Kategorie: Mobile DACs

Xduoo Link arrived / okay, easy handling, not so hi-fi as ES9018K2M for example..

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So, 😉

finally the Xduoo Link from Massdrop arrived (Link)..cost was 38$, absolutely easy handling, Windows 10 detected it without a problem (see pictures), was first a really little fun thing, also with a lot of bass/push at low frequencies(read that also elsewhere), but it misses the clarity in the high/-mids, not to mention the positioning or soundstage..

for 38$ its totally okay but if u are on hifi, some ES9018K2M chinese-board for 8,50$ (nowadays) is still a better choice ! (need some raspberry pi or USB-bridge of course; and not to mention the ES9028Q2M,ES9038Q2M->absolutely in another league !)

so, back to the Xduoo Link..interesting is that i had to change the channels (left/right)(plugs), its more source-depending (different recordings and so on), and its really on the edge to hifi in some areas, but in the long-term it could be annoying because of the not soo great SNR/Thd..

for 40 Bucks its still okay/maybe a bargain but don´t expect too much and as said, for hi-fi u still go better with the cheapest ES90XX here (ES9018K2M)..

but okay, its absolutely small and made for mobiles/IEMs; there are also some other there, ibasso etc..

its okay for me now, i primarily wanted to give my fabulous SkySong-XMOS-USB-Bridge a “rest” (daily use with a PC) and for this purpose its okay for now..(didnt test the DSD256-compatibility yet, will maybe report then about it)

more to come.. 😉

New XMOS-USB audio driver (V4.47) / SMSL 8A V3 / Winbond W25Q64 (Qxx) Arduino/ESP32S SPIflash

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so, 😉
there´s apparently a new XMOS-USB audio driver, V4.47 (Link) (08-06-2018) out; found it first by reading some reviews for the Sabaj DA3 (->https://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?PHPSESSID=ktk1k2hchrlfmloktc0k3c5og0&topic=152638.340 ) and yesterday at an Audiophonics-Ad concerning the new SMSL 8A V3->https://www.audiophonics.fr/en/dac-without-volume/smsl-m8a-v3-usb-dac-es9038q2m-32bit-768khz-dsd-xmos-xu208-p-12934.html and also directly at Theyscon->current release : V4.47..
by that there´s also a new V4.41 from Thesycon/Jlsounds->Link forum..)
also the new SMSL 8A V3 has a “2nd generation XU208” (259€)->

by that i´ve bought some new “Winbond W25Q64” (64Mbit/8MByte) SPI-“serial flash-memory” (only 1,29$ par example->Aliexpress) to use it maybe on an Arduino to display some graphics on the TFT-display and because the Arduino by example has a very low ram-amount (32kB !!) i wanted to extend the memory to store some data for the bitmaps..

On an ESP32S its not soo critical (4MB); u can store the bitmaps in the SPIFFS-subsystem but anyway i didnt find a “SPI-flash”-library for the ESP32S and the Arduino in general !! searched thousand hours on google and yesterday i found per chance this SPI-flash/library/tools on “RinkyDinkElectronics”->Link, the same guy who made this beautiful UTFT-library !! and which i used before ! 😉 ->Library : SPIflash

connected and it runs fabulously 😉

and hooray !! 😉 , i´ve finally ordered an “ES9038Q2M”-“Green” V1.07, (i have a “Blue”-one here) to check finally out if there´s a “shitty” PCB/components-problem on the “Blue” or if they sound the same..

by that, next OP-Amp will be the “OPA627“(AU)->”The Bugatti Veyron on the Op-Amps” 😉

many greets and more to come !! 😉

 

 

Massdrop: SMSL IQ Portable DAC/Amp ES9018Q2C + Sabaj DA3 (2*9018Q2C)

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so, 😉
no worry about the ES9038Q2M 😉 there are new ES Sabre-audio-chips on the way/in the pipe.. 😉
and because this is an audiophile-site i present here some (mobile-)DACs from time to time..->http://essabre-90xx-rpi.sfb2.com/category/dacs/
came by chance about this thing on Massdrop->https://www.massdrop.com/buy/smsl-iq-portable-dac-amp..

 

cost only 109$ (88€ !!) but is shipped not before March 8, 2018 !!
the specs are looking great:
Dynamic range: 125 dB
Frequency response: 10 Hz–100 kHz
THD + N: 0.0003%
SNR: 118 dB
Bit depth: 16, 24, 32, 1 bit
Sampling rate: PCM (44.1, 48, 88.2, 96, 176.4, 192, 352.8, 384, 705.6, 768 kHz); DSD64, DSD128, DSD256, DSD512

and according to this pictures/links it has 2 !! ES9018Q2C-chips onboard..

same with the Sabaj DA3->there also 2 !! ES9018Q2C..

they also said this Sabaj D3 with 2 Sabres sounds better than an Cambridge AudioDacmagic V2, what i really believe because i had an Cambridge Audio Dacmagic here and it was well manufactured but by far not such a high resolution as the ES9018K2M by example; on the first DacMagic there were Wolfson-chips in it->see review at the forum->LINK

other useful links->https://www.head-fi.org/threads/smsl-idea-portable-dac-amp.851110/page-22
http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=152638.200