Soekris "dac1541": DAC/Amp - Stream of Consciousness Impressions

Discussion in 'Headphone Amplifiers and Combo (DAC/Amp) Units' started by Torq, Jul 27, 2017.

  1. Comzee

    Comzee Facebook Friend

    Contributor
    Joined:
    Jul 22, 2016
    Likes Received:
    106
    Trophy Points:
    33
    I agree with most of what's here about the Soekris 1541.
    It's a phenomenal DAC for the group price too. I'll just say it's hard resolution capped, specifically compared to Yggdrasil, and even my agd master 7. I'm not sure why this hasn't been brought up more, but I just thought I'd highlight it for anybody thinking this will deliver comparable detail to Yggdrasil or similar dacs like pavane, it won't. I also found the 1541 just a hair fuzzy, whatever you want to take from that.
     
  2. Cellist88

    Cellist88 Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Nov 11, 2015
    Likes Received:
    1,607
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    NJ
    I think the Soekris 1541 has great hardware....it just needs a more advanced filter like chord dave or schiit mega burrito filter and it'll probably get there.
     
  3. randytsuch

    randytsuch Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Oct 13, 2017
    Likes Received:
    259
    Trophy Points:
    65
    Location:
    Los Angeles, Ca
    At some point, some guys at diyaudio were developing filters for the original soekris dac, and you can load these filters into his newer dacs. Seems like a lot of time and effort was spent on filters, and they evolved over time as people listened and critiqued them. I haven't seen any more filter work for a while, so I wouldn't expect much to happen on this front.

    There are filters other than what comes loaded, so you can get a 232 adapter and load in other filters and give them a try.

    I posted this before, but just in case, I wrote instructions for loading filters for the original dac, and it would apply for the 1541 except the 232 connector moved
    http://randytsuch-audio.blogspot.com/2015/11/soekris-r2r-dam-dac.html

    Randy
     
  4. sacredgates

    sacredgates Audio-Technica's high priest

    Contributor
    Joined:
    Oct 17, 2015
    Likes Received:
    417
    Trophy Points:
    63
    Location:
    Black Forest Germany
    Home Page:
    @Comzee:
    I think the general consensus here until now ist that there is little to complain about the resolution offered by the Soekris Dac. But yes, some have already mentioned it is topped by a few other SBAF favorite dacs.
    Just a few quotes regarding resolution, all taken from this thread:

     
  5. earnmyturns

    earnmyturns Smartest friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Sep 25, 2016
    Likes Received:
    3,218
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Palo Alto
    Home Page:
    My impressions are not purely like-with-like, each of my DACs (dac1541, Yggdrasil, Holo Spring KTE 3 is in a different system for a different place, and I've too busy with the rest of life or listening to music to try every permutation. I'm also not nearly as knowledgeable or trained to listen as some of the expert reviewers here. Instead of trying words, here are my visual similes for each (follow the links): dac1541 (clean edges, everything in its place), Yggdrasil (microdetail, dynamics, 3D space), Holo Spring (slightly warm, emotionally grabbing).
     
  6. Metro

    Metro Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Dec 27, 2016
    Likes Received:
    1,590
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    San Francisco
    I applied a dimming film to the volume display, and it helped to tame the bright glare.
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    However, the LED dots are still too bright. They protrude out and it isn't possible to apply film.
    Anybody have an idea what I can do to dim them?
    [​IMG]
     
  7. Jh4db536

    Jh4db536 Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    May 25, 2016
    Likes Received:
    926
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    Los Angeles
    Home Page:
    [​IMG]

    Got this on loaner the other day from our awesome Sbaf Friends. Got it to work after a couple quirks, i.e. it wouldn't lock digital signal with my NanoDigi upstream of it so i had to connect it directly to my VRDS25 via coax. Played with a few filters, tried it as a headphone amp, dac/pre directly to my power amp. Never really tried it with USB.

    Appreciate the generous feature set...remote control, preamp, headphone amp, filters (that actually do something), flexible PSU. This thing is great AIO unit for the price and i think it has a lot of potential like others have said. It's got a dark blackground, flat FR, ultra clean sounding, correct stage size, no warm up bs. Headphone amp is good all around and it would probably cost $300+ to get something better.

