[leftside]

I would have thought there would have been more on the market. There are plenty of universal players out there that play multi-channel SACD's....

[ted_b]

Agreed, especially ones that are DSD-capable.  But realize that multichannel is a sub-niche, especially when home theater (i.e video) is not part of the setup.  That being said, I will soon review my third DSD-capable multichannel DAC, the new Merging Nadac.  I have already reviewed (and own) the exaSound e28 and the prototype/DIY stack of three (3) Mytek stereo 192 DSD dacs.  They are incredible experiences when set up correctly.

In the PCM-only world there are more, including DACs like the Metric Halo LIO-8, ULN-8, Prism Orpheus, etc. 

It is a chicken-egg thing, too.  While our NativeDSD.com site offers hundreds of multichannel file-based downloadable albums, there are not many other sites offering them.  The other approach is SACD ISOs and extracted DSF multichannel content, but that is not mainstream in the least (read sub-sub-niche).

[cab]

While the use of a multichannel dac for surround, etc. is surely a use, there is also the multi-way active speaker situation that uses a multichannel dac. I have been looking for something that fits my needs and have found I the market limited as well...I am going to go with the new r-2r dac coming to market and mentioned here in the lab forum. It should be exceptional...

[Russtafarian]

I agree, I wish there were more multi-channel DSD DACs.  The few that are out there are beyond what I'm willing to pay for a digital component. 

My solution (for now) is to use an Oppo BDP-103 with an attached 3TB drive of DSD and PCM multi-channel files.  The Oppo media app, while not as slick as most music server interfaces, is reasonably easy to use.

Russ

[leftside]

I think I'll be keeping my older universal multi-channel (SACD) player for as long as possible. My Depeche Mode multi-channel SACD's sound amazing. But these universal players don't last forever...

[leftside]

That exaSound e28 uses a very nice DAC - the ES9018 Sabre32 reference DAC chip from ESS Technologies. Mine has the  ESS Ultra 32 DAC ES9016S. I'll investigate the exaSound some more.

[ted_b]

Here's my review of it:
http://www.computeraudiophile.com/content/539-exasound-e28-multichannel-usb-dac-review/

[leftside]

Nice review Ted. Thanks for bringing it to my attention.

[dziemian]

I wait till chinese build sth nice and cheap based on ESS Sabre The solution there are on the market now are far too expensive.

[harley52]

 Could you guys not wait a year or two when prices will lower? That's what I'm waiting on. I'd rather wait than to feed the Chinese Red govt. and military.