HRT Streamer II, Dacport LX, VDAC MKii

wushuliu · « **on:** 3 Oct 2011, 09:36 pm »

Well Pink Floyd had to go and release a bunch of stuff in hi-rez format on their Immersion sets. So I pretty much am going to have to toss away my little modded Muse. However for whatever reason I am just not feeling up to buying a big old bulky DAC (I am going to wait until the Schiit hits its fans before considering it). I came across mention of DACport and it's gotten very good feedback (but very little mention on this forum); now they have a new version sans headphone amp called the LX for $300, so I figure wth and I bought one today. It's so tiny and cute.

Anyone have any thoughts on the DACport, regular or LX?

http://www.centrance.com/products/dacport/

Edit: I decided to try out the Streamer II and the new VDAC as well for kicks. I am in agreement within another member who said things are changing so fast it's hard to justify paying more than $400 for a DAC. So we'll see what happens.

JohnR · « **Reply #1 on:** 3 Oct 2011, 09:59 pm »

Wushu, the Muse does operate at 96k - mine does anyway, it seems to roll off a little early being around -3 dB at 30 kHz.

Edit: although, of course, only 16 bits... oops!

wushuliu · « **Reply #2 on:** 3 Oct 2011, 10:09 pm »

Quote from: JohnR on 3 Oct 2011, 09:59 pm

Wushu, the Muse does operate at 96k - mine does anyway, it seems to roll off a little early being around -3 dB at 30 kHz.

Edit: although, of course, only 16 bits... oops!

Ha, yeah. Sure sounds yummy though *sigh*. Slightly OT, but I have finally started doing speaker measurements with REW and Minidsp. I am curious as to how much I can 'dial in' a cheaper but solid dac (Stereophile measurements of the DACport were stellar) to suit my tastes as opposed to taking chances on a costlier choice. I am in over my head I know, but that's okay!

Noseyears · « **Reply #3 on:** 4 Oct 2011, 05:17 pm »

I have read good things about the regular version. At $300 its a worth investment on portable audio.

wushuliu · « **Reply #4 on:** 6 Oct 2011, 07:53 pm »

I also picked up a VDAC MKII today. I will compare the two and pick one. I do find the no-nonsense literature for the VDAC very amusing.

wushuliu · « **Reply #5 on:** 7 Oct 2011, 07:44 pm »

So Streamer II got some play time earlier this week and it's a 180 from the Muse. The Streamer brings forward a lot of musical information and overall seems pretty balanced. Some really good imaging, instrument placement is clear. I feel like the sigma delta upper frequency brightness is defintely in effect but maybe break-in will tame that. Busy passages can sound congested, otherwise for the money it does sound really, really good. No romance from this dac, gets straight to business.

The VDAC MKII showed up yesterday and I put in some time w/ it last night using USB and then Coax from an Audio-GD Digital Interface. The VDAC sounds reaaaal good out the box. Quieter background than the Streamer and a more analog, slightly smooth character. Strings are just a tad sweet, with excellent decay on all instruments. Vocals sound wonderful. I only spent a short time w/ the Audio-GD NFB-3 but I think they sound similar. $350 well spent. Excited to get some more time in on this one.

Still waiting for delivery info on DACport

eclein · « **Reply #6 on:** 7 Oct 2011, 09:45 pm »

Wush...where are you sourcing the DAC's??? I think you said you got one here on AC but the others are you just shopping them out or getting all from one source???

wushuliu · « **Reply #7 on:** 7 Oct 2011, 09:48 pm »

Quote from: eclein on 7 Oct 2011, 09:45 pm

Wush...where are you sourcing the DAC's??? I think you said you got one here on AC but the others are you just shopping them out or getting all from one source???

Dacport LX I got direct from CEntrance. The other two I got from Amazon (yay Amazon Prime - delivered next day). Amazing what you can get off Amazon now...

charmerci · « **Reply #8 on:** 8 Oct 2011, 05:19 am »

Quote from: wushuliu on 7 Oct 2011, 09:48 pm

Amazing what you can get off Amazon now...

They don't sell everything. You post on their site and they get a cut of your business if you post on their site.

wushuliu · « **Reply #9 on:** 13 Oct 2011, 09:37 pm »

Just popped in the DACport LX, and it is SWEET! Right out the box it was better than the rest. Right away I knew this was not a sigma delta based dac. Just something about the top frequencies of those dacs that have me fiddling forever with eq and just doesn't sound quite right (generalization based on my xp here). The LX sounds very right. Top end is both clean and extended and right away it's like 'aaahhhh', digititis-be-gone. It's got a very, very, quiet background - I can hear some new stuff in the background on certain tunes, or rather quieter elements have more body and texture. Overall presentation reminds me a lot of the top-notch DAC19 w/ the PCM1704 chips and the AD1865 DIY DAC but with a cleaner and more extended top end. Natural and balanced without fuzzy wuzzy slightly sweet nature of the TDA1543/Muse. I use full range speakers so I would be curious if it would be too 'detailed' (but not fatiguing) in a solid state/>2way speaker setup.

The VDAC MKII is great and almost conquers that top end tizziness, but the LX is straight out the box good with stock usb cable (w/ chokes no less), 1/4 to 1/8" adapter and cheap crappy 1/8"to RCA splitter. The other dacs I listened with Wireworld USB and Silver Coaxial cable, etc. and all sound best with coaxial instead of USB with Audio-GD Digital interface usb/spdif converter. So Centrance are doing something right with their usb tech.

AND it's the smallest of the lot AND it's portable. I was worried this was going to be a bright, hashy 100hr burn-in hassle. Instead, instant gratification. Big thumbs up to this dac.

jmc207 · « **Reply #10 on:** 13 Oct 2011, 10:04 pm »

I've been waiting for your update. Very interesting!

brother love · « **Reply #11 on:** 13 Oct 2011, 10:16 pm »

I'm looking into my first standalone DAC for iMac hook-up & tie-in to 2 channel system (Virtue Audio M451 amp & Piano CD, GR Research N3's transmission line speakers).

I'm interested in the Schiit Bifrost, the VDAC MkII & now the DACPort LX (man, that sucker is small

).

Keep the updates coming wushiliu ... good stuff !

JohnR · « **Reply #12 on:** 14 Oct 2011, 04:13 am »

Quote from: wushuliu on 13 Oct 2011, 09:37 pm

Just popped in the DACport LX, and it is SWEET! Right out the box it was better than the rest. Right away I knew this was not a sigma delta based dac.

Do you know what chip is in it?

wushuliu · « **Reply #13 on:** 14 Oct 2011, 06:05 am »

Quote from: JohnR on 14 Oct 2011, 04:13 am

Do you know what chip is in it?

AKM AK4396 I believe, same as in their DACmini.

wushuliu · « **Reply #14 on:** 15 Oct 2011, 06:06 am »

I can not think of anything bad or critical to say about the LX. 'For the first time in a long while I am rifling through my entire music collection (tm)'. Yeah, that whole deal. Everything sounds good, or rather the so-so sound great the well-recorded stuff sound superb. I can't overstate how much of a difference it makes not to have that sigma-delta sound. If I play with my eq and push the treble or mids up for kicks, it still sounds good, no fatigue which is a big deal for me as my ears are really sensitive to upper mids and higher. The delivery is so clean and grain-free that I find myself turning the volume up louder and louder without realizing that I am listening much louder than I usually do which is always a good sign - and with no loss of resolution, in fact the opposite. Cymbals sound like cymbals, vocals, man vocals are immaculate. Timbre, tone, placement. No real characteristics I can pinpoint so it's hard to describe. It's colorless, ordorless, stealth fidelity. This is the best dac I have had the pleasure of owning (not saying much, as aside from my diy builds I have not bought any retail dac >$500). Like DAC19, but way better.

