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

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

  1. Grahad2

    Grahad2 Red eyes from too much anime

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Jan 26, 2017
    Likes Received:
    1,162
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Singapore
    To me it sounds like the knob is pressed too far in and is scratching against the faceplate than being a terrible pot...

    Probably a keyed knob attached with some adhesive.
     
  2. GoodEnoughGear

    GoodEnoughGear Evil Dr. Shultz‎

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Oct 25, 2015
    Likes Received:
    3,070
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Cape Town, South Africa
    The knob seems to extend back into the faceplate - it is mounted in a circular cutout. The sides of the knob are scraping on the cutout.
     
  3. Hrodulf

    Hrodulf Prohibited from acting as an MOT until year 2050

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Sep 28, 2015
    Likes Received:
    4,276
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Hardware is hard and casework especially so.
     
  4. GoodEnoughGear

    GoodEnoughGear Evil Dr. Shultz‎

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Oct 25, 2015
    Likes Received:
    3,070
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Cape Town, South Africa
    Agreed. We have a solution in the remote control, and a knockoff like I bought costs ten bucks. Forgivable entirely for the sound quality IMO.
     
  5. TheIceman93

    TheIceman93 El pato-zorro

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Dec 17, 2016
    Likes Received:
    1,300
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    SoCal
    The knob is almost certainly glued to the pot. I gave it a decent tug but it didn’t budge at all. The issue is that that the circular cut out for the knob is too tight and the knob scrapes the sides since it isn’t mounted dead center. Furthermore, the knob itself jiggles a little side to side / forward and back. The knob feels like it’s about to fall off yet it is glued very firmly in place. So strange. I’m not going to fiddle with it for fear of breaking it.

    That being said. I’m just going to have to live with it because this thing isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. The sound quality is quite something. Even the built in amp is impressing me. The knob is driving me nuts but the sound makes me love it anyways.
     
  6. GoodEnoughGear

    GoodEnoughGear Evil Dr. Shultz‎

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Oct 25, 2015
    Likes Received:
    3,070
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Cape Town, South Africa
    Let's see what @soekris has to say. A wider cutout may go a long way to help. Might even be something you could DIY if they could ship a new faceplate.
     
  7. soekris

    soekris MOT - Soekris Engineering

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Mar 25, 2016
    Likes Received:
    954
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    Denmark
    Yes, case work is hard and knobs from China isn't that good.... The knob is actually not glued on, just pressed on, one thing to try is to pull out a little on the knob, sometimes they get too close to the alu front, working in a fix for that.... The hole in the knob itself is also not centered perfectly, in next production lot the matching cutout in the front will be enlarged a little....

    We try to make them fit perfectly, sometimes scrapping knobs, sounds like we need to tighten up on quality control.

    If anybody have problems, just let me know and I can send you a couple of knobs to try on....
     
    Last edited: Jan 18, 2018
  8. mocenigo

    mocenigo Acquaintance

    Banned
    Joined:
    Sep 26, 2017
    Likes Received:
    26
    Trophy Points:
    18
    Location:
    Munich
    Just push it to side slightly, so that it won't scratch anymore against the inner border of hole in the front it is plugged into.

    Roberto
     
  9. mocenigo

    mocenigo Acquaintance

    Banned
    Joined:
    Sep 26, 2017
    Likes Received:
    26
    Trophy Points:
    18
    Location:
    Munich
    Is the black front aluminium? It seemed plastic to me...

     
  10. soekris

    soekris MOT - Soekris Engineering

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Mar 25, 2016
    Likes Received:
    954
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    Denmark
    The whole case is aluminum, the knob is aluminum with a plastic insert.
     
  11. mocenigo

    mocenigo Acquaintance

    Banned
    Joined:
    Sep 26, 2017
    Likes Received:
    26
    Trophy Points:
    18
    Location:
    Munich
    Ok so it must be the particular type of brushing that gives the front that weird feeling. I like the case, it has this look of a medical device (must be the green and the cover asymmetries). It is small, compact, and at the same ime the DAC with its unassuming, understated look (which I consider to be a plus) has greatly surprised a friend of mine with its sound resembling a high mass turntable – but with an absurdly deep noise floor and great separation.