    If you never heard filters do anything on other dacs, you will hear them do something on this dac. They are very extreme course adjustments and I personally could not find a filter that i liked:

    Green - least sterile, rich sounding (maybe even had some plankton), fuct stage (like Yggdrasil) but so rounded and limp dick its unusable.
    Orange - Like above, a notch crisper, harsh and piercing...unusable.
    Red - this is the one everyone likes. Wider staging, more depth than Yggdrasil, sterile, crispy, fast decay, not piercing, not harsh. It's less engaging than Yggdrasil, which upfront is my preference on presentation.
    I really need a combination of green and red or something; that's why i say this has potential to be more.

    I stuck with red filter since that's the one that's tolerable for me. Ultimately i could find something likable between all the filters but not all at once.

    The fast decay thing which you can hear on pretty much anything i.e. any eric clapton MTV live track really bothers me. The bells, cymbals, string plucks don't hang in the air like they should even though there's background ambiance and reverb. It's like the DAC makes the correct sound but it's not convincing sounding like it came out of the instrument. It's not musical and a little flat dynamically. Information is missing... How they hit the note of a piano, roll of the fingers on the keys, the artistic touch, the emotion its absent. Monotonous

    It's sterile sounding even through my tube amp, more so than using the ncore400 in front of my Yggdrasil.

    Okay, i now i want my grayness back, little stage, mass details to be thrown in my face, plankton injected into my vein, and burrito phat dick bass filter back.

    **It's been over a year since i had a Gungnir Multibit, but i think this is a better deal. :)

    Edit:

    Black Filter - Similar to green, less rounded and more bite only in the center (very center focused and engaging) with a different set of compromises, but i think it was more enjoyable overall than green. The stuff happening outside the center suffers (think fish eye effect). Reminds me Minimum Phase Apodizing filter on my other dac.

    It's very important for the Soekris not to lose its attributes in the red filter. That's what differentiates it from the other dacs out there (for better or worst?).

    I am understanding that the filters can be customized DIY so it's possible that something can be cooked up. I just comment on the filters that come with the retail product.

    I've always been curious about the DAM1021-12 DIY PCBs. I was too afraid to invest in one blindly after the lukewarm review of the USB powered version (frankly no interest in that configuration) that went around here prior to the 1541 product line existed. I am honestly still in the belief that 1541 can be improved further because likely compromises were made for the dac unit to be this small.
     
    Last edited: Dec 24, 2017
  8. sacredgates

    sacredgates Audio-Technica's high priest

    Contributor
    Joined:
    Oct 17, 2015
    Likes Received:
    417
    Trophy Points:
    63
    Location:
    Black Forest Germany
    Home Page:
    @Jh4db536
    Thanks for some insightful additions to this impressions thread. Hands and also Comzee (in a personal conversation) have been pointing already at the (too) fast decay you describe.
    Is the Soekris dac still with you? Did you try the soft Minimum Phase filter (a soft butterworth filter)? This is a fourth filter which is engaged when the filter light is off. This is a soft variation of the green light butterworth filter, and is the one I use the most.
    I think that this is the one Hands preferred as well. In his impressions (page 8 of this thread) he writes:
    The sharpest filter was the most focused and dynamic sounding at the expense of a mild glare and a slightly too forward and small stage. The soft filter had a more natural tone and a larger, airier sound to it, but it was slightly less dynamic and focused sounding. The soft filter was my preference for a mixture of more analytical and enjoyable listening.
     
    Last edited: Dec 24, 2017
  9. paras1te

    paras1te New

    Banned
    Joined:
    Dec 14, 2015
    Likes Received:
    5
    Trophy Points:
    8
    Here's one of the (now-defunct) DEDICATED filter sites for the Soekrit DAC
    http://www.moredamfilters.info/
    https://web.archive.org/web/20161025204639/http://www.moredamfilters.info/

    Unclear why this DAC is still getting attention? It's been avail. on DIYA since Jul. 2014 (at least, in a stuffed PCB form).
    Discrete R2R ladder DACs are nothin' new, folks. Larvy, MSB, Diy Paradise, etc., have been offerin' 'em up to consumerism-lovin' consumers fer DECADES.

