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

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

  1. bengo

    bengo Friend

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    @brencho What about Vali2 (with a nice tube)? Good value and small.
     
  2. brencho

    brencho Friend

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    I've definitely considered that too (and even the Vali 1 haha). Maybe a geek out. Hopefully I'll just try out a few of these things when I have the phones to see how it all goes. I'm all for small and cheap if it works!
     
  3. Northwest

    Northwest Almost "Made"

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    I've had the 1541 for a little while, but I've had a difficult time summing up my impressions in a good manner. Since I was mentioned I decided make a list of quick impressions.

    I do like the PMx2 with the headphone output of the dac 1541. It’s my favorite all in one experience out of the few dac/amp combos I have tried, but I'll admit I don’t have a lot experience with external amplification. I haven’t had the opportunity to listen to any of the solid-state favorites I've read about. I like pairing the dac with the Sonett 2, but you can still hear all the good aspects out of the 1541 headphone output. It could be that PMx2 plays nice with solid state gear. I feel that the 1541 headphone output does bass, rumble, and impact/bump better than my Sonett 2.

    On neutrality. I’m not 100% sure what neutral is, but the PMx2 are more neutral than the Ether C flow I owned before it, and the 1541 is more neutral than the Modibit. Bass notes are definitely present. I don’t know if it is a dac emphasis, or if a lot of modern recordings have bass boosted high.

    One of the things that drove me to buy the dac1541 was the mention of black back ground, and it is a noticeable feature of the dac. I like how instruments decay into the background. On the other side there are times where I notice vocals echo unnaturally long.

    I didn’t hear much difference between the stock filters other than being able to distinguish the Soft filter from the other three filters. I spent most of my time with the mixed, and soft filter before going to diy filters.

    I went ahead and changed out the stock filters with the diy community filters one of which is a NOS filter. NOS isn’t what I expected it to be. I notice that transients don’t extend as far, and the overall treble presentation gets taken down a notch. It’s different, but the character of the dac doesn’t change. It's really interesting, and not too difficult to do (Just make sure not connect the 5V header if using a rpi cable).
     
    Last edited: Dec 7, 2017
  4. Cellist88

    Cellist88 Friend

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    Can anyone with a dac1541 try both single ended and balanced outputs? I am using the usb input.

    For my Eve Studio Monitors and Sub, the presentation from both are quite a bit different. I prefer the single ended output compared to the balanced.

    Single ended has a smoother tonality, while being less harsh in the treble. The bigger difference is the soundstage. It is less wide, but is deeper and better layered. I can listen with a linear "red" filter instead of always being on the soft butterworth filter.

    Balanced is more detailed but the soundstage is wider and flatter with a more forward sound. Everything feels a bit more sharpened, and nuances are highlighted, but the sound is harsher. I actually like the staging of the single ended better and I find it more the less the same in detail retreival.

    I'll be staying on single ended for now for the time being. I didn't see @atomicbob 's measurements prefering the SE over the Bal. Wondering if its just my gear synergy or if there is an audible difference.
     
  5. MrTeaRex

    MrTeaRex His head's not fat, he's my brother!

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    Thanks to @JoshMorr, I recently had the opportunity to listen to the dac1541 for a couple of nights (he really appreciates it when you send nude selfies and I suggest everyone PM him a few). Most of my music is metal, grunge, and blues with some pop and hip-hop thrown in for seasoning. A Lynx E22 was connected to the AES input of the Soekris to drive HD650 and HD800 headphones. A Pass HPA-1 headamp and a Matrix X-Sabre Pro DAC were used for comparisons. To check stage and imaging, the dac1541 was briefly connected to a laptop USB source and FW J2 amp driving OB speakers. After comparing the different filters, I settled on the linear phase (red) option.

    The internal headamp is sufficient for its purpose as a desktop combo unit, but did not match the potential of the DAC itself. I found it flat and lacking dynamics across the frequency range as well as notably claustrophobic. This was unexpected, as the DAC and headamp both utilize the same amplification circuit (although with slightly different parameters for the headphone output). The Pass HPA-1 was more lively and open with better separation.

    @Hands noted that the dac1541 “almost sounds like a good Sabre DAC, but with some balls”. He must have an excellent memory, or heard a good Sabre very recently, because that’s the same way I’d describe the comparison with the Matrix X-Sabre Pro. The Soekris unit hit with slightly more impact and presented smoother R2R treble. The Matrix unit is somewhat faster with a better defined stage and more precise imaging. I haven’t heard the Gungnir Multibit to which this unit is frequently compared, but did own a Yggdrasil for over a year. Both these DACs are cleaner and clearer with blacker backgrounds while lacking the mid-bass bloat and bleed that seems to be a characteristic of the upper-tier Schiit DACs. However, neither is as resolving as the Yggdrasil and both lack its dynamic punch. Each present a more realistic stage, I found the Yggdrasil’s stage to be narrow and deep - like a rock show in a hallway. Regardless of price, I’d choose this DAC over a Yggdrasil and, considering price, I’d choose it over the X-Sabre Pro. This is a very good over-sampling DAC and anyone considering options in its price range should give it a hard look.
     
    Last edited: Dec 8, 2017
  6. PacoTaco

    PacoTaco Friend

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    Who is wanting in on the Soekris 1541 group buy (if that's still on @soekris ). I'm able to put my amount down either next Friday (15th) or the Monday (18th) after.

    I wanted to kick off the list for this. I'll include people I talk to on discord and such.

    Guaranteed
    @PacoTaco
    @gandhisfist
    @yaluen
    @porkfriedpork
    @brencho

    I can most likely wire the necessary money to Soekris after everyone's funds come in (we'll work that out on PMs later this week.)
     
