Eastern Electric DAC

Levi · « **Reply #580 on:** 27 Apr 2010, 12:39 pm »

Thanks again Paul. In my book, you are the "king of opamps"!

You hit the nail on the head on the first try!

I may need to come back for more R & D. Just a little bit more s/n ratio and I am considering getting rid of my Esoteric CD Player.

Quote from: Occam on 27 Apr 2010, 05:11 am

Damn you Levi! Now I have to get me one of them purty EE dacs....
But I do appreciate the opportunity to evaluate the EE dac for its mod potential, without having to potentially blow up my own kit.
Now if I can just figure out where those electrolytic coupling caps are on the solid state output stage, I can bypass them for increased groovyness.

-Paul

Bill O'Connell · « **Reply #581 on:** 27 Apr 2010, 12:48 pm »

Quote from: Occam on 27 Apr 2010, 05:11 am

Damn you Levi! Now I have to get me one of them purty EE dacs....
But I do appreciate the opportunity to evaluate the EE dac for its mod potential, without having to potentially blow up my own kit.
Now if I can just figure out where those electrolytic coupling caps are on the solid state output stage, I can bypass them for increased groovyness.

-Paul

Paul,I'd love to get one in your hands but we are waiting for an IC to be delivered to the factory and that isn't happening till May 5th as the vulcano disrupted are shipping of parts.When they arrive I'll be in touch.

bacobits1 · « **Reply #582 on:** 27 Apr 2010, 01:07 pm »

Maybe I shouldn't bring this up, but why wasn't this stuff voiced in when developing the product?
It doesn't sound like it would add $$ to the product. Alex and Bill both know what they are doing.
Usually it's a price consideration.

D

Occam · « **Reply #583 on:** 27 Apr 2010, 01:33 pm »

Bacobits,

Of course the EE dac is built to a price point. All I can say is that I've never heard a stock dac <$1,000 that sounds anywhere near as good. Obviously, I've not heard them all. Nor have I seen anything at that level with the build quality, both inside and out. That said, the judicious selection of replacement chips costing > 20x as much does bring a significant improvement. This is not a situation of throwing shit up against a wall and seeing what sticks, but rather looking at what the specific requirements are for their intended function and choosing components that bring both measurable improvements as well as subjective bliss. The I/V chip was chosen specifically for its low noise, accuracy and speed, as well as its subjective character. Lawdy, what deep, tight bass, from both tube and solid state outputs, among other things. The output stage opamps were chosen for its extension and lack of sandstate grit. These characteristics come at a price, literally.

FWIW,
Paul

satfrat · « **Reply #584 on:** 27 Apr 2010, 01:40 pm »

Quote from: Occam on 27 Apr 2010, 01:33 pm

Bacobits,

Of course the EE dac is built to a price point. All I can say is that I've never heard a stock dac <$1,000 that sound anywhere near as good. Obviously, I've not heard them all. Nor have I seen anything at that level with the build quality, both inside and out. That said, the judicious selection of replacement chips costing > 20x as much does bring a significant improvement. This is not a situation of throwing shit up against a wall and seeing what sticks, but rather looking at what the specific requirements are for their intended function and choosing components that bring both measurable improvements as well as subjective bliss. The I/V chip was chosen specifically for its low noise, accuracy, as well as its subjective character. Lawdy, what deep, tight bass, from both tube and solid state outputs, among other things. The output stage opamps were chosen for its extension and lack of sandstate grit. These characteristics come at a price, literally.

FWIW,
Paul

I don't think the guy has a clue as to what the mod costs can rise to when taking a great sounding component and trying to make it sound better. I would suggest to you Bacobits that you keep an eye on Bolder Cables EE Dac mod thread and see for yourself how the costs can easily double the original cost of the EE Dac. It will make you appreciate what Eastern Electric has done at their cost point.

Cheers,
Robin

Big Red Machine · « **Reply #585 on:** 27 Apr 2010, 01:57 pm »

Okay, okay, I'll order one already! Somebody give me a head's up on the chips. I'm equipped to change them out.

Bill O'Connell · « **Reply #586 on:** 27 Apr 2010, 05:12 pm »

Both Alex and I believe our DAC sounds GREAT in its stock form.

Some folks just want to squeeze the last bit of performance out of it.
Here is the analogy I use.
Take a 1967 427 hp Camaro. Should I add headers onto it? ABSOLUTELY

Levi · « **Reply #587 on:** 27 Apr 2010, 05:15 pm »

I must agree. Anything you add to it, just makes it a personal taste.

satfrat · « **Reply #588 on:** 27 Apr 2010, 05:33 pm »

Quote from: Levi on 27 Apr 2010, 05:15 pm

I must agree. Anything you add to it, just makes it a personal taste.

But at a cost. Just adding Hynes voltage regulators to this Dac will probably add $800 alone (my guestimation?),,, practically the cost of the dac itself. But it will w/o a doubt step up the Dac's performance a notch or 3.

It's a pay to play situation for those with the means to step up to the plate.

Cheers,
Robin

Levi · « **Reply #589 on:** 27 Apr 2010, 05:40 pm »

As I mentioned anything you ad is simply personal taste.

For starters, buy the EE DAC from Bill then play around with tube rolling.

