Sokeris dac1321 - Stream of Consciousness Impressions

Discussion in 'Digital: DACs, USB converters, decrapifiers' started by Azimuth, Apr 30, 2018.

  1. Jinxy245

    Jinxy245 Vegan Puss

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  2. captkirk

    captkirk Khan's BFF

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  3. Elnrik

    Elnrik Super Friendly

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  4. Azimuth

    Azimuth FKA rtaylor76, Friend

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    I am totally aware, believe me. And they should be burned in good, just needed to stabilize.

    I was expecting a change. Others have noted harshness with other MB DAC's, but this went from soft to more defined. It sounded harsh for like a half a second at first, but settled down to rather soft pretty quickly.
     
  5. paras1te

    paras1te New

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    DAC manuf. have been aware of the various factors affecting R2R (ladder resistor) ADCs/DACs for a long, long time (way before digital audio). All sorts of physical variables can affect them -- including temp.
    This is one reason manuf. went to single-bit topology.
    A few MB chip dacs from the late-80s to early 90s had trimmer pins to fine tune the resistor network after it reached operation temp. The high-rated AD1862 mono dac was an example.
    How does it sound after you apply the optional digital filters? Still soft?
     
  6. kray

    kray New

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    I just added to community filters to the 1321, but left Sorens new Linear (Red) filter, and I'm amazed by how good the "quasiNOS" filter is with my system.

    (F5 mixed ) EQHQ_lpbr_b4 Linear Phase filter, Paul.
    (F6 minimum ) "quasiNOS" C128dp Linear Phase filter, Paul.
    (F7 soft ) New NOS filter, Paul.
     
  7. bilboda

    bilboda Florida boomer

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    Added this 5v lpsu to my 1321. Has a trim pot to fine tune the output. Will see how she shines.
    [​IMG]
     
  8. kray

    kray New

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    Has anyone done a good comparison between 1321 vs 1421?

    I don’t need headphone amp or portability. But contemplate moving up from 1321. Love the 1321 but don’t mind spending a bit more to upgrade if the DAC portion itself is worth the $500 extra
     
  9. mitochondrium

    mitochondrium Friend

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    I am neither a believer in the need to have an LPS nor am I very savy when it comes to power supplies in general. The 1321 works with +/- 7 V internally, so the 5V will beconverted to +/- 7 V anyway. Would it not be better to use a +/- 7 V LPS and bypass the conversion? There is a connector J7 inside which if I am not mistaken, allows you to do that.
     
    Last edited: Jun 29, 2018
  10. bilboda

    bilboda Florida boomer

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    My trimpot may be able to get me there. Rated at 5 volts and 3 amps, I'd have 7 volts and 2 whatever amps available.
    Not that I'd have any idea how to make the necessary connections. I am a consumer who can follow explicit directions and that's about it.
     
  11. mitochondrium

    mitochondrium Friend

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    That won't do, you need +7 V and -7 V.
     
  12. boxerfan88

    boxerfan88 New

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    I notice a number of people want to swap the switcher for a LPS.

    For a low load device like a DAC, what is the benefit of a LPS vs a switcher?
     
  13. Joshvar

    Joshvar Almost "Made"

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    I'm really, really enjoying the dac1321 -> MCTH with my HD600. Coming from the Eitr -> ModiMB -> MCTH/Jot the immediately* noticeable differences are detail, as everyone's talked about, and headstage (with both amps, more obviously on the MCTH). I did some half-assed volume matching (SPL meter on my phone with a test tone trying not to move it, blah blah blah) when doing this stuff, but always went to the "listen about 4-5 times to a segment of a song, jot down a note or 2, switch...repeat" thing after some cursory evaluation.

    There is a definite similarity between the overall tonality of the 2 units - I feel that the top end of the dac1321 sounds a bit smoother in comparison, but my test tracks aren't yet great for validating that and I'm a human with low-grade tinnitus anyway. Mids are helped by the better clarity, but doesn't show any real difference to me beyond that. Bass slightly less bloomy on the ModiMB, but extension/slam they're indistinguishable. There's something a bit soft, perhaps even laid back, about the dac1321, but it doesn't seem to be anything missing in the FR, and it certainly doesn't sound "slow" in the sense of glossing over details. None of the filters really change this, they all sounded to me like slightly different shades of the same color.

    The dac1321 is clear and layered in the "that sounds more like 6 violins than generic violin section" way, which is very noticeable to my untrained ears on tracks where you can really place the various musicians on a stage. Going back to the ModiMB I can hear those details, but it wasn't as imminently obvious as with the dac1321 - I sometimes had to go back and hear...harder? Not sure what the hearing analogue to "look harder" is, but that's the sensation I felt. Staging overall felt wider, and I suppose layering helped depth as I felt like my mind's eye could lock on to where sound was coming from more easily, but I don't have a well developed sense (or perhaps testing repertoire) of all 3 dimensions yet.

    That said - switching to my cheapo office speaker setup (Emotiva A100 driving a Chane A1rx-c pair in an untreated, unsanctified acoustically horrible room) still showed that stage ain't shit unless you're filling a room. The dac1321 came off as a bit wider and deeper here as well than the ModiMB.

    I played around with the the dac1321 feeding Jot, and the clean power of the Jot is great, but I didn't really feel like the MCTH gave up anything in detail, slam, or extension while offering up what was a noticeably wider stage. This may be my preferences becoming very obvious, now that I think about it. A smooth DAC, a smooth amp, and a smooth headphone...hmm...

    I think value-wise, the ModiMB is still excellent without the Eitr, but when coming in with the Eitr, you've got to be willing to put in some work on the track selection, source configuration, and understanding your own limitations to know if you can even spot a difference. I have at times found myself asking "why the f**k do I spend money on this shit" when streaming over a BT dongle to some halfway decent IEMs - if it's mastered well, it'll sound "background working music" good. Then I hit up some favorites on my home setup and realize "oh, that's why." The gap between those 2 situations keeps widening, not at a rate commensurate with the rate of dollars flying out of my life, but it is widening. The dac1321, given my apparent gear preferences, is a clear upgrade over the ModiMB - as I'd hope for the cost. I could see some folks being a bit turned off by the soft presentation combined with the clarity. The in-your-face-without-fatigue nature of the ModiMB/Jot combo is really a good way to go for some.

    From all of my lurking, there appears to be a strong similarity between the amp/DAC market and the espresso machine market - there's a gap between "cheap, listenable, versatile but won't wow you" and "$1000+" that is a combination of supply (not enough volume OR margin) and demand (functionality tradeoffs too steep, marginal SQ improvement per dollar, pricing too close to the next step up).

    Just wanted to give a shout-out to the @captkirk (sold it to me - I believe this was the loaner unit) and @soekris (the main man) for their help in getting the firmware update ironed out.

    * once temperatures are stable, obviously
     
  14. kray

    kray New

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    Any thoughts on the LPS with the 1321?
     
  15. bilboda

    bilboda Florida boomer

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    Not really. I'm out sure it helped. I did upgrade to a Gungnir MB A@ and use the lps for my 502 dac/pi streamer
     
  16. dematted

    dematted Friend

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    I bought this dac because I wanted to upgrade from my Modi 3 without spending a full $700 dollars on Bifrost 2. I don't have much original to say, but I would like to echo some of the other commentary about this dac: it certainly presents on the "Softer" side with more less crisp transient response than something like the Modi 3, but I've found that this has actually improved over the course of time (I've been using it for 4 days now). Layering, separation, timbre, and microdynamics are all noticeably improved from the Modi 3. Overall, I'm happy I made the purchase, especially because it seems like this dac only gets better with time. The only real downsides it has to my ears are a lack of bass macrodynamics and impact, especially compared to a dac I used to own (Bifrost 2).
     

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