[randytsuch]

I ordered this one yesterday, $50 with shipping
http://hifimediy.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=62&product_id=83

DIYaudio thread on it
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/digital-line-level/219140-hifimediy-es9023-te7022-24-96-usb-dac.html

Found this today
http://stoneracoustics.blogspot.com/

head fi thread
http://www.head-fi.org/t/626632/tiny-dac-big-sound-impression-of-stoner-acoustics-ud100-vs-odac

I think it will take a couple weeks to get the hifimediy dac. 

Randy

[jmc207]

That Stoner Acoustics dac isn't just small, it's tiny. Quite interesting. BTW, has anyone seen a comparison of the Hifimediy dac vs. the ODAC?

John

[persisting1]

I must have missed this over at diy. Nice find 

[randytsuch]

That Stoner Acoustics dac isn't just small, it's tiny. Quite interesting. BTW, has anyone seen a comparison of the Hifimediy dac vs. the ODAC?

John

The only thing with the Stoner DAC is no case, just an exposed PWB, so I like the hifimediy packaging (at least it has some).

In the diyaudio thread is some comparision to the odac starting here, and in more some follow up responses
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/digital-line-level/219140-hifimediy-es9023-te7022-24-96-usb-dac-2.html#post3169297

Towards the end of the thread, this guy said he cleaned his dac, and it sounded better after cleaning, some of the harshness went away.

Randy

[randytsuch]

Cool pic here
http://www.head-fi.org/t/626632/tiny-dac-big-sound-impression-of-stoner-acoustics-ud100-vs-odac/30#post_8720244

stoner DAC plugged into a Galaxy III phone.

[ltr317]

I ordered this one yesterday, $50 with shipping
http://hifimediy.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=62&product_id=83

DIYaudio thread on it
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/digital-line-level/219140-hifimediy-es9023-te7022-24-96-usb-dac.html

Found this today
http://stoneracoustics.blogspot.com/

head fi thread
http://www.head-fi.org/t/626632/tiny-dac-big-sound-impression-of-stoner-acoustics-ud100-vs-odac

I think it will take a couple weeks to get the hifimediy dac. 

Randy

Hi Randy - I was thinking of ordering the hifimediy because I wanted a stopgap USB DAC and the price is right.  I have like the sound of Sabre chips in every DAC with one that I have heard or reviewed.  Do you know if I need a power supply for this one?  I will strictly be using the unit directly from my laptop to my preamp via USB. 

The Stoner DAC looks like it is only good for up to 16/48 while the hifimediy is good for 24/96 via USB. 

It might take more than a couple of weeks for your unit to arrive since China is celebrating its Mid-Autumn Moon festival right now. 

Please post your impressions after you get the DAC and have listened for a while.  Thanks.

Paul Mah

[persisting1]

Since it's USB, it should be powered by the computer.

[randytsuch]

Since it's USB, it should be powered by the computer.

Based on what I saw in the diyaudio thread, it is powered by your pc.  You will need an adapter to from this to you preamp, but I think that's all you need.

I am really buying this to connect to my "wire" headphone amp, and then to one of my headphones/iems, but I'll post my impressions of it after I get it.

Randy

[persisting1]

A Sabre DAC at this price is intriguing. I'll be keeping an eye on this. Hopefully an ear soon 

I'll post my impressions of it after I get it.

I'll be waiting for your review.

[srb]

A Sabre DAC at this price is intriguing.

I don't know how intriguing that really is just because it uses a ESS Sabre brand chip.  ESS makes a variety of DAC chips from the most expensive 32-bit 9018 down to the entry-level 24-bit 9023 that requires a minimum of external parts and costs only a few dollars.
 
Edit:  I had made a reference in this post that the HRT Music Streamer II used the ESS 9023 chip, but that appears to have been taken from an erroneous source, and further searching seems to indicate that it is in fact a TI DAC chip, so that reference has been deleted from this post.
 
Steve

[JohnR]

People are plugging headphones straight into these?

[randytsuch]

People are plugging headphones straight into these?

With the hifimediy you can use windows for volume control, so if you have efficient cans that you can  drive 2v than you can directly connect.  However, with the 9023 you are losing information, it truncates/decimates the signal for volume control, really it happens in windows before it gets to the DAC. (not like it's big expensive brother), so this is not optimal.  For background music it might be fine though.

I don't know how intriguing that really is just because it uses a ESS Sabre brand chip.  ESS makes a variety of DAC chips from the most expensive 32-bit 9018 down to the entry-level 24-bit 9023 that requires a minimum of external parts and costs only a few dollars.
 
$50 is a lot cheaper than $150 though, but that $150 does get you a California-built ESS 9023-based HRT Music Streamer II in a nice metal case with 5 sample rate LED indicators and company support, so I certainly wouldn't expect an import without those features to cost any more than $75 anyway.
 
Steve

Are you sure the Streamer uses the Sable dac?  I just searched, and found references to a TI dac inside the Streamer II. 
So I don't think the Streamer is really comparable.

If you do know of other relatively cheap 9023 DAC's I am interested to know of them?

As for the 9023, yes it is the much cheaper Sabre, but it is supposed to sound very good, might be the best bang for the buck dac chip out right now.  Given this is the cheap and cheerful circle it fits right in.
BTW, for the 9018 costs around $50 just for the chip in small quantities, where I think the 9023 is $5-10, but they are supposed to use things they learned in the high end Sabre's for the cheaper ones.



Randy

[srb]

Are you sure the Streamer uses the Sable dac?  I just searched, and found references to a TI dac inside the Streamer II.  So I don't think the Streamer is really comparable.

Randy, sorry, I was apparently in error when I said that the HRT Streamer II used the ESS 9023 chip and have edited and deleted that reference from my previous post, and should probably only reference what chips used in a product either when explicitly stated by the manufacturer or revealed in a circuit board photo.
 
The point was that it was a low-cost chip with an integrated opamp driver and only requiring a single 5V power supply, and according to ESS, "the ES9023 combines best sounding audio with lowest system cost and highest performance into the ideal D/A converter for line level output applications such as Blu-ray players, CD/DVD players, set-top boxes, digital TVs and audio receivers".
 
That doesn't mean it couldn't be incorporated into a good sounding stand-alone DAC.  It is used the $199 Calyx Coffee DAC/Headamp (per the manufacturer!) and even in the more expensive $449 Peachtree DAC-iT (per the manufacturer!).
 
Steve

[randytsuch]

Hi Steve

I’m sure that the 9023 will be used in more stand alone and more expensive DAC’s, but that’s not really my point.
I wanted to point out there were a couple of really inexpensive, “low frills” USB DAC’s out there using the 9023, and they might even sound pretty good .

I did take a quick look at the Coffee, for $200  with the headamp function it was interesting.  But, in a thread I found, an early adapter said that volume control was through windows, not in the coffee itself.  It that’s true, it loses its appeal, at least to me.

On another somewhat related note, I decided to buy a set of the Monoprice 8320/MEP-933 IEMs.  They are supposed to sound very good for the price, they were $9 with tax and free shipping on ebay (from monoprice), a little cheaper than buying direct from monoprice.  Want to see if the hifimediy dac can drive them directly. 

Would be cool if the pair can provide reasonable sound quality for less than $60.

Randy

[srb]

On another somewhat related note, I decided to buy a set of the Monoprice 8320/MEP-933 IEMs.  They are supposed to sound very good for the price, they were $9 with tax and free shipping on ebay (from monoprice), a little cheaper than buying direct from monoprice.  Want to see if the hifimediy dac can drive them directly.

On that sidenote, I just assumed that Apple would have sourced the best possible earbuds that could be included as an accessory with their products.  But when I compared them to other inexpensive earbuds and headphones that I had around, I was very surprised that they were the worst sounding of all of them (comparing to the Apple buds that came with iPod 30GB Video, iPod Mini and iPod Touch 4th Gen - iPod Touch 5th Gen and iPhone 5 have new earbuds that may be better ?).
 
You also bring up another interesting point about buying from vendors with websites that also list on eBay.  I just bought a non-audio product on eBay that had free shipping, but if I had purchased from that vendor's own website, I would have had to pay an additional $8.95 shipping.
 
I'd be interested in how you think the Monoprice earbuds sound.
 
Steve

[persisting1]

I don't know how intriguing that really is just because it uses a ESS Sabre brand chip.  ESS makes a variety of DAC chips from the most expensive 32-bit 9018 down to the entry-level 24-bit 9023 that requires a minimum of external parts and costs only a few dollars.
 
Edit:  I had made a reference in this post that the HRT Music Streamer II used the ESS 9023 chip, but that appears to have been taken from an erroneous source, and further searching seems to indicate that it is in fact a TI DAC chip, so that reference has been deleted from this post.
 
Steve

You are correct about Sabre manufacturing inexpensive DACs, but at this price point, I'd expect a no name Chinese brand.

[srb]

You are correct about Sabre manufacturing inexpensive DACs, but at this price point, I'd expect a no name Chinese brand.

Although there are "no-name" assembled Chinese DAC components, the majority of even the most inexpensive one are going to use DAC chips from established name brand microchip fabricators like TI, Wolfson, Analog Devices, Crystal, ESS and Asahi Kasei.
 
Steve

[navi]

$50 bucks!?!? i just ordered one. if i hate it i'll just give to a friend but if it's good i'll get a 5v power thingies for the USB cable

[randytsuch]

My DAC finally arrived a couple day ago, delayed by a Chinese holiday and then a couple weeks shipping.

At first I was not impressed, but then I tried a different IEM, and it was much better.  I was using my Spyder Realvoice in the beginning, and it definitely doesn't like to drive those, not sure if it's an impedance thing or not.

Seems fine with the monoprice and a Sunrise IEM.
Going to burn in some more and then see how it sounds.
Going to drive some IEM's directly, and also drive my "wire" headphone amp.

I was also somewhat surprised to see how small it is in real life, its about 1 3/8 x2 1/8 x 1/2.

Randy

[navi]

Got mine today.


Tried it with my Aiaiai headphones. Sounded pretty boring.
It sounded better with it plugged into my amp that has a headphone output (the only issue is my amp and desktop is having ground loop issues. I will have to buy a USB isolator)

I might try the ODAC next.


Ivan