[Eugene]

Hi Tommy,
Amy news on the new dac dac board?

Regards,
Eugene

[AmpDesigner333]

We now have a few DAC DAC 2s available.  Email Support@DigitalAmp.com for info.  Not available on our web site yet....  Thanks.

[Eugene]

Hi Tommy, received the upgraded dac dac II today. At the outside no change noticed but the sound has definitely changed for the better so cold out of the box. Will let it burn in for 100+ hundred hours and see how big the changes are. Sounds very promising.
Thanks for this great device.
Eugene

[RCduck7]

Hi Tommy, received the upgraded dac dac II today. At the outside no change noticed but the sound has definitely changed for the better so cold out of the box. Will let it burn in for 100+ hundred hours and see how big the changes are. Sounds very promising.
Thanks for this great device.
Eugene

Hi Eugene, Is your upgraded DAC DAC 2 playing louder then before the upgrade? It should be playing 5db louder does it?

[AmpDesigner333]

Hi Eugene, Is your upgraded DAC DAC 2 playing louder then before the upgrade? It should be playing 5db louder does it?

It should NOT be playing 5dB lounder.  The noise floor should be 5dB lower compared to DAC DAC 1.  Thanks.

[Eugene]

It is not louder as Tommy has mentioned it, but a lower noisefloor.... I can't confirm that yet. Device is still burning in. Will let you know soon.

[gary]

The noise floor definitely seems low, but I still can't comment too much on that because I have about 80dB of crickets & cicadas right outside my door every night. Florida  . Should get some quieter nights going into the fall.

The DAC 2 is really good, no doubt about that, but I am struggling with a digital source (I think Tommy may disagree with me as to just how important that is). Right now I'm using an iPad which is not very convenient although it sounds much better than jRiver on my macbook or surface. I've watched Hans Beekhuyzen videos religiously and I will bite the bullet soon on something like an SOtM sMS-200 ultra. So far every experience with my digital sources, from the Chromecast to the iPad, mirrors what I read from people like Hans and I expect a major improvement once I have a better source. And I don't think I'll be able to fairly judge the DAC 2 until that point.

gary

[AmpDesigner333]

The noise floor definitely seems low, but I still can't comment too much on that because I have about 80dB of crickets & cicadas right outside my door every night. Florida  . Should get some quieter nights going into the fall.

The DAC 2 is really good, no doubt about that, but I am struggling with a digital source (I think Tommy may disagree with me as to just how important that is). Right now I'm using an iPad which is not very convenient although it sounds much better than jRiver on my macbook or surface. I've watched Hans Beekhuyzen videos religiously and I will bite the bullet soon on something like an SOtM sMS-200 ultra. So far every experience with my digital sources, from the Chromecast to the iPad, mirrors what I read from people like Hans and I expect a major improvement once I have a better source. And I don't think I'll be able to fairly judge the DAC 2 until that point.

gary

Gary,

Your best bet is lossless.  Doesn't matter which type of lossless.  It's like a text file.  Making a ZIP file of a text file doesn't change the text, just like the audio data doesn't change due to lossless compression.  As far as jitter goes, the DAC DAC internally re-clocks the data, so even crazy amounts of jitter have no measurable effect on audio performance.  Error free audio data doesn't, shouldn't, and technically can't sound different that the same error free audio data.

Now, picking a convenient means to store your lossless audio (rips or purchased online), play it back, and stream it is another story.  Hardware wise, we recommend using a PC (or Mac) when possible because it's the best way to future-proof your system, and so many options are available for little to no cost to provide playback of audio (or video).  This is why we make the Cherry USB, which doesn't require driver installation and goes up to 192k/24-bit.  The driver controls also allow automatic upsampling.  Also, with a computer, all sorts of Wi-Fi options are available, including use of your phone or a tablet, or even watch to control the track and volume, eliminating the need for a "standard" remote.  Thanks.

-Tommy

[gary]

All my files are lossless, some are apple and newer ones are AIFF that were ripped with JRiver. Anything that is not a lossless rip is a lossless download from bandcamp or hdtracks. Many are of course compressed in the studio to ruin dynamic range, but there's nothing I can do about that unfortunately.

I've upgraded to a Metrum Acoustics Ambre network streamer and I think I'm finally getting a sense of what the DAC 2 can do. The improvement over my surface or macbook is not subtle, and still substantial compared to the iPad. Music has great texture now, listening to Leonard Cohen it occurred to me I have never heard his baritone voice and acoustic guitar rendered so real by a digital source. It's really something special. Detail and instrument separation are extremely impressive... on Roomsound by Califone every guitar and rhythm instrument stands out so that you can focus on it as if it was the only thing playing, despite just how many they've layered to get the complex sound they did (btw anyone who doesn't have this album should get it). Every acoustic guitar, slide, distorted acoustic, behind the headstock pick, etc. is just right there at its own place in the soundstage, clearly audible and completely distinguished. If I had to boil down the strengths of what I'm hearing to two words they would be clarity and transparency.

gary

[bapcha]

The DAC DAC 2 sound is more textured.  Deeper imaging, blacker background.  It's simply amazing!  Maybe it's the lower noise. Maybe it's the lower distortion.  I can say without a doubt that the DAC DAC 2 combined with the MEGAschino is the sweetest sounding setup I've heard yet!

Blacker background is "easy peasy" - just let your firmware stuff zeroes into the DAC (yes, that was sarcasm, but technically correct). Seriously, can you please explain why the imaging is better (when it is near as hell impossible to resolve 32 bits of analog data per sample)? Talk tech to me.... Unless your DAC has a reference voltage that can truly be resolved to 32 bits, it is pointless

Bapcha

[who?me?]

yeah, nobody is getting a true 32 bits, thats just marketing BS.
at least Schiit is upfront about it: they have a white paper on their Yggsdragil DAC,
I think it says that that DAC is a "true 21 bit".

[AmpDesigner333]

Blacker background is "easy peasy" - just let your firmware stuff zeroes into the DAC (yes, that was sarcasm, but technically correct). Seriously, can you please explain why the imaging is better (when it is near as hell impossible to resolve 32 bits of analog data per sample)? Talk tech to me.... Unless your DAC has a reference voltage that can truly be resolved to 32 bits, it is pointless

Bapcha

As I'm guessing you already know, it's not just about reference voltages.  We do more with respect to circuit design outside of the DAC chip, especially on the analog side.

We're working to improve our web site and will include more technical details (not including our "secret sauce", of course).

Reviewers have claimed improved imaging, which we all know is a subjective thing.  We are all about measurements, but there's no escaping the sound quality differences that don't correlate necessarily with any standard bench tests.  This has been a hot topic in our Truth in AUDIO Facebook group.  We have more than 4,500 members so far.  Here's the link in case you'd like to check it out:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1423862904335991/

The DAC DAC 2 HS also has a new version available soon, the DAC DAC 2 HSV, V meaning "volume control".  However, this new version doesn't put the analog signals through an analog pot as per standard DACs on the market.  Instead, we use an analog pot (for a "natural feel") and use digital attenuation to control the volume internally.  This keeps the analog paths super short.

The DAC DAC 2 HSV allows direct drive from a CD transport or other disc player, for example, and direct drive of the amplifiers from the DAC DAC 2.  All Cherry Amps, including Maraschino, MEGAschino, and the Classic Cherry have gain in the range where the DAC DAC (any type) has proper max voltage to drive them just a few dB into clipping at max output.

Thanks, all for the comments.

-Tommy O

[AmpDesigner333]

DAC DAC 3 Kickstarter (ends soon, rewards limited):
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/digitalampco/cherry-dac-dac-3