  7. dmckean44

    dmckean44 In a Sherwood S6040CP relationship

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    I'd be down for a dac1321 if that's allowed. I don't care about a discount on it, I just don't want to pay the high shipping and paypal fees as it adds about $100 to the cost.
     
    Last edited: Dec 9, 2017
  8. PacoTaco

    PacoTaco Friend

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    I've moved all the people I'm awaiting payment on to post #252. These are for the unconfirmed people (which include the February group buyers.)

    February Group Buy (Confirm by date pending; Money-by-date pending)
    @brencho
    @AMW1011
    @PoochZag
    Ho lee fuk (From Discord)
    @Mystic (Pending on his impressions; going to hear mine)
    @CCXR594 (Pending confirmation)

    I'll keep updating this list, unless it would be smarter to make this its own thread. Just PM me if you want on or off the list. I'll be coordinating with the headphones discords (New Headphones, Aornic Reviews, ect; excluding Zeos Discord) on this as well.
     
    Last edited: Dec 18, 2017
  9. PacoTaco

    PacoTaco Friend

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    Just wanted to let everyone know: The December Group Buy looks like it's going to go down. If you're on the list above, have the money to me by the 15th to the 17th (which is pending atm as I try to get a hold of @soekris about it.) There looks to be five guaranteed people into this group buy, with one that's on the fence, and two pending on the 1321 being okay'd for inclusion. Though, as far as the 1321 is concerned, don't be surprised if that one gets turned down, as there's a possibility it'll get a fuckity while going through customs.

    I'll shoot Soekris an email tonight if I don't hear anything via SBAF PMs.
     
  10. soekris

    soekris MOT - Soekris Engineering

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    We have decided to do a little Christmas Special Pricing, so I though I would extend the very good pricing to the SBAF Group buy:

    Soekris dac1541: EUR 990 (about USD 1164)
    Soekris dac1321: EUR 410 (about USD 482)

    That offer would be based on minimum 5 pcs, with free shipping to one US location, and prepayment by one wiretransfer. We currently do have ok stock. The Christmas Special Pricing is only valid for ordering before Dec 31, 2017.

    I will communicate directly with PacoTaco via email.
     
    Last edited: Dec 12, 2017
  11. PacoTaco

    PacoTaco Friend

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    I've been mention this to each person individually, but don't forget to add $25 (for shipping + potential fees from customs + wiring cost) and $10 more if you're in Canada.
     
  12. PacoTaco

    PacoTaco Friend

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    Okay, just one more double post: I am switching how I'm doing payments here. I have two money pools set up so PayPal doesn't freeze the account because so many people are sending me money out of nowhere. I'll list people in the pools so far underneath the links.

    dac1321 Group Buy Pool - https://paypal.me/pools/c/804PLKalCU
    @dmckean44
    @RedFuneral
    @Neal
    Snake (From Aornic Reviews Discord - dac1321)

    dac1541 Group Buy Pool - https://paypal.me/pools/c/804PV7uQ14
    @gandhisfist
    @SirBashALot
    @porkfriedpork
    @yaluen
    Parrot-fi (From discord)
    @SineDave
    @TheIceman93 (dac1541)
    @PacoTaco

    This way, I can keep track of who drops the money in there (minimums are set the price of the dac + shipping and fees,) and you'll know when I take the money. I can update you all on the progress of everything through here, and I don't have to worry about paypal being paypal.
     
    Last edited: Jan 2, 2018
  13. PacoTaco

    PacoTaco Friend

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    Okay, some updates:

    To keep things simple, I can't do the group for countries outside of North America (unless you'e already on the list.) Shipping, plus taxes, plus customs issues, plus coordination add up to a cost where you probably should just buy directly from Soren.

    Also, yesterday was the cut off for accepting new people for the group buy in December. If you want in now, there is still the Febraury buy.

    Everyone on the December group buy: please pay by Next Friday. The group guy's pools will close by then automatically.
     
  14. TheIceman93

    TheIceman93 El pato-zorro

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    What is the price of the 1541 for the February group buy? I'm interested in adding my name to the list.
     
  15. dmckean44

    dmckean44 In a Sherwood S6040CP relationship

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    EUR 1070, EUR 990 in December.
     
  16. TheIceman93

    TheIceman93 El pato-zorro

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    It looks like the December group is closed but if we pay in December, can the February group get the EUR 990 pricing?
     
  17. Arun Kumar

    Arun Kumar Friend

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    ^ Same question and is there a possibility for me tag along in the Dec group buy?
     
    Last edited: Dec 18, 2017
  18. PacoTaco

    PacoTaco Friend

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    I don't believe so, as Soren emphasized that it was a Christmas special and only to the the 31st. I'm also trying not to push the limits of PayPal, as I don't want them freezing my account with so many people's money in the money pools. One gentleman dropped out of the buy, so I'll PM you about that spot if you want in it.

    I can't ship to a reshipper. The last time I did that, it cost me upwards to a grand out of my pocket and USPS refused to refund me for the lost item (despite the receipt.) I'm trying to keep things simple and have everything stay in North America (US, Canada, and Central America,) as that is the reason for the group buy (as NA doesn't have a distributor.)


    Also: I am considering moving the money, once it gets to "half" of the people paid to my account so PayPal doesn't throw a shitfit on the day of the buy. Since this is looking like it'll be over ten grand and that's the "limit" that can be moved before PayPal flags it if it isn't a business account (which mine is not.)
     
  19. Clemmaster

    Clemmaster Friend

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    If people drop, I'd like to be put on the list for the December GB (DAC1541).
     
  20. SineDave

    SineDave Friend

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