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

@soekris How about consulting the guy who made hqplayer? He seems to be knowledgable in filters and already has a lot of them made. Maybe he can possibly fit a custom version of his filters that have 4k tap length.

 

I have considering paying for help, but I would prefer to get the knowledge in house instead of paying somebody each time I need something changed, I also have limited funds.... First I need to get some knowledge about what's best, what kind of filters that sounds great....

 

I still use the latest spzzzkt's (Paul's) filters in my dam1021.
My knowledge in this filter wizardry is very limited, but it was something of a child of linear and min phase.
These still sound better than what you came up yourself the second time you updated the stock filters.
I haven't followed the diya thread latelly, so I don't know of the latest progresses.
Basically when you could get the Paul's filter into more taps, it would be killer good!
I mean I already prefer my diy dac to the highly regarded Yggdrasil (v1),
but this is in no small part because of the filters I use on it.

 

these are like $1k7 shipped, maybe I am looking in the wrong place? can you guys see it cheaper anywhere?

 

There have been a couple of group buys for this on SBAF, which is where the deals have come from. That's the regular retail price and the going rate at the moment.

 

I see, thanks, maybe a group buy would happen shortly, or maybe not ..

 

I have just put up a new set of firmware for the dac1421 & dac1541, with new, longer and refined antialiasing filters, with up to now 4K taps per filter. They're still beta, but I would appreciate if people on this list with one of the DACs and with experience downloading new filters would give them a listen and let me know how it goes....

dac1421: http://www.soekris.dk/download/dac1421/1421_full_120.skr
dac1541: http://www.soekris.dk/download/dac1541/1541_full_120.skr

Just go into uManager, do "download" followed by "update".

 

Talking about group buy, it seems like not much is happening there, might be too much to ask for people to step forward and handle it.... So I'm now doing a limited time factory direct special offer for SBAF members:

dac1321: EUR 446, USD 555 - including free shipping.
dac1421: EUR 723, USD 900 - including free shipping.
dac1541: EUR 1062, USD 1325 - including free shipping.

Interested ? Send an email to [email protected] for how to order.

 

Do you have anything coming for the dac1321?

 

Yes, the dac1321 come just after the easter holidays, so will dam1021 & dam1121.

 

The dac1321 is a pretty darn good value at $555! Listening to the loaner as I type this.

Too bad it doesn't come with a headphone output as it would make for a great "portable(ish)" AIO (can't have it all)!

 

Yeah, half the people here want the DACs without headphone output, the other half want it with.... But I'm glad you like it.

 

I hear you.

I have terrible power quality at home, so it would have been great to being able to power an AIO with an UpTone UltraCap, to decouple it from the grid.

All my 115VAC gears sound like shit in my bedroom . The DAC1421 could be better - thanks to its SMPS - but nothing is safer than battery or ultra-caps for my situation...

 

@soekris Thank you for the update on the filters. I think after updating, the dac requires a power cycle, as I was getting glitchy sound after. Everything works fine after the power cycle.

Initial impressions:

I have to say the new filters sound VERY good and promising, and I think that even in the beta stage, it sounds great.
That said, the differences between filters, though noticeable, has been minimized compared to before. The greatest improvement is the to the red linear filter which no longer sounds harsh. Its definitely my choice for now over the soft butterworth filter I was using before. Overall the sound is more organic with less sharpness and has some reverberance. The dac isn't "dry/analytical" anymore as the slight harshness of the dac is gone. Soundstaging seems much more holographic with the biggest improvement to depth. I can hear more minute detail such as reverb trails coming through easily.

Definitely has a bit of Pauls C128 filter's trait in that sense, though I think it is an improvement as it sounds more defined and not as soft. I moved back to stock filters before because Paul's C128 sounded like it was reverbing in a cylinder and though staging improved, I didn't think it sounded balanced. To test this, I would play a movie and listen to dialogue. It would sound smeared and unclear, and soft. The new filter doesn't have this problem as everything is clear.

Big Thanks for the update and I hope to listen more to give more thoughts. Looking forward to further improvement in later versions!

 

I have a DAC1321 on the way and am excited to hear about the new filter upgrades on the horizon.

I am most stoked about the built in volume control. The one thing holding me back from enjoying frivolous amplifier purchases was the fact that I listen at such a low level and am typically fighting potentiometer imbalances. Being able to drop a few db’s at the source seems to be the most transparent method to give more play for the amplifier pot.

 

Where is the documentation for dac1541 filter updates? I found some dam1021 docs that might be relevant, but it's not clear it applies to dac 1541. Thanks!

 

Well I guess I need to order that cable now. Sounds very promising! Thanks @soekris !

<edit>
Looks like they have these cables at a local Pi shop...woot! Does this look like it should do the trick?

https://www.netram.co.za/2858-pl2303ta-usb-to-ttl-usb-serial-cable.html
</edit>

 

Yup, that'll do perfectly!

 

@soekris any plans to support standard rj45 console down the road? It would be nice to not have to open the case.

 

Or add an on-board COM interface...