4 DAC Shootout - Low to High-end

Here's a little 4-way DAC shootout I did mostly to get my own head around things, but why not share it right?

Disclaimer: As usual all this stuff is pretty subjective. And also synergy and music dependent. YMMV.



DAC's tested were:

• Soundblaster ZxR soundcard (PCM1794) Chain: Foobar2k Wasapi (event) --> SoundBlaster ZxR dual rca out --> Chord Crimson VEE 3 rca --> DNA Sonett --> Modded HD650 or HD800

• Chord Mojo (Programmed FPGA) Chain: Foobar2k Wasapi (event) --> SoundBlaster optical out --> Supra toslink cable --> Chord Mojo --> good quality 3.5mm to dual-rca cable --> DNA Sonett --> Modded HD650 or HD800

• Anedio D1 (ESS Sabre 9018) Chain: Foobar2k Wasapi (event) --> SoundBlaster optical out --> Supra toslink cable --> Anedio D1 --> Chord Crimson VEE 3 rca --> DNA Sonett --> Modded HD650 or HD800

• Theta DS Pro Gen Va (4 x PCM63 + R-2R ladder output stage) Chain: Foobar2k Wasapi (event) --> SoundBlaster optical out --> Supra toslink cable --> Theta TLC converter --> high-quality digital coax cable --> Theta DS Pro Gen Va --> Chord Crimson VEE 3 rca --> DNA Sonett --> Modded HD650 or HD800

Examples of test tracks:

Massive Attack - Paradise Circus
Metallica - Enter Sandman
Thelonius Monk - Blue Monk
London Grammar - Metal & Dust
Dire Straits - Money for Nothing
Collective Soul - Shine
The XX - Islands

(IMHO very good test tracks, 44.1 kHz 16-bit flac)

During the entire test no EQ or other effects were active, everything was straight from the source. All equipment was powered on for several hours in advance. All audio equipment was connected to the same electrical socket. Main comparison was done over 3 days; first I listened to all the tracks on one DAC, then I switched to the next DAC and repeated the same songs and so forth. First day I listened with the HD650, second day with HD800, third day I went back and verified my findings and listened to some others songs and whole albums at random. About a week later I went back again and listened to all the DAC's one more time to clear up some things.

And here's what I thought of each DAC after everything was said and done:


SoundBlaster ZxR (PCM1794)
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What's this you say? A computer sound card? Well.. easy now. You see this sound card costs $250 and has a PCM1794 chip on it, so maybe not so fast. When you buy something like this you get something which is mass-produced and you're not paying anything for a PSU or expensive case. So these cards tend to be quite hard hitters in terms of value. In fact - it's rare that I find a DAC below $500 which beats this one, as we shall find out later.. And if nothing else I personally find it useful to include something like this in the test, it's a good reality check and baseline.

The sound from the ZxR I would say is pretty typical PCM1794 sound. That is to say pretty smooth, pretty meaty middle of the road sound which is easy to listen to. Nothing really sticks out and there is a good balance from top to bottom. I don't think this card has that much soundstage in itself, but when you're listening with a tube amp and good set of headphones you get some anyway.

I don't think I would call this a "high-end sound", but it's actually pretty good. If you'd put this card in a nice machined case I'm sure you could sell it for $1000 at the local hifi store and few people would be the wiser. It is smooth and natural enough to be enjoyable. If I was to put it in engine terms perhaps this is a Chevy 350, it does exactly what it says on the tin with solid performance which is hard to fault. Maybe it's not the most refined and maybe it doesn't "wow" you, but good solid performance.

If you nitpick perhaps the treble is a bit splashy / metallic. And there is perhaps some smearing going on compared to the two high-end DAC's in this test. But really - overall it does very little wrong. Sound is coherent and smooth enough, if perhaps a bit predictable / boring. What distinguishes it from the two high-end DAC's in this test is what it doesn't do.

Compared to the Anedio and Theta it lacks soundstage, texture, plankton and presence. When listening to Blue Monk it feels like standing at the bar listening to a pair of wall mounted speakers with a live feed from the stage. You get some presence, but you're not quite in the crowd. If you didn't have any other DAC to compare with you'd think that this was what the recording sounded like, but in comparison the limitations of the ZxR become more apparent.

So it's not a bad DAC, but neither is it a DAC which makes me want to keep listening late into the night just for the heck of it. At $250 the ZxR is hard to fault, but compared to big boy stuff it's unlikely to thrill you or magically transport you to the scene of the performance. Still - if you're just getting into audio you can buy this card and a pair of HD6X0 headphones and it's most likely going to knock your socks off. And it also doubles as a fantastic computer gaming setup so there's that.


Chord Mojo (Programmed FPGA)
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Now - I really wanted to like this one. I read all the stuff about Robert Watts design philosophy, I read all about "taps" and I watched all the youtube videos about the FPGA technology etc. It really is fascinating stuff from a technical point of view. And to think you get the same kind of design principle and programming in the Mojo that you get in Chord's flagship "Dave". Well - it just had to be good right?

I also know that some people here on SBAF don't like the Mojo, but I don't mind being the contrarian from time to time. The tech impressed me and I wanted to give the Mojo a fair chance. In all honesty I wanted the Mojo to be a giant killer capable of laying waste to mega-dollar DAC's in over-engineered enclosures. And my early impressions (first hour or so) weren't bad, but then something happened.

If we start with the good the Mojo has a very euphoric midrange, which probably is the reason for all the glowing reviews on HF and elsewhere. The midrange is probably the Mojo's best quality; female vocals sound great and can be very seductive. In a less resolving system I can understand how it's easy to lose yourself in the sweet sounding midrange and never look back.

In terms of soundstage it's quite small and a little diffuse, but it's still probably better than the ZxR. If not by much. There is decent texture and resolution in bass notes and drums. But here's the rub - in a high-end system that midrange focus becomes pretty irritating after a while. The more I listened to the Mojo the more I thought that it highlights vocals, and midrange glow, at the expense of the rest of the music. It is not a v-shaped sound, if anything it's an "n-shaped" sound.

And the longer I listened the less natural it felt, it was almost like if someone was applying a digital midrange filter to the music. For me personally it got really annoying after a while. But that's not all, I think there's something else going on too. The Mojo is trying to be smooth, it's trying to be analogue sounding, but there's something not quite right about the way it does it. There is something in the music which is subconsciously telling me that it's all fake, that it's all processed smoothness and not "real" smoothness.

It is almost like subliminal micro-stutter, like the processing chip is catching its breath in places. I found it really hard to get my brain to relax while listening to the Mojo, and rather than enjoying the music as a whole I kept focusing on notes and pieces which I didn't think were quite right. In a sense it felt like listening to music which had been compressed and then un-compressed again.

For me this DAC is essentially a one trick pony; either you get hypnotized and fall in love with that glowing midrange or you don't. But if you've got a transparent system, and can see past the midrange, the shortcomings of the Mojo should became more apparent. The HD800 is infamous for exposing flaws in your upstream equipment and it did the Mojo absolutely zero favors.

The Mojo has been marketed as a high-end DAC in a miniature package, but frankly I'm not sure it's even a midrange one. The Mojo tries really damn hard to sound super-euphoric and smooth, but I think it's just making a mess of itself. From memory I liked the Meridian Explorer a lot more when I had that one. The Explorer was much more neutral, and much more honest about what it was trying to do. The Explorer didn't overextend itself like I think the Mojo does, and incidentally the Explorer is also smaller, lighter and about half the price.

It is possible that if you're using a set of bass-heavy low-end cans - like the Beats or Fidelio X2 - the Mojo will to some extent *fix* those headphones and make them more neutral. Perhaps this is the reason for all the glowing reviews on HF and elsewhere? But if you already have set of neutral cans, like the HD6X0, I think the Mojo is a terrible way to go.

This was a harsh review, but there it is. If you happen to have a Mojo and love what it does don't let me rain on your parade, I'm just one guy with opinions. But the Mojo was definitely not for me.


Anedio D1 (ESS Sabre 9018)
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Ah yes - this is better. Now I'm listening to a real DAC again. I know there are many who don't like Sabre DAC's since they can have a bit of treble glare, and the timbre of instruments is sometimes also not the best. This is understandably so and while the Anedio isn't completely devoid of these issues it can still be a pretty good DAC if you know what you're getting. Despite its flaws the Anedio also has some very strong areas, so it's a bit of give and take and I'll talk about that later.

