Review and Measurements of Okto DAC8 8Ch DAC & Amp

[MWC]

@ Neddy An option you may have overlