Soekris dac1101 R2R DAC/Amp

oh I just noticed they posted an update
dac1101 - Consumer Line - Ready for orders - *** Now Shipping *** from stock - 23 March, 2016
sorrodje maybe you shouldn't cancel your order

 

Just plugged in the dac1101 at work and my first impressions are:

This is way better than it should be.

 

Have any gear on hand for comparing?

 

Got more listening in at work. The amp section is decent. This is better as a DAC feeding an amp in my opinion.

It's a bit brighter than my NOS R-2R Tube DAC (go figure), but is quite capable.

I'll compare it to my preferred setup this weekend.

Either way, I'm happy to see another R/2R dac, and at a great price point and tiny form factor.

 

Can it work as a digital prep? I think sorrodje has one on order too but he might have cancelled. My fully prebuilt soekris ships end of April hopefully. Built in Lehmann bcl with its own transformer too,

 

Digital prep? Like a volume controlled preamp? Yes. You maintain volume control when switching to line out and use the RCAs.

 

Doing some initial comparisons now of the Soekris dac1101 and MHDT Labs Atlantis going into a Schiit Sys then the ampsandsound Mogwai.

The first challenge is volume matching. The Soekris needs to be turned down a bit from max or it's louder than the MHDT.

The Atlantis has two AD1862N-J chips (R/2R, of course) and a tube buffer. The tube buffer is currently using a Russian 6н3п-др tube. It is currently being unfairly fed BNC from a Mutec MC-3+ Smart Clock USB. I'll do direct USB tomorrow. It's been turned on for a day or two straight.

The Soekris dac1101 is using the stock USB cable coming from my motherboard's USB DAC-UP ports that theoretically provide clean 5V power. It's been turned on for 30 minutes.

Both offer a nice organic sound. The Soekris does not sound like a Delta-Sigma DAC. It has a good deal of the timbre of resistor ladder DACs. I can already tell you that I like the DAC part of this better than the Schiit Bifrost Multibit. I found the Schiit to be a little grainy and slightly harsh despite many users commenting on its warmth.

I'll have to let the Soekris stay powered up and playing music for a fair amount of time. Comparing a cold piece of gear to one that is warmed up and fully burned in is kinda mean.

Since I don't want to leave you hanging too much, I'll say that the Soekris feels like it's compressing the music just a bit compared to the MHDT (so it's less dynamic). It's a little brighter (expected), which will be more to the liking of many. It is not bright like a Sabre, but brighter than a NOS dac with a tube buffer (like all of the other dacs in the world).

The soundstage on the Soekris isn't as deep as the MHDT but it's about the same width. The sound presented by the Soekris is far from thin, but it's not as full as the MHDT. It's a little more analytical versus the musical Atlantis. Again, I'd be incredibly surprised if it wasn't.

Most people would prefer the slightly more analytical and less-warm sound of the Soekris compared to the gooey and warm sound of the Atlantis. Most would prefer the depth of soundstage and dynamics of the MHDT over the Soekris.

So far the feeling of compression is my only complaint about the Soekris dac1101. I didn't notice it at work because I couldn't instantly swap between DACs. It might improve as the unit warms up and/or burns in. Right now, when I switch away from the Soekris, my ears relax a bit and I feel like I can breath more freely. By compression, I really mean two things: One is that it feels a little closed in, and the other (which is probably the cause of the first) is that the volume of instruments seems closer together on the Soekris than on the MHDT.

As far as tuning the sound to your liking, the Soekris has 4 filter options that you can cycle through at the touch of a button. This is awesome and I appreciate that companies are starting to provide this option (I've also had two other DACs that did it: the Audio-GD NFB-2.32 and Emotiva Big Ego). I believe that you'll also be able to tinker with the firmware of the unit (not sure what that does to the warranty) since you can do so with the DIY versions of the Soekris gear.

The MHDT Labs Atlantis can be tuned in a couple ways. First is that you can choose three different firmware options for the USB input if that's what you're using. The changes are very subtle. The much more significant tuning option is tubes--you have dozens of options, and each impacts various parts of the sound in different ways.

You can also tweak in front of both, but I won't talk much about it. The important thing to note is that USB is the only input on the Soekris dac1101 and it is always powered by USB. The Atlantis is powered via a power cord and accepts USB, BNC, RCA, and TOSLINK.

