Ess9018 I've heard the DAC and personally sounded sterile to me..
Sent from my 486 IBM WIN 3.1x Desktop...
This comparison topic that I put forward here is solely intended towards a healthy discussion and to get a perspective. So I hope this does not get ugly and take away from the real motive of this thread. A new person who comes and goes through these pages should also be able to see what he is getting into and how does it compare with the good commercial offerings out there.
I surely will not have funding to go for a super high end DAC like Accuphase being talked about here but I am very curious to know how does the DDDAC fare. Any fair comparisons with dacs under USD 3000?
Thanks to all who responded.
I surely will not have funding to go for a super high end DAC like Accuphase being talked about here but I am very curious to know how does the DDDAC fare. Any fair comparisons with dacs under USD 3000?
Thanks to all who responded.
Not at all. Just read the documentation on Doedes website to learn how and why one and the same DAC chip can produce different results depending on how it is fed with data (no, I am not referring to clean power supplies, low jitter, and stuff).
Thanks for that. Messing about with a cheap Chinese board with the ESS9018 could at least find out its possibilities. I cannot keep putting the cash into a black hole. DIYers can cost effectively, often screw out even more performance when only SQ is the arbiter. This happens at shows, where DIYers can put top makes in the shade. This perhaps defines Doedde and some of us.
I think surely we really are in agreement
This is all part of the scope for a DIYer who does part of his own set up.
Some time ago I tested my dddac with four boards against the norwegian Hegel HD 30.
Here in Norway Hegel costs about 5000 usd, and much more abroad.
My dddac was the winner. It was a pretty close race exept in the bass area where dddac have more autoroty and punch. How much this outcome can depends on the dddac alone is not easy to tell. I have a heavy choke input psu on dddac ( lclclclc) and this draws things in the right direction.
Today my dddac has increased from four to eight boards. I keept my old boards and have now a mix of new and old boards. In the beginning the new boards sounds cold/sterile, but after a week or so they realy starts to shine. The shunt regs on the new boards give a very dynamic punch the old boards can not match and resolution and separation is top notch.
Waveio is history in my dddac. Bought an Odroid C2 mini pc which have i2s output. Odroid is hooked up to a NAS server, where all my stored music files are. Doing it this way you have galvanic isolation and no usb connection at all.
The result is simply stunning. I have never been close to the sound I have today.
For me it was an real eye opener to get rid of the usb-i2s convertion.
For you with usb devices like waveio and other popular types, don't get me wrong, they sound good, but after hearing real i2s-i2s there is no doubt whats best.
Here in Norway Hegel costs about 5000 usd, and much more abroad.
My dddac was the winner. It was a pretty close race exept in the bass area where dddac have more autoroty and punch. How much this outcome can depends on the dddac alone is not easy to tell. I have a heavy choke input psu on dddac ( lclclclc) and this draws things in the right direction.
Today my dddac has increased from four to eight boards. I keept my old boards and have now a mix of new and old boards. In the beginning the new boards sounds cold/sterile, but after a week or so they realy starts to shine. The shunt regs on the new boards give a very dynamic punch the old boards can not match and resolution and separation is top notch.
Waveio is history in my dddac. Bought an Odroid C2 mini pc which have i2s output. Odroid is hooked up to a NAS server, where all my stored music files are. Doing it this way you have galvanic isolation and no usb connection at all.
The result is simply stunning. I have never been close to the sound I have today.
For me it was an real eye opener to get rid of the usb-i2s convertion.
For you with usb devices like waveio and other popular types, don't get me wrong, they sound good, but after hearing real i2s-i2s there is no doubt whats best.
Hi smooth dancer.
I'm also interested in who you wired it up, as this is my plan as well. Currently my C2 is sitting in front of me waiting for a nice rainy evening so I may get around to test it.
I didn't know that the i2s on the C2 is galvanic isolated?
I'm thinking about using Kodi for playback as my wife wants video, but have not looked into it yet other than it is supposed to support headless operation with a smart phone app as user interface.
I'm also interested in who you wired it up, as this is my plan as well. Currently my C2 is sitting in front of me waiting for a nice rainy evening so I may get around to test it.
I didn't know that the i2s on the C2 is galvanic isolated?
I'm thinking about using Kodi for playback as my wife wants video, but have not looked into it yet other than it is supposed to support headless operation with a smart phone app as user interface.
Hi AudioH
C2 is mounted in dac behind the mainboard. It's very important that the i2s wiring is keept short, max 10 cm. Longer cables than 10 cm introduce distortion.
I don't know about the BBB, but the Odroid C2 is straigt forward with RuneAudio.
I2s wiring from left to wright on C2. Usb inputs on the left side seen from above.
C2. - Dac.
Pin 1. - Gnd
Pin 4. - Mck
Pin 5. - Lrc
Pin 6. - Bck
Pin 7. - Data
I needed help with programming emmc card since i'm no data guy.
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So, how does that thing sound, compared to XMOS WaveI/O? What power supply do you use?
My main issue with WaveI/O is inconsistency in sound related to firmware version, Windows driver version, and combination thereof. Makes it impossible to tailor the sound to individual needs by doing modifications, i.e. I get the sound I want, but as soon as one of my friends / customers upgrade the firmware and/or Windows drivers, the sound changes - completely.
Nick
Well, the first minutes after the change, it was easy to hear that something where different, but to describe it is not easy. The sound is very relaxed, warmer and very detailed without beeing sterile/cold. My conclusion so far is that there is less noise/ distortion if one can avoid usb complete. Highly recommended.
Power supply on Odroid C2 is an adjustable type ment for different applications, which is not among the best, but will do for now. A choke psu is the plan gradually.
I first tried a Placid hd from tpa, but the Odroid draws more current than Placid can deliver.
I guess the power consumption of Odroid is a place between 1-2A, depending on how many usb ports in use. I use only the ethernet port.
I first tried a Placid hd from tpa, but the Odroid draws more current than Placid can deliver.
I guess the power consumption of Odroid is a place between 1-2A, depending on how many usb ports in use. I use only the ethernet port.
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Almost forgot. The R-core trafo from selectronic arrived this week. After an discussion with eduard, we landed on 300va-21v. But it turned out that it measured 24v, so some changes had to be made in my choke psu, because after the two Lundahl chokes the voltage on dac input was 14vdc. Lucky me had two Hammond chokes laying around, and after soldering in theese and some more caps, I managed to get 12.3vdc on dac input.
Psu on dddac is lclclclc. The sound, and especially the bass is incredible. Tight and authoritarian.
Psu on dddac is lclclclc. The sound, and especially the bass is incredible. Tight and authoritarian.
I am waiting for the same transformer to arrive and looks like I will need to play around to get the final voltage right
Simon !
If you have four of the new boards and two Lundahl 1694 chokes, you will get close to 12vdc at dac input IF your new R-core measure 21v. It seems that the R-cores from Selectronic measure a bit higher than spec, lets hope yours are closer than mine.
The bleeder at the end of psu is the key if you are struggling to get the right voltage and don't have other chokes to try. When I changed from 56R down to 39R, voltage drop 0.5 v.
If you have four of the new boards and two Lundahl 1694 chokes, you will get close to 12vdc at dac input IF your new R-core measure 21v. It seems that the R-cores from Selectronic measure a bit higher than spec, lets hope yours are closer than mine.
The bleeder at the end of psu is the key if you are struggling to get the right voltage and don't have other chokes to try. When I changed from 56R down to 39R, voltage drop 0.5 v.