Compared to the Mojo and the ZxR the soundstage is much bigger and the instruments find their correct places. From the test tracks Paradise Circus is rendered beautifully, exceptionally detailed and very balanced from top to bottom. The rock songs have a coherent sound that let you get a feel for the music as a whole, every instrument and note is rendered with superb detail. In my opinion music flows effortlessly from the Anedio D1 in a way that the two cheaper DAC's just can't muster.

Someone described the Anedio D1 as a summery day filled with sunshine, and I can agree with that. If you think that the majority of PCM1794 DAC's are dark and murky sounding the Anedio might be for you. It is light, crisp, clear, superbly detailed, has fantastic texture and a very balanced sound from top to bottom. I wouldn't say it's bass-light, because it can do bass phenomenally well, but it's perhaps not as explosive as some of the more dynamic DAC's on the market. It is for instance not as dynamic as a Naim or Linn DAC, or the Theta for that matter.

If there's anything I can say to fault the character of the Anedio it's perhaps a little bit emotionless, almost stoic, in the way that it presents the music. It goes about its business in a very organized manner, you could say it has an almost clockwork like quality to it. Some might not like this but for me personally I don't mind it, in fact I find it pretty relaxing. Think of it like a Mercedes Benz E-class, perhaps not the most exciting of cars but very reassuring.

When listening to Thelonious Monk it feels like being at the club but seated quite far back in the room, near the back wall. I like the presentation but it's perhaps a little reserved. It is not that it's glossed over, because it's not. But it could have put me a bit closer to the action. The Anedio also does female vocals beautifully and pronounced, but not in a hyped up artificial sounding way like the Mojo does.

For me personally the Anedio has a sound which I could happily live with for along time, and I have in fact done just that too. But whether or not the Anedio is for you is going to be a matter of taste and synergy. I can see a lot of people liking it a lot for its soundstage, texture, detail and generally crisp and airy sound. But I can also see a lot of vinyl guys hating it for not sounding like... well, vinyl.

On the plus side the Anedio has exceptional texture and detail along with very good balance and soundstage. On the negative side; yes, it can be digital sounding at times, there is some "sabre glare" if you listen for it and I don't think the timbre of acoustic instruments is 100% there. If you like me listen to a lot of electronic music, and use a tube amp, I think the Anedio can be fantastic. It will let you revel in soundstage, texture and a "sea of plankton". Very suitable for electronic music. However - if I plug in my HD800's directly into the Anedio and play classical music... well, let's not talk about that.

So the Anedio has some very strong areas but also some flaws, and to bring out the best from it your need to maximize the synergy with other components. The Anedio is honestly a tricky DAC to rate, I can see it being anything from a 2-4 star DAC depending on system synergy and musical preference. Whereas the Gungnir Multibit I would rate a solid 4 almost no matter what system it's used in. The Anedio isn't a DAC I would recommend regardless of musical preferences or other components, but it can still be a very good DAC if you know what you're buying.


Theta DS Pro Gen Va (4 x PCM63 R-2R ladder)
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Now this one was a bit of a surprise. How good can a 20 year old DAC really be? Well - very as it turns out. Some people say that sources don't make much of a difference. Those people should hear the Theta, they might have a change of heart. I don't think I've heard a more dynamic sounding DAC in my life. The bottom end drive on this thing is positively prodigious.

But that's not all; out of all the DAC's here the Theta is not only the most dynamic, it's also the most analogue and smooth sounding. I don't know quite how that is possible but that's what the Theta sounds like. It is the hardest hitting DAC, but it's also the smoothest and least fatiguing DAC. Quite the party trick.

But bottom end isn't all it does. Midrange and vocals are rendered in glorious beauty and with absolutely zero smearing into either lows or highs. So even though the bottom end is seriously hard hitting the midrange is still able to take center stage when called for. So you get bottom end drive, but not at the expense of midrange presence. And then somehow there's still room left for a smooth, extended and life-like sounding treble. Just a stunning performance from top to bottom.

