems of parts count than, say, what Chord has done with Hugo TT 2. Would very much like to listen to the Hugo for a few days as a point of reference.
For the price of that thing one could build a pretty good custom dual '4499 board.
Yes, it seems a neat little device, but I fear much of it inner parts will inhibit the 4499 performance…
Yes, I couldn't find any hirez pictures of the boards so far. Hopefully some adventurous buyers will chime in.
The BRZHIFI seems very attractive on first sight, but there's no knowing how well it's engineered and how well it sounds...