[walkern]

I sent an e-mail inquiry to PeachTree USA Sales yesterday noting that I'd committed to buy (and paid for) a DAC*IT almost 4 weeks ago, and expected it to be shipped by Mid June.  Since June is pretty much over, I asked how much longer it would be.  Got a prompt reply from David Solomon saying they had a minor setback, and had done some additional tweaking to the product, and they are 'in the water now'.  He said they are expecting them in 3 weeks, so anyone else who has been an early adopter will need to be a bit more patient.  Just thought I'd let folks know.

Neil

[JDUBS]

I took the plunge and ordered 3x Dac*it. They still can be modded inside as the sabre chips only needs 3.3 V which is the exact voltage the PIO4 batteries deliver.
What persuaded me is the low ps of the clock, the price, the (very) good reviews of Peachtree gear and the very favorable postings in forums of the this particular sabre chip which does not need I/V conversions.

I need a 6 channel dac for my DEQX to bypass the inner dacs of the DEQX

it is a jump in the deep as i could not find one review of the dac*it it should have shipped half June which is 10 days ago

I'm very curious how you will be incorporating this with the DEQX....3x digital output?

-Jim

[kyrill]

hi
Neil:  Yep thx for sharing
I had the same message So i expect them ( hopefully) end Juli
On the other hand it shows Peachtree takes the quality of their end product seriously.

Jim:
You are right he DEQX need the separate digital out board. It has 3x2 digital out.


General:
As the Dac*it is completely reliable on 9V  DC in I presume they have inner voltgae reulators which seen its  price range -can be improved upon  with po4 batteries


K========

I have ordered the 3 dac*it but got a message the next day they dont sell to customers in Europe. Ah well

So i ordered 3 Burson Audio da-160 dacs, and with no problems

[mcoaggie]

Anyone receive their Dac*it yet?  "On the water" would have put it 45-60 days typically so just curious as everywhere I look it still says preorder.  I haven't been into any shops lately although they also show preorder.  This is on the top of my list.

[kyrill]

As it is the same chip as in John Kenny's JDAC I presume the latter to be better sounding
For some reason small young entrepreneurs are not hindered by "old" this is the way we do things (company culture). Having no culture freed  the mind so fast that if talent is present it can fly and swing much more creative than established companies

[walkern]

Anyone receive their Dac*it yet?  "On the water" would have put it 45-60 days typically so just curious as everywhere I look it still says preorder.  I haven't been into any shops lately although they also show preorder.  This is on the top of my list.

I put in a call to Peachtree last week after getting no reply to my second e-mail inquiry about DAC*IT delivery dates.  David Soloman answered the phone, and we chatted briefly.  He noted that the units were still 'on the water', but that he expected them shortly.  He seemed a little worried that they might get hung up in customs but even if that happened, he said that wouldn't hold them up much longer.  He also said that the entire first shipment is sold to folks who pre-ordered... so if you haven't pre-ordered, your wait will probably be a while longer.

Neil

[mcoaggie]

As it is the same chip as in John Kenny's JDAC I presume the latter to be better sounding

This has me intrigued.  Wish the Aussie Dollar wasn't on a 30 year tear right now. 

I almost bought a buffalo II a few weeks ago but realized I didn't have the time to deal with it.  An external dac is my missing link for now but would like to hear it in my system first.  I've almost bought a nova on a couple of occasions but do not relly need all the utlilites it provides.  I'm very curious about the dac*it  and I know I can get a demo of it when it finally is available. 

[kyrill]

you have ( when you cannot listen yourself) to trust reviews of the better on line magazines or better yet combine them with reviews on forums ( audiocircle, audiogon and many more others) or trust some "established persons like bhobba ( of this forum)

[walkern]

My DAC*IT arrived just now via Fed Ex!  I'm at work, so no chance to listen to the little bugger, but I opened the box and checked the unit out, and the cosmetics remind me a LOT of a Mac Mini.   Seems very nicely constructed.