So far, tt costed me $30 for the Mullard CV4003 12AU7 and Finally, 4x OPAMPs $40 + one good friend who knows what his doing.

Priceless!

Big Red Machine · « **Reply #590 on:** 27 Apr 2010, 05:43 pm »

Quote from: Levi on 27 Apr 2010, 05:40 pm

As I mentioned anything you ad is simply personal taste.

For starters, buy the EE DAC from Bill then play around with tube rolling.

So far, tt costed me $30 for the Mullard CV4003 12AU7 and Finally, 4x OPAMPs $40 + one good friend who knows what his doing.

Priceless!

Source for the tube? Upscale?

Levi · « **Reply #591 on:** 27 Apr 2010, 05:45 pm »

Yup.

roscoeiii · « **Reply #592 on:** 27 Apr 2010, 10:06 pm »

Eastern Electric DAC got a mention on Audio Junkies today. Word is getting out.

http://www.audiojunkies.com/blog/1792/eastern-electric-minimax-tube-dac

Bill, it looks like they got the price incorrect, giving the price of the first airmail batch of $850. unless those arriving by boat are no longer going to be $750. I'd get that corrected, since $750 looks much sweeter than $850...

And they've got a link to your webpage in the write-up, but still no mention of the DAC to be seen there. Would be a shame to discourage any of the rabid DAC consumers out there. I bet some kind, techie AC soul might be able to help you get a quickie announcement or link to your Audiogon ad up on the website...

Hope this mention helps you rake in the sales Bill. Very exciting stuff (he says, biding his time...).

Bill O'Connell · « **Reply #593 on:** 27 Apr 2010, 10:44 pm »

Quote from: roscoeiii on 27 Apr 2010, 10:06 pm

Eastern Electric DAC got a mention on Audio Junkies today. Word is getting out.

http://www.audiojunkies.com/blog/1792/eastern-electric-minimax-tube-dac

Bill, it looks like they got the price incorrect, giving the price of the first airmail batch of $850. unless those arriving by boat are no longer going to be $750. I'd get that corrected, since $750 looks much sweeter than $850...

And they've got a link to your webpage in the write-up, but still no mention of the DAC to be seen there. Would be a shame to discourage any of the rabid DAC consumers out there. I bet some kind, techie AC soul might be able to help you get a quickie announcement or link to your Audiogon ad up on the website...

Hope this mention helps you rake in the sales Bill. Very exciting stuff (he says, biding his time...).

Thanks, I just wrote my webpage guy and asked him to shake a leg. I will have audio junkies correct the price to $750 also.

Thanks for looking out.

Bill

bacobits1 · « **Reply #594 on:** 28 Apr 2010, 12:10 am »

Thanks for the heads up on parts costs.
I really didn't think it would go that high on a DAC.
Very familiar with EE equipment at one time my whole system was EE.
Great stuff!

D

SET Man · « **Reply #595 on:** 28 Apr 2010, 12:18 am »

Quote from: Levi on 27 Apr 2010, 05:40 pm

.....

So far, tt costed me $30 for the Mullard CV4003 12AU7 and Finally, 4x OPAMPs $40 + one good friend who knows what his doing.

Priceless!

Hey!

The "one good friend...." part is definitely priceless.

Hmmm.... btw, did you paid for the parts with Master Card?

Take care,
Buddy

satfrat · « **Reply #596 on:** 28 Apr 2010, 12:30 am »

Quote from: bacobits1 on 28 Apr 2010, 12:10 am

Thanks for the heads up on parts costs.
I really didn't think it would go that high on a DAC.
Very familiar with EE equipment at one time my whole system was EE.
Great stuff!

D

You need only keep an eye on Bolder Cable's Eastern Electric DAC Mod's thread to see how fast the pricetag can and will escalate.

Cheers,
Robin

etcarroll · « **Reply #597 on:** 28 Apr 2010, 12:54 am »

Man, I really like this unit when I heard it at Topround's rave, but just blew the last of my 'disposable income' on Luminous Audio Lynx II cables and a pair of Cambre Timbre racks.

Wayne1 · « **Reply #598 on:** 28 Apr 2010, 01:17 am »

Levi,

Paul bought those op-amps off of E-bay as part of a "bulk buy". At individual pricing, they would go for closer to $20.00 each. For a manufacturer to use those same parts, they would most likely add at least $100.00 to the retail price of the DAC.

Bill has mentioned to me that he would like to have the new V-cap Copper Teflon Film caps installed in his DAC. First, I am not sure they will fit. Second, even if they DO fit, the largest value made may not be big enough. They would have to be used as bypass caps. Maybe using the OIMP caps for the bulk of the value needed. The MINIMUM those caps would cost, parts only, is $300.00. That is just for the tube stage output coupling caps. We have not even gotten close to what the PS regulators might cost.

All kudos to Alex and his team for building a fantastic sounding DAC for a great price. What I am going to try to do is tweak the last bit of performance possible from this unit. Cost not a consideration. Following Bill's simile, the standard BMW or Mercedes cars are very good. They are built to a price point. The M series and AMG cars are all about pure performance, cost be dammed. That is what I am going to try to do.

Levi · « **Reply #599 on:** 28 Apr 2010, 01:35 am »

Thanks!