The most concise description I can think of is when you remove caps from signal path. It's that kind of difference in presentation. So clean that I can pick up changes in down stream setup (I changed 2 inches of wire to connect to the Minidsp and the change absolutely transparent, that's crazy)

This is my first gateway audio purchase where I feel like yeah I would plunk down the $800 easy for the DacMini if it sounds better than this. I even have the urge to listen to Opera and I don't know jack squat about Opera. But I know it will kick ass on this dac.

Looks like the regular Dacport and Dacmini are what's getting reviews and feedback right now so hopefully the LX gets on the radar.

$310 shipped. Size of a snickersbar. Unf'inbelievable.

Ok, Putting my pom poms down now.

django11 · « **Reply #15 on:** 15 Oct 2011, 11:48 am »

So does this thing beat the pants off the HRT Streamer ( which I have and like ) or edge it out?

brother love · « **Reply #16 on:** 15 Oct 2011, 02:11 pm »

wushuliu,

Apologies if I am missing it somewhere, but can you share what the rest of your 2 channel rig is besides the subject DAC's? Source material ? And did you consider the DACport LX splitter that is available w/ purchase for $50 ?

Thanks, brother love

nonoise · « **Reply #17 on:** 15 Oct 2011, 04:19 pm »

wushullu,

Great to hear your experience with the DAC LX. I've had the DACmini for about a month now and thought it was just me but it is unf*inbelieveable! Clarity can suffice as the only descriptive needed. And, if I read the reviews (particularly 6moons.com) correctly, it is the latest delta-sigma device out there that doesn't need filters for the nasty HF noise that plagued earlier designs. Its something like 60db quieter than the better R2R designs out there right now.

I'm new to computer audio and a lot of this is way over my head but my ears tell me not to look any further, for now. In fact, as soon as I pay down some debt, I'm getting an LX for my headphones for computer listening and for my Audioengine A2s as it was a BIG letdown when I moved my DACmini over to my main rig, away from my desk: it was that big of a difference.

Its wonderful, now, to fully appreciate the emotion a musician can bring to a performance. Nothing sounds recorded anymore and the whole stage is lit up from within, side to side and front to back.
Even my Shure SRH-940 headphones, which sounded a bit lean and analytical, are now more full bodied and there is no fatigue. I can see why that reviewer at headfi compared them to Sennheiser HD-800s. Another great buy for 1/5 the price.

All the best,
Nonoise

wushuliu · « **Reply #18 on:** 15 Oct 2011, 05:43 pm »

Quote from: django11 on 15 Oct 2011, 11:48 am

So does this thing beat the pants off the HRT Streamer ( which I have and like ) or edge it out?

Strips the Streamer down to it's tighty whities... really, it's a whole other level of performance.

wushuliu · « **Reply #19 on:** 15 Oct 2011, 06:12 pm »

Quote from: brother love on 15 Oct 2011, 02:11 pm

wushuliu,

Apologies if I am missing it somewhere, but can you share what the rest of your 2 channel rig is besides the subject DAC's? Source material ? And did you consider the DACport LX splitter that is available w/ purchase for $50 ?

Thanks, brother love

HTPC, using either XBMC or XXXHighend for mp3, flac, and .wav playback.
-->DAC -->Minidisp-->Classdaudio CDA Amp-->Usher 8" woofers (<100hz)
Minidsp-->SimpleSE tube amp-->Dual Mark Audio EL70 fullrange

For the other dacs I also used an Audio-GD DI usb/spdif converter.

Hard for me to consider their splitter when there's a Radio Shack down the street and I have lots
of wire and rca's. Also, to minimize connections and save space I have the LX connected to the minidsp with only a couple inches of wire and a dpdt to switch between ht receiver and dac, so I couldn't use their cable anyways.