So far, the Soekris dac1101 is very good. Is it bested by my $750+ DAC that is much larger, has no amp, and has an $1100 USB->S/P-DIF converter in front of it? Yep. But I already prefer it to the Schiit Bifrost Multibit and would probably recommend the dac1101 as the best entry into R/2R that I'm aware of. Small form factor, integrated headphone amp, filter options, line out, good price.

 

So it must be a little warmer than the Bifrost Multibit, given your preference for warmth. I like that, I might try and snag this loaner at the end of its trip to have something I can take to school. Nice write up, thankee for them words!

 

whoops I meant can it work as a digital preamp with volume control.. autocorrect changed preamp to prep

 

Great writeup Lookbad! Makes me interested to compare this to my Groove. I wonder if the Soekris will improve noticeably with a linear USB psu. Imo the Groove certainly benefits.

 

Useful info from Soren:

Volume Knob: The “VOL” LED indicates current volume, from off when at -80 dB to full on when +10 dB. The volume knob is using a digital encoder to set the volume level digitally from -80 dB to +10 dB in 1 dB steps. If you connect the Line Out to a system with a volume knob you might want to set the dac1101 Line Out volume startup level to digital 0 dB, you can do that by selecting Line Out, turning the volume up to max, then turn it back exactly 10 clicks and store the startup setting by pressing and holding the middle rear switch for 4 seconds.
​

Essentially, you're going to want to do this to avoid clipping in line out mode. It's pretty cool that each volume knob click is 1dB too.

Running the dac1101 all night has already created some change to the sound. I can't be sure on the sound changes, but I am sure that the soundstage has changed. It is now a bit deeper but also slightly narrower than I remember it being (perhaps just a side effect of it being deeper).

Some of the nuances in more dynamic songs have improved. The sense of compression has reduced noticeably. Instrument separation is more obvious as a result, and volume changes within the song are more evident.

 

How would you compare the resolution/detail retrieval to the Bifrost Multibit? And to confirm, this sounds warmer than a Bifrost Multibit? Very tempted to build one.

Also, have you tried it with your Mutec or other device that provides dedicated power?

 

I'm hoping to try it with an Intona tonight if I get a chance. The Mutec doesn't isolate/output USB to a second source. The 1.2 might let you input BNC or something then output to USB, but the 3+ doesn't.

 

Regarding resolution/detail retrieval vs. Bifrost Multibit, it's too hard to use my audio memory to be sure. I only really retain general impressions of DACs after they're gone.

I remember feeling the Bifrost Multibit was a bit crispy and thin for my taste, and to some extent a little bright. That's not what other people think about it though, so maybe I hear differently.

The Soekris isn't as thick or warm as my MHDT dac, but that's a NOS tube dac, so it definitely shouldn't be.

 

After a while with the Soekris, I would comfortably recommend this if you're using it primarily as a DAC. As an amp, it's a fine backup, but I'd never consider it personally as a true combo unit.

The DAC part is excellent and is worth the cost. The amplifier portion isn't powerful enough for proper dynamics in demanding headphones, and the noise floor is too high to use it with IEMs. My IEMs are actually 32 Ohms and they're still getting annoying background hiss, even with an Intona Industrial in front.

Basically, I'd give this the thumbs up over almost all Delta Sigma DACs, even going so far as to saying I prefer it to the Schiit Bifrost Multibit (which I find a little grainy and fatiguing).

If you don't need something that you can move from place to place, I still personally prefer my MHDT Labs Atlantis at ~$100 more, but I dare say many will prefer the Soekris because it's not as warm as the Atlantis (a NOS Tube DAC).

I'll probably get it sent over to @purrin this week so you can get some more qualified comments than my own.

 

hmm interesting. soren was particularly proud of his new headphone amp work too. he's probably crying into his wooden shoes after reading your review

 

To be fair, I'm comparing the amp to multi hundred dollar amps. It's better than something like a Fiio or most anything below $200.

The only thing holding it back is the contrast. The DAC part is several rungs better than the amp part.

 

Thanks Marv.
I was thinking of buying it, but from your assessments it seems the power side is too gimped.
With quality power instead a freaking usb bus power it should have the potential to play among Schiit MB stuff.