    Roberto
     
    Last edited: Jan 20, 2018
  12. TheIceman93

    TheIceman93 El pato-zorro

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Dec 17, 2016
    Likes Received:
    1,300
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    SoCal
    Issues with the volume knob aside, this thing is really impressing the hell out of me. I’m considering going for a nearfield monitor set up which is the real reason I got the 1541 but my LCD2 Classic still needed something balanced to drive it. I have to say, the built in amp is not an afterthought. It’s maybe not the best match with my Eikon but it really seems to click with my LCD. This DAC just sounds right. It has tons of detail, great instrument separation, very precise yet still organic sounding. I now totally get the R2R love.

    Some may slightly prefer the sound of the Gungnir Multibit but for roughly the same price, the Soekris gives you a really solid headphone amp with plenty of power to drive most headphones. This really is the best combo unit I’ve heard and for now, I’m totally satisfied with the sound quality of headphones driven directly by the 1541. Well done Soekris.
     
  13. Elnrik

    Elnrik Super Friendly

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Jan 10, 2017
    Likes Received:
    8,973
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Denver CO
    Home Page:
    Why is that?
     
  14. TheIceman93

    TheIceman93 El pato-zorro

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Dec 17, 2016
    Likes Received:
    1,300
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    SoCal
    Hard to say. I’m honestly not sure. The Eikon hasn’t sounded it’s best on any SS amps I’ve heard it on. I hear the Auteur plays better with SS gear. I made the mistake of listening to the Eikon on the Aficionado and Stratus at the Pasadena meet. I will say that the Eikon sounds better out of the 1541 than it does with my Modi Multibit/RS08 combo. Still, I think it needs tubes to sounds it’s best while the LCD has better synergy with my SS gear.
     
  15. TheIceman93

    TheIceman93 El pato-zorro

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Dec 17, 2016
    Likes Received:
    1,300
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    SoCal
    I’d take you up on that offer but for the life of me, I can’t get the knob to budge. If I pull any harder, I’m worried that I will snap the pot off the PCB. I assume the pot is soldered directly to the board and not braced to the faceplate in some way. Is this the case?

    Honestly, I would just encourage everyone to invest in an apple remote. It makes volume adjustment much more pleasant and I’m no longer forced to sit at my desk.
     
  16. joch

    joch Friend

    Pyrate Contributor
    Joined:
    Oct 8, 2015
    Likes Received:
    1,397
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    the other side of the big ocean
    Does the old version Apple TV remote work?
     
  17. rigo

    rigo Acquaintance

    Contributor
    Joined:
    Dec 11, 2016
    Likes Received:
    46
    Trophy Points:
    18
    Location:
    San Diego
    My old one works. From the previous generation.
     
  18. soekris

    soekris MOT - Soekris Engineering

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Mar 25, 2016
    Likes Received:
    954
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    Denmark
    You can pull as much as you want on the knob, it's screwed directly onto the 5mm alu front and I'm pretty sure it will hold....

    If you pull it completely off, you need to center it carefully when putting it back on.

    For people wanting knobs, please email directly to [email protected]
     
  19. Collusion

    Collusion Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Jul 27, 2017
    Likes Received:
    1,058
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    Finland
    Did you already get the RME unit? I am thinking of buying one ( or in fact the DAC version ). I've previously owned the dac1541, but I found it to be perhaps a tad too much "lean" sounding for my tastes.
     
  20. Northwest

    Northwest Almost "Made"

    Contributor
    Joined:
    Nov 11, 2016
    Likes Received:
    339
    Trophy Points:
    63
    Location:
    WA
    [​IMG]

    I thought it was glued on, but I was finally able to get it off. This explains the issue I had. The volume nub has really nice detents that I never really felt with the knob on.
     

Share This Page