Furthermore - this DAC really is quite the chameleon when it comes to adapting to the music. If I play rock the drums and guitars come on head-bangingly hard and heavy, but if I play acoustic music with a female vocalist the presentation is suddenly tender, gentle and full of emotion. In terms of presence this is also the DAC which makes it feel the most like being inside the club with Thelonious Monk, or at an actual rock concert. In a high-end system you can forget about "listening-through-speakers-veil", the music feels present and real.

Compared to the Anedio it's more analogue sounding, has more midrange presence, is less clinical and is far and away more dynamic. If there is anything I can say to fault the Theta perhaps it isn't as hyper detailed as some other DAC's on the market, I think for instance that the Anedio D1 has it beat for ultimate detail and texture retrieval. If the Anedio is a 5/5 on the detail and texture scale perhaps the Theta is a 4/5. The Theta is by all mean sufficiently detailed, and sometimes not getting ALL the detail can in fact be a good thing, but if you're a hyper-detail-freak looking for ultimate resolution it's something to keep in mind.

I will also say that I'm not sure the Theta can be classed as a neutral DAC, the bottom end is seriously heavy hitting. This makes it a superb match for the HD800 for instance, but if you already have a bottom-end heavy system (think Audeze LCD-2 and a warm class-A amp) then the Theta might be too much of a good thing? Or maybe if you're a bass head you'll be in heaven.. who knows.

It is possible that if you really, really nitpick the Theta it might be too dynamic for its own good. That is to say that in the same way that the HD800 sometimes can create soundstage which isn't in the recording the Theta might have a similar tendency to create bass and dynamics which aren't really there either. This might - or might not - be to you liking but it's definitely a pretty unique feature. You're unlikely to have a dull moment with the Theta, that much I can promise you.

In any case the Theta is absolutely world class and possibly the finest DAC I've heard. At least I can say it's the finest DAC I've ever had in my own system, of that I have no doubt. And it's actually pretty unique as DAC's go, I don't think I've heard a DAC that sounds quite like the Theta before.


Final Ranking:


Theta: +
Special feature: Moffat Mega Bass
Synergy warning: Depending on taste might be too much of a good thing in bass heavy systems, but fantastic for HD650 and HD800 for instance


Gungnir Multibit (from memory): +
Special feature: Gives the competition nightmares
Synergy warning: None! Which is unusual. Good match for nearly all systems and music styles. From memory not as dynamic, engaging or "present" as the Theta but a very solid 4-star DAC.


Anedio: +
Special feature: Feeds on the life force of vinyl junkies
Synergy warning: Fantastic for electronic music. Good match for dark / murky / slow systems. Terrible for classic music in lean SS systems. Can be anything from a 2-4 star DAC depending on synergy and music.


ZxR: +
Special feature: Hear your friends through walls so you can shoot them in the head
Synergy warning: Not good enough for high-end cans, up to about HD6X0 is ok. But the HD6X0 scales much further of course


Mojo: +
Special feature: Good size for throwing
Synergy warning: Midrange freaks only. Might *fix* overly bass-heavy low-end cans like Beats, but don't bother using this with something like a HD6X0 if you want a neutral sound. One Pirate Mug only d-t price


Summing Up:

1) Don't trust HF. Don't buy into "new-tech-hype". Known but worth repeating.
2) Everything good ever said about the Theta is true.
3) DAC progress in terms of musicality, dynamics and presence in the last 20 years: Zilch.
4) I'm a newly baptized believer of R-2R ladder DAC's. Well implemented R-2R ladder is the business.

This 20 year old Theta is right up there with the best DAC's I've heard regardless of price. It is a seriously impressive piece of equipment. In a hobby were diminishing returns are to be expected the Theta actually managed to surprise me.

I've had other nice DAC's in my system besides the Anedio D1. BMC Puredac, Hegel HD20 and Gungnir Multibit to name a few. These were all very nice DAC's, I would recommend all of them depending on taste. But the Theta is an exceptional DAC, one which is few and far between. From memory it's a clear and marked upgrade from all of the above, at least in my system and for my tastes.

As most of you know the HD800 is naturally a somewhat light-footed headphone, but with the Theta and modded HD800 everything gets turned around. The HD800 now has world-class bass drive, glorious midrange, smooth highs. If you're listening to rock or electronica the bottom end with the Theta is very dynamic and hits hard in the best way imaginable. If Theta + Sonett + Modded HD800 isn't a pretty much a perfect synergy match I don't know what is. In fact - it's so good that I've moved away from using any kind of EQ at all, which is unusual for me.

I've also been impressed by exactly how hard the Theta is able to drive my humble two tube Sonett. With the Theta the Sonett hits as hard as any solid state amp you can imagine, yet it remains as neutral, transparent and agile as ever. The longer I own the Sonett the more impressed I am by it, I didn't think there was any more performance left to extract from the Sonett but the Theta just did just that. And it wasn't subtle either.

Source first huh?

 

Great write up especially on the mojo.

Maybe the Yggdrasil dac is one of the very few modern dac that finally progresses on the old technology? I find that this dac performance is always being bottlenecked due to upstream and dowstream equipment. Think of the Yggdrasil dac as a V12 Supercharged engine that no tyres or transmission can handle its performance fully and that the quality of fuel and engine oil you use is also very important.

There's a few other dacs that you should listen to like the metrum, mhdt, audio-gd, soekris and holo-spring if you can.

 

Agreed on the Mojo, it's more tolerable from some digital sources more than others, but at the end of the day is still heavily colored in a way that gets old and perhaps even fatiguing rather quickly. Even as a mid-head and vocal lover I found myself grossed out by how processed my music sounded, though I guess I can see why some people might like it.

I greatly prefer the cheaper iFi Micro iDSD, another Brit-fi portable DAC/Amp that despite it's own coloration gets a lot closer to reference for less. In fact I think it beats the Mojo out in just about every category except for actual physical size.

 

Nice impressions! At first listen the the Mojo sounded kinda of flat too me with the HD650, but the more I listen to this combo, the more I like the refinement. Not as natural sounding as my Hegel perhaps. Go figure...
I wonder how the classic Audio-gd R2R dacs will compare to what Schiit are doing these days and with your Theta? Seems those are getting pretty hard to find.

 

Although the Idsd sounds good for portable, the Sony zx2 outclasses it with a more engaging bass and no sigma delta digitus.

 

I wonder if whatever was feeding the Mojo was jittery? The Mojo is pretty terrible at dealing with both jitter and EMI on the inputs (they really cheaped out on that bit of the design). It can make the sound go from "OK" to "total pants" in a very short time.

Oh, and the other thing I'd like to say.. that blue amp is SO pretty. Call me shallow, but that's a damn fine-looking bit of hardware (DNA Sonett?)

 

With the mutec mc3+USB as USB to AES transport for both Yggdrasil and Audio-gd Master 7.

I would say they sound 80% similar. Both has the r2r timbre and smoothness.

M7 is more forgiving, lush, slightly grainier female voicing and slightly more laid back sounding which pairs more nicer with HD800. Soundstage is very Wide but lacks depth.

Yggdrasil has more stronger and deeper bass, 3D soundstage, crystal clear mids and treble and a more explosive and louder dynamics/transients

 

Yes - I'm loving the Theta right now and likely won't be changing for some time. But I'd love to hear the Metrum Pavane, Total DAC, Yggdrasil and La Scala MKII for instance. So many good DAC's... so little time.

Thanks for that - I feel a little bit bad after being so harsh on the Mojo, seeing that so many people seem to like it. But if the emperor has no clothes... well, you know the rest.

Hegel make very, very good DAC's. They're a bit underrated because to be honest they tend to look like cheap plastic pieces of shit, but they know what they're doing on the inside. I would love to revisit the Hegel HD20 or HD25 vs the Gungnir Multibit, I think it could be a real close fight. The only reason I didn't keep either the Hegel HD20 or the Gungnir Multibit is that for the type of music I listen to the most the Anedio D1 is especially suitable.

You're raising a very valid point but I actually did listened to the Mojo both from my laptop through the usb and from optical as well. Before giving such a harsh review I wanted to be sure that it wasn't the interface that was screwing with me. But yeah - I more or less hear the same thing regardless of interface used.

I have to admit though - I'm a sucker for good looking audio gear as well

Luckily the Sonett is as beautiful as it is good sounding. Honestly - if you have the money just buy something from Donald, I don't think you'll regret it. Both the Sonett and Stratus are stellar pieces of gear which you can keep for a very, very long time.