Will report on the sonics tomorrow after it has had plenty of time to settle in 

Neil

[kyrill]

tomorrow is plenty of time?

[walkern]

Sarcasm... just another service I offer.   

Actually, I am hoping the unit will reveal some semblance of it's character even fresh out of the box.  I got a chance to listen to an E.E. DAC before and after it had a chance to break in, and the overall sonic character remained quite consistent... although it did smooth out a bit over time.

N

[MttBsh]

Sarcasm... just another service I offer.   

Actually, I am hoping the unit will reveal some semblance of it's character even fresh out of the box.  I got a chance to listen to an E.E. DAC before and after it had a chance to break in, and the overall sonic character remained quite consistent... although it did smooth out a bit over time.

N

Actually, I'd be very interested in your impressions of how your new DAC sounds compared to the EE.  Thank you!

[walkern]

I'll keep you posted!  And I'll even report back after the *IT has had some time to settle in. 

[walkern]

Here are my initial impressions of the DAC*IT.

The unit feels very sturdy, looks nicely constructed, and even comes with a cute little remote that will switch inputs, mute the unit, and switch it on and into standby.  The on/standby button is illuminated by a green LED when in standby, and a bright blue LED when the unit is powered on.  The soft touch buttons that switch from one input to another feel kind of like the control buttons from the old Philips GA212 turntable, and they too are backlit with a blue LED.

Sonically the first thing that got my attention was the bass.  The bottom end sounds very extended, punchy and authoritative.  My recollection of the bass on the EE DAC was similar, except it was a bit warmer (more midbass?) and a little less well defined (via the tube output). Anyone with full range speakers and/or a good sub will admire the way this thing portrays the bottom 2 or 3 octaves. 

The midrange is very clear and articulate, with an excellent knack for unraveling complex material.  It seemed very even handed with both male and female vocals, and did not emphasize or minimize sibilance or nasality.  Guitars and violins both seemed to have the appropriate level of body and string tone.  The upper midrange had a little  bit of glare when I first fired up the unit, but that disappeared within an hour or two of listening.

The top end seems a tiny bit recessed or relaxed, but also has great clarity.  Cymbals in particular sounded very clean, with no spit or grit added, and yet plenty of shimmer.  Transient speed is very good, and instrument decay was not foreshortened in any way.

The DAC*IT seemed to be very revealing of what preceded it.  I tried a couple of different digital cables, and also tried it with and without my original DIP (between transport and DAC), and it clearly showed off the differences.  I only listened to a couple of hi rez downloads via my Logitech Touch, and the difference between the 16 bit/ 44K material (from CDs fed to the DAC*IT) and the 24/ bit 96K material was clearly showcased.

The unit reveals dynamic shifts extremely well.  I'd start things off at what I expected to be a reasonable volume, and then discover shortly thereafter that loud sections were too loud.  Small and large dynamic swings were handled effortlessly and made almost everything I listened to a bit more exciting.

The only disappointing aspect to the unit that I heard when I first fired it up was a clear shrinking of the soundstage.  Lateral images were all limited to a narrow area within the spread of my speakers, and front to back layering seemed compressed.  The unit had very sharply focused images that seemed to lack body or three dimensionality.  The DAC*IT also seemed just okay with ambiance recovery... seeming to shrink the size of the recorded venue a little.  This gradually changed throughout the next 3 hours, and by the time I pulled myself away to get some sleep the soundstage had expanded back to the proportions available from my previous DAC (a Lampucera), and singers and instruments had regained their properly 3D or fleshed out proportions.  At this point this is the only area where the DAC*IT doesn't seem comparable (IMHO) to the performance of the EE DAC, however it may well improve more with additional time to settle in.  Please note that my listening experience with the EE DAC was not in my home and with my gear, so I may not be giving the EE DAC it's full due or credit.  From what I do remember though, the overall character of the DAC*IT and the EE are quite similar in many if not most respects.

Neil

[kyrill]

Hi Neil

what happened with the soundstage, when the unit is now fully played in?

