[wushuliu]

Thank you, I was planning to use it with AudioEngine speakers.

Two reason.  One is that I have yet to listen to an AKM based implementation and other is that so far all of the ESS based DAC I have heard I have found them to be bit bright

There is no AKM equivalent of the SMSL IDEA or Sabaj DA3. SMSL does have an AKM desktop-type dac, I think it's called Sanskrit or something like that. I am not familiar with its specs.

[LesterSleepsIn]

There is no AKM equivalent of the SMSL IDEA or Sabaj DA3. SMSL does have an AKM desktop-type dac, I think it's called Sanskrit or something like that. I am not familiar with its specs.

What about his comment "all of the ESS based DAC I have heard I have found them to be bit bright".

Have others found this to be the case?

Cheers,
Lester

[shadowlight]

What about his comment "all of the ESS based DAC I have heard I have found them to be bit bright".

Have others found this to be the case?

Cheers,
Lester

I have a tendency to get earache when I listen to bright sound so I try to avoid it as much as possible.  I am still likely to end up purchasing the DAC if they do not work out I am not out a lot of cash, if I am unable to find alternate solution.

[wushuliu]

What about his comment "all of the ESS based DAC I have heard I have found them to be bit bright".

Have others found this to be the case?

Cheers,
Lester

Although I am partial to ESS, I have listened to plenty of other budget dacs and most importantly from a broad range of companies. In that spectrum I find ESS to be neutral/cool, but not bright. AD1955 Dacs like the Emotiva, THAT is bright and has a reputation for it. I'm not a fan. But a lot depends on implementation. The worst ESS dacs I've heard were the ODAC and Hifimediy - those were definitely bright and edgy. Otherwise, I'd say there is a reason ESS has such a big following - they hit a nice balance.

If you're partial to warm/smooth, these will not be a great fit.

[LesterSleepsIn]

Although I am partial to ESS, I have listened to plenty of other budget dacs and most importantly from a broad range of companies. In that spectrum I find ESS to be neutral/cool, but not bright. AD1955 Dacs like the Emotiva, THAT is bright and has a reputation for it. I'm not a fan. But a lot depends on implementation. The worst ESS dacs I've heard were the ODAC and Hifimediy - those were definitely bright and edgy. Otherwise, I'd say there is a reason ESS has such a big following - they hit a nice balance.

If you're partial to warm/smooth, these will not be a great fit.

Thanks for that .. and for this thread. Yes, in fact, I am patial to warm/smooth but if these are neutral they might work. Not a big investment, as shadowlight mentioned. Anyone have thoughts on an affordable warm/smooth dac?

[fredgarvin]

Couple of questions:
1) What do I need to order for Da3 if I want to hook it up to desktop computer and speakers?  I am assuming it comes standard with USB cable.  Will I need anything else?
2) Any one aware of any cheap dac based on AKM chip with similar specs?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/BREEZE-AUDIO-SU0-XMOS-U8-USB-DAC-AK4490-Headphone-amp-schiit-modi-killer-/182807654428?hash=item2a902f701c:g:4DgAAOSwrFJZ1V1l

[wushuliu]

https://www.ebay.com/itm/BREEZE-AUDIO-SU0-XMOS-U8-USB-DAC-AK4490-Headphone-amp-schiit-modi-killer-/182807654428?hash=item2a902f701c:g:4DgAAOSwrFJZ1V1l

Just a note: that DAC uses the older U8 Xmos, not the newer 208 in the Idea and Sabaj. The newer XMOS play an important part in the sound quality.

[shadowlight]

https://www.ebay.com/itm/BREEZE-AUDIO-SU0-XMOS-U8-USB-DAC-AK4490-Headphone-amp-schiit-modi-killer-/182807654428?hash=item2a902f701c:g:4DgAAOSwrFJZ1V1l

Thx.  I will check it out.

[shadowlight]

I purchased the Sabaj DA3 and received it today.  Installed the ASIO drivers from Sabaj's website and able to play PCM up sampled to 768 no issues, but DSD I get nothing but static, with very faint music in the background.  I am using HQPlayer on Win10 system, with unbalanced jack connected to AE 5 speakers.  I tried 44.1k x 512, 48k x 512 and couple of other lower settings.

If you have DSD working can you let me know your settings.

[JDUBS]

I purchased the Sabaj DA3 and received it today.  Installed the ASIO drivers from Sabaj's website and able to play PCM up sampled to 768 no issues, but DSD I get nothing but static, with very faint music in the background.  I am using HQPlayer on Win10 system, with unbalanced jack connected to AE 5 speakers.  I tried 44.1k x 512, 48k x 512 and couple of other lower settings.

If you have DSD working can you let me know your settings.

Does the correct sample rate show up on the Sabaj and / or the driver icon in the tray?

-Jim

[shadowlight]

Does the correct sample rate show up on the Sabaj and / or the driver icon in the tray?

-Jim

It sure does.  I restarted everything now it is playing 256 dsd fine and at 512 I get stuttering (my pc does not have enough power to convert).  Let's see what happens tomorrow when I try again.

[JDUBS]

It sure does.  I restarted everything now it is playing 256 dsd fine and at 512 I get stuttering (my pc does not have enough power to convert).  Let's see what happens tomorrow when I try again.

Ok, so it sounds like the DAC is working fine.

Btw, for DSD upsampling you might want to try a different program.  I've found that foo_input_sacd (in either Foobar or JRiver) sounds VERY close to HQPlayer and is super light weight in term of system resource usage.

-Jim

[karnana]

Is the DA-3 any better sounding than the Fiio K-1?

Definitely sounding better than Fiio E6 
 I got my da3 yesterday and loving it. I was expecting the decrease in noise level but the increase in detail exceeded my expectations.
It was picky with OTG cable, I don't know why. Works without any driver problem on my Note 4 and Windows pc.
Da3 uses x2 - x3 times more battery of my Note 4 so I may make a OTG cable with charging hack following here:
https://sites.google.com/site/sonicboomworld/my-projects/otg-diagrams

Since it has no driver or noise issues with android this will be the DAC I use until I can buy a Chord Mojo.

[shadowlight]

Ok, so it sounds like the DAC is working fine.

Btw, for DSD upsampling you might want to try a different program.  I've found that foo_input_sacd (in either Foobar or JRiver) sounds VERY close to HQPlayer and is super light weight in term of system resource usage.

-Jim

Thx Jim.  I will look into it.

[JDUBS]

Thx Jim.  I will look into it.

Cool - let me know if you need any help.

-Jim

[shadowlight]

Cool - let me know if you need any help.

-Jim

Will do.

[karnana]

Can anyone compare sabaj da3 to chord mojo?

[restrav]

this is not peanuts cheap but has anyone heard it?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/SMSL-M9-32bit-768kHz-DSD512-AK4490x2-XMOS-HiFi-Digital-Decoder-DAC-Headphone-amp/122786069524?rt=nc&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIM.MBE%26ao%3D2%26asc%3D41376%26meid%3Dc7fb771744554a4e881e13538860073a%26pid%3D100005%26rk%3D3%26rkt%3D6%26sd%3D322861563528&_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m2219

[restrav]

andd this one?

[restrav]

i started looking atthese because i am hoping to get Xmox 208 and RCA outputs and also headphone output and also stay away from ESS