I think I'm a fan of the more "sit-up-and-beg" school of DAC's so if I was to get either of those it would probably be the Yggdrasil, I prefer the more honest straight up approach rather than the romantic glossed over one. It would indeed be fun to to a direct comparison between the Theta and the Yggdrasil, maybe one day

 

using a laptop and usb with mojo without killing the screen is asking for mediocrity.

 

Nice comparison.

I had Mojo for a while and while it didn't do anything wrong (especially with IEMs) there were just too many caveats with the implementation in the end. Bulky, needed a defuckifier with my laptop, needed to be charged all the time, needed an amp to give HD6X0 any balls...

The new V2+ or V2A just does everything better (once it arrives, of course).

 

Yeah, with SPDIF or USB jitter, or stray EMI down the USB cable, the Mojo sounds like freshly-hammered crap. You really don't want to plug it into a a phone not in flight mode (esp in a low signal area) or a laptop without defuckification, or you're gonna get reactions like the horror of @TwoEars.

The overheating issues really bugged me too, in the summer. The comment about the amp is on-point too. I am still amazed at all the dismal herberts on HF insisting that it's a natural pairing to drive HD650, simply because it can make them loud. I suppose if you didn't know that it the 650 was supposed to be capable of frequencies below "gnat fart"...

That said, banded to my old phone and driving my IEMs, I really can't complain- especially now the weather has cooled, and I have coat pockets. I forgot the stack today, and listening out of my phone made me wince.

When it's working well, the Mojo sounds decent enough for a mobile DAC and IEM amp. However, it does feel like Chord opted for a fancy case, and cut corners on.. you know, implementation. It needs a lot of pandering to work well.

(I did initially look into getting some sort of GO, but the lineup seemed very confused, and they were more or less impossible to get hold of, a confusing combination of "out of stock" and stuff about crowdfunding, so I opted for something that was actually on sale and ready to ship at the time. I didn't have the advantage of being able to come here to ask people how to get hold of one, either; that might have changed matters.)

 

@Marvey @jowls

Yeah - don't get me wrong, I don't think the Mojo sounds completely terrible. It has some merits. If the Mojo had the same form factor, and price point, as the Explorer 2 I'd be painting a different picture. But when you're selling something for around $600 and boasting about it being able to take on high-end stationary DAC's... well, those are fighting words. If the Mojo had been $250 and looked and functioned like the Explorer 2 I'd say it's a different flavor for those that like a mid-centric sound and leave it at that.

 

Thing is, Chord is all about the kood-aid. They could never do that, what would the devoted fanbase do? The cognitive dissonance would kill them.

 

I just spent several hours with the mojo and jotun with 650s with the dynamat mod. I liked both, especially when they are so close in price but you can definitely hear the amp side of the jot as superior for revealing resolution when compared to the Mojo driving the 650s.

When I listen to the Jot with 4490 dac driving the 650s I prefer the Mojo. Feeding the mojo out into the Jot is really quite nice. Yet with all the hype about how wonderful the jotun 650 combo is, it is still somewhat midfi although enjoyable.

The 650s do sound quite a bit better with dacs and amps even further up the cost chain.

 

That's a not a hearty recommendation, mind. Even Schiit's cheapest multibit DAC sounds much nicer than the Mojo in that setup- less rolled off up high, better defined bass etc..

 

not sure what you mean, you are certainly entitled to your opinion. I also prefer mojo to Bifrost Multibit with my speaker setup. We all hear differently.

 

Mojo is only as good as your USB source.

A (relatively) cheap Sonicorbiter with the supplied wall LPS (L as in Linear) brings a tremendous improvement to the Mojo.
Now, that's another $3xx to fix a 599 DAC, but when taking the whole system into account, it's not that much.

Can't speak highly enough of the old Theta DACs. I finally put my Gen V back in the system, after months of listening exclusively to the Basic IIIA - and recently the Gungnir Multibit -. There's no denying the Theta sound fuller, warmer and more dynamic than the newer Schiit. For better or worse. It's mostly better, in my book.

 

It's funny, one person says mojo treble rolled, another staticky, prickly highs. No wonder we all have many dacs to choose from.