[walkern]

Hi All,

Now that the unit is fully settled in I feel I should offer up and update.  The problem is, I don't have much else to say.  The *IT continues to offer superb bass, with excellent extension, control and tone.  The midrange seems more fleshed out now, with a touch more 'body' to singers and midrange based instruments.  The transient speed remains very quick and articulate, but with no etch or artificial edge.  The treble has gone through a few shifts, occasionally sounding a bit recessed, and then returning to a nice balance with the mids and bass.  With respect to the soundstage, it now is completely dependent on the recording and source.  I can clearly hear the compromises associated with streaming hi rez files from my computer to my Touch, as compared to loading them in using a flash drive.  The stage can be anything from huge to intimate, and very accurately follows the recorded venue.  The image precision seems spot on as well, with no miniaturization or artificial expansion of instruments or voices.  I recently upgraded my digital cable and the difference (read increase)  in 'air' and apparent venue 'information' was the first thing that got my attention.  At this point I still don't think the *IT is quite the match for the E.E. DAC, but the differences are quite small.  The E.E. (from my memory) still has a more palpable presence.  Everything sounds a bit more 3 dimensional.  And I think the bass on the E.E. DAC had even more authority, although not quite the same level of control or speed or articulation.  But in every other respect, I'd say the *IT is right there with the (original) E.E.

Hope this helps folks considering the *IT.  It is quite a marvelous sounding piece of kit, and IMHO well worth its price tag. 

Oh, and one other thing... I've used a Monarchy DIP Classic for years between my transport and DAC, always finding that it improved things, until now.  At this point it doesn't seem to have any effect at all, which I presume is a tribute to the Sabre DAC chip sets' jitter rejection effectiveness.

Neil

[Chuckdog2005]

I received mine Friday. I believe you have presented a very fair and accurate description of the DaciT's performance. I'm new to dacs, so I've limited experience with others offerings, but I believe this to be a worthwhile investment.
The overall sound is much smoother than the analog out on the SBT. The harshness common to the upper mids is virtually gone. The sound is much improved for both male and female vocals. Voices simply sound more natural and full bodied to me.
Your description of the top ends performance is dead on with mine. Tophats sound more natural, without the common sizzle. It has had that small tweaking effect that I was looking for on my Maggie 1.7's, without the muffling effect of resistor changes.
The bass performance compares well with any digital presentation that I've heard. No complaints in the lower registries for me.
I was indeed skeptical of major differences in dacs, no more though. I'm sure there are much better performers offered, but this unit offers as near to analog sound as I've heard, while delivering it at an affordable price.

Thank you for your very informative post on the Sabre dacs and the DaciT, as it aided me in my selection of this particular unit as my first outboard dac. CD.

[kyrill]

nice

As a side note, if people listen through a windows 7 or Vista  PC instead of apple and mac, do yourself a great favor and even buy Jplay.  There is a free demo version available See jplay.eu  I bought it after listening for only 10 minutes. It considerably lowers jitter  coming out of the USB bus. It does not replace yr favorite player (Foobar or so) but takes over the rendering process of yr player

[mcoaggie]

Very nice review of the *IT.  I'm hoping to do a demo of the *IT and schitt's Bifrost soon.
Kyrill thanks for the tip on jplay. 

Don't want to divert the thread but I'm Curious if you had tried PotPlayer x86/x64 (aka "KMPlayer Reloaded") using slysoft's reclock over WASAPI on Windows Vista/7?  It was a significant improvement for me. 

I'll download jplay and give it a shot.

[jkeny]

As it is the same chip as in John Kenny's JDAC I presume the latter to be better sounding
For some reason small young entrepreneurs are not hindered by "old" this is the way we do things (company culture). Having no culture freed  the mind so fast that if talent is present it can fly and swing much more creative than established companies

Thanks Kyrill. My JKDAC is a modified Hiface feeding I2S to a ES9023 (I introduced DIYAudio to the great sound of the ES9022 DAC chip). So this is a true 24/192 USB DAc & will be compared shortly against a Dac*It in an upcoming review