Dac ES9018 board ...some doubts!!!

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Nice comment of someone that has probably never tried a Chinese DAC before.

I own a couple of Chinese DACS myself and I just started a ES9018 DIY project today and I've heard a very good ES9018 DAC from a no name Chinese brand here and these things are not bad at all for their prices.

SMSL en Aune are the more established brands that produce really high class gear for low prices. Take the SMSL M8 or the Aune S16.. Brilliant devices in their price range.
Then you have a ton of other Chinese brands that are not as famous but really produce good stuff. Jay's audio is one of these, X-Melodious is quite alright too. Jemmy Audio is not bad etc etc. L.K.S Audio really offers great DACS and DIY kits for it.

I agree with Stixx that a DAC like shown above is probably poop anyway. If the maker is already trying to save a couple of yuan on proper gold plated plugs for long term use, then you know he is saving on a lot of other parts regarding quality too. These boards are mostly made to impress buyers with some high end parts or 'well known' parts, but when you look closer you see a lot of inferior or even fake stuff.

So what I'm trying to say is.. There is tons of good out there.. just be rational about it.. Contact the seller ask about the products and use your brain..
 
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Good posting Cidious!
It sure was not my intention to start a universal bashing of chinese products. I know there are many manufacturers with a reputation like Aune etc. although I haven't even heard of some of the other names ;)
I intentionally said 'at that price', because those 'copy and paste' designs made to appeal professional (must have op amps!) cannot be any good.
So I am with you... better have a look around and compare, and most likely spend some more cash.

Btw. Is Valab chinese? I had one of their DAC's years ago, and I sold it after 2 months.
 
We are on the same page I guess. And no I don't know about this brand..

And yeah opamps are not preferable.. most chinese designs are including opamps. The one I'm building now too. It doesn't mean they are total **** but it could be better. I've been told Schiit's higher end models are non opamp based..
 
Hi guys,
This DAC Yj es9018 scheda di decodifica dual AC12V 0 12V senza es9018 ic in 1.6mm strato spesso usando pwb su due lati, spessore di rame delle 2.0 oz, hasl intero processo per assicurare che la da Altri prodotti elettronici di consumo su AliExpress.com | Grup is sold without the IC ES9018, you have to buy it separately. ..., I can put on it a ES9018K2M? ....... The seller says "i think it is ok, K2M is only different version" .... I really have some doubts, .... you say about ...:confused:
No you can't, except you do a lot modifications, because es9018k2m chip is much smaller, have only 2 channels, have different layout, and power supply requirement. Please read manuals and you see differences.
 
I am building a L.K.S now. Just started yesterday so I can't say anything about the result but the quality is very nice.

http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/digital-line-level/287077-diy-l-k-s-es9018-dac.html

The DAC that is shown here above is higher grade than the one I'm building but it was to big for me. They have a really nice case with it that fits two transformers.

Mine is cheaper and a bit smaller. I do have balanced outputs unlike their website is is showing (they show an older version).

L.K.S is a good company. Very good service and friendly contact persons. Contact them if you are interested.
 
I receive today diyinhk es9018K2M dac pcb. ES9018K2M XMOS DSD DXD 384kHz USB DAC with Bit-perfect volume control and SPDIF input - DIYINHK
I will build this dac, but only use pcb board with dac chip and smd elements, other capacitors and other parts I will change. And maybe use it in current output. but I need to make decision which power supply to use: Salas shunt regs or go with LDO chips. Any suggestions?
And I will make hifiduino control for it, connect to pc over optical input. And maybe raspberry pi, for wireless music player.
 
You can of course throw Salas regs at it, but there are other options. Since the current demand is relatively small why employ big regulators (Salas Reflektor) when you can find very small regs that complement the compact DAC board. I have used Salas regs myself in many occasions but you don't have to get obsessed about it. ;)
I recently stumbled across these regs that appear to be well made (to my eyes better than the offerings of a fellow DIYaudio member) --> TPS7A4700 Ultralow-noise (4µVRMS) low-dropout Power Supply 1.4V-20.5V, 1A | eBay
 
I receive today diyinhk es9018K2M dac pcb. ES9018K2M XMOS DSD DXD 384kHz USB DAC with Bit-perfect volume control and SPDIF input - DIYINHK
I will build this dac, but only use pcb board with dac chip and smd elements, other capacitors and other parts I will change. And maybe use it in current output. but I need to make decision which power supply to use: Salas shunt regs or go with LDO chips. Any suggestions?
And I will make hifiduino control for it, connect to pc over optical input. And maybe raspberry pi, for wireless music player.


:up::up:
 
You can of course throw Salas regs at it, but there are other options. Since the current demand is relatively small why employ big regulators (Salas Reflektor) when you can find very small regs that complement the compact DAC board. I have used Salas regs myself in many occasions but you don't have to get obsessed about it. ;)
I recently stumbled across these regs that appear to be well made (to my eyes better than the offerings of a fellow DIYaudio member) --> TPS7A4700 Ultralow-noise (4µVRMS) low-dropout Power Supply 1.4V-20.5V, 1A | eBay
Hi, thanks for reply. I was finking about analog devices adm series chips for example Adm7150 and Adm7154 they are lowe noise, but how they perform in dac supply? Ldo regs is much simpler solution than shunt regs. But how about for opamp +/-12(15) supply? which is better for opamps?
 
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