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TEAC NT-503: any opinions?

Mivera

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That counts as pretty exciting news then - that a CMOS S/C opamp based DAC beats out one with on-chip resistors. I'll have to order up a Taobao AKM board to have a play myself.

Don't expect any old cheap chinese AKM based DAC to be anywhere in the league of this. But if you want something that could give the Herus a run for this money, check this one out:

http://www.diyinhk.com/shop/audio-kits/68-768khz32bit-ak4490eq-dac-i2sdsd-input.html

Just make sure you use very good power supplies as there's no onboard regulation. In the end you will probably end up paying more than the Mirand DAC, and only have sound as good as the $499 Herus. It will also be a big mess of wires, boards and transformers. Let alone all of the work. Nothing comes assembled. You get a bag of raw parts.

IMG_3812.jpg
 

Mivera

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Well, obviously its going to suck stock, that's the whole point of modding one. DIYinHK can't be accessed here so they'll not get any sales from me. I'll start off with one of these for under $20 https://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=a230r.1.14.17.bb9Vbt&id=44328423379&ns=1&abbucket=13#detail -

Yeah for $20 might be worth is, but I heard it doesn't sound like much more than $20 either. You need to stop putting so much weight on the DAC chip. A good DAC chip is essential, but the rest of the DAC is much more critical.

http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/digital-line-level/272324-assembled-ak4490eq-ii2s-dac.html
 

Opus111

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Yeah for $20 might be worth is, but I heard it doesn't sound like much more than $20 either.

Unmodded, unsurprising. But then I already said that.

You need to stop putting so much weight on the DAC chip.

In your imagination.

A good DAC chip is essential, but the rest of the DAC is much more critical.

Preaching to the choir.
 

Mivera

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Unmodded, unsurprising. But then I already said that.



In your imagination.



Preaching to the choir.


Actually some of the guys on that thread like it. But they say it doesn't do DSD. But you need to be careful listening to some of these guys feedback because a lot of the time it's based on comparisons with other $20 DAC's
 

Mivera

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Opus111

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The purpose isn't for any kind of system, rather as a base for doing experiments to see what the AK4490s limitations are.
 

Mivera

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The purpose isn't for any kind of system, rather as a base for doing experiments to see what the AK4490s limitations are.

Well it is a very basic chip. For low end applications the new ESS 9028 and 9038's will be much better. They are built with lots of features to make them less sensitive to low quality environments. But at the same time those features that make them great for those applications, become bottlenecks for higher end applications. However you need to look at the target market, and which segment of DAC's that will move the most volume. I heard the high end DAC market only accounted for 1% of Sabre chip sales. And now with the new cell phone market they tapped right into, it's probably much less.
 

Opus111

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Well it is a very basic chip.

That does suit me fine - the more basic the chip the less chance that the designers screwed up something significant. I'm not interested in the high end DAC market, that's obviously dysfunctional.
 
OP
wgscott

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Just out of curiosity, when you two hijack threads like this, who is your target audience?

I feel like I strolled into a used car dealership.
 

AJ Soundfield

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The downfall comes if you compare them to better DAC's.
That's just your imagination.
When, not if you can provide reliable evidence that Scotts TEAC is any any way shape or form "bettered" by another DAC, then present it.
Otherwise, your daydreams are useless, except for fellow daydream believers. Not the types here outside your ilk.
 

amirm

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That's just your imagination.
When, not if you can provide reliable evidence that Scotts TEAC is any any way shape or form "bettered" by another DAC, then present it.
Otherwise, your daydreams are useless, except for fellow daydream believers. Not the types here outside your ilk.
AJ, please stop using the word "ilk." We are not here to be mean spirited that way.

All three types of discussions are welcome here:
1. Excellence in engineering.
2. Excellence in measurements.
3. Excellence in listening tests.

Mike's domain is in #1 and #2 which is something we/I like to read about.
 

Mivera

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Do you want to do a write-up on it in a separate thread?

No point in opening a thread on a DAC i no longer recommend. As far as the Mirand DAC, it's too DIY for anyone around here. Very few buy audio gear for sound.
 

Mivera

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Just out of curiosity, when you two hijack threads like this, who is your target audience?

I feel like I strolled into a used car dealership.

Not sure why you ask for opinions just so when you get them, you ignore them anyways. Seems like the only right answer for you would have been "buy it, it's the best DAC in the world!"
 

BobShermanEsq

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Not sure why you ask for opinions just so when you get them, you ignore them anyways. Seems like the only right answer for you would have been "buy it, it's the best DAC in the world!"
Minerva,

What opinion, or advice did you really give? You mentioned Marty one nice guy who heard the DAC, maybe not long enough by his comment and did not like it. You looked at a picture and thought it had too much stuff in a small space. LOL... We understand you think you are an audio Savant... But... Is that something that should deter someone from purchasing an item? I don't think so… The Teac is actually a nice DAC with a good feature set for a decent price. The only way someone could know for sure is by auditioning it, or ultimately purchasing it and see. You really cannot be serious???
 

Mivera

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Minerva,

What opinion, or advice did you really give? You mentioned Marty one nice guy who heard the DAC, maybe not long enough by his comment and did not like it. You looked at a picture and thought it had too much stuff in a small space. LOL... We understand you think you are an audio Savant... But... Is that something that should deter someone from purchasing an item? I don't think so… The Teac is actually a nice DAC with a good feature set for a decent price. The only way someone could know for sure is by auditioning it, or ultimately purchasing it and see. You really cannot be serious???

The only one who actually compared it to anything was Marty. But his opinion was invalid. So I offered advice on a much cheaper option that will kill DAC's at 5 times the price as the Teac. But still not good enough. So I guess that's about all we can do here.
 
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