    Methinks, the FPGA (DSP) route is more interestin'. Yep, Wadia, Theta, Meitner, etc. did their digital filters this way startin' in da mid-80s. And I think Chord offered their DAC64 DAC (which also had an FPGA DAC) in 1999.

    Speakin' of Chord ... all this hoopla of their new "new" Dave and Mojo and Hugo. Chord's been doin' it since 1999 (at least). Prolly ... many of youz readin' this weren't even born.

    Y'all 'ave a good 'un, now ya hear ;)
     
  10. jowls

    jowls Never shitposts (please) - Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Oct 3, 2015
    Likes Received:
    4,495
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    42°S
    Sometimes I wonder how Big D is doing :rolleyes:

    I hope he is still living large and dropping truth bombs on a forum someplace.
     
  11. Metro

    Metro Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Dec 27, 2016
    Likes Received:
    1,590
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    San Francisco
    The dac1541 has been getting attention because of positive reviews. What competitive products (not DIY) would you suggest?
     
  12. PacoTaco

    PacoTaco Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Nov 24, 2015
    Likes Received:
    1,474
    Trophy Points:
    93
    It' gotten good reviews, and quite a few people like it more than the Gungnir Multibit (and a few on the discoe d prefer it to the Yggdrasil.)

    It also has a FPGA already. And the group buy price brought it to $1160.

    Edit: meant 1160, sorry
     
    Last edited: Dec 24, 2017
  13. randytsuch

    randytsuch Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Oct 13, 2017
    Likes Received:
    259
    Trophy Points:
    65
    Location:
    Los Angeles, Ca
  14. joch

    joch Friend

    Pyrate Contributor
    Joined:
    Oct 8, 2015
    Likes Received:
    1,397
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    the other side of the big ocean
    Having kids and working with their school projects made wonder as I'm tempted to get one of these...

    Perhaps try some Elmer's glue, mix in a bit of ink, and brush on carefully over the LEDs. These can peel right off when semi-dry if you decide it doesn't work, or make a mess.
     
  15. gepardcv

    gepardcv Almost "Made"

    Contributor
    Joined:
    Nov 20, 2015
    Likes Received:
    408
    Trophy Points:
    63
    Location:
    Terra, Sol System
    The smallest round LightDim stickers do work on the protruding LEDs. It’s not the prettiest thing ever as the plastic film wrinkles, but it’s hella better than the bright lights.
     
  16. Soups

    Soups Sadomasochistic cat

    Pyrate Contributor
    Joined:
    Dec 26, 2017
    Likes Received:
    1,598
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    WA
    I've found 1 or 2 layers of blue masking tape a cheap, no-residue, and tolerably ugly (like the 1541 itself) alternative to the LightDims. Although a couple of slim strips of that might be the simplest (temporary?) solution here, one way to get fancy is use a hole punch to achieve some nice discs.
     
  17. dmckean44

    dmckean44 In a Sherwood S6040CP relationship

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Nov 17, 2016
    Likes Received:
    1,425
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    Peoria, IL
    I've heard that a layer of black nail polish does a good job.
     
  18. joch

    joch Friend

    Pyrate Contributor
    Joined:
    Oct 8, 2015
    Likes Received:
    1,397
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    the other side of the big ocean
    Ordered mine directly from the website--I had hoped to be in a group buy, but alas being in Asia means that getting it shipped directly here is less hassle. I hope that Soekris can successfully set up global channels for easier purchase.

    I had balked at acquiring more stuff, but hey, if Torq, atomicbob et al considered buying it, it can't be all that bad....
     
  19. PacoTaco

    PacoTaco Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Nov 24, 2015
    Likes Received:
    1,474
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Everyone's units are going to be shipped to me on the second.
     
  20. JoshMorr

    JoshMorr Friend

    Pyrate BWC
    Joined:
    Oct 4, 2015
    Likes Received:
    3,066
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Portland, ME
    Maybe you can PM people in the groupbuy to keep this thread about impressions? There has to be at least a dozen posts that very few people care about.

    Interested to hear consensus on which filter people like best. Seems to be pretty even split on off and red. I liked off when i had the unit, many others thought red was a bit sharper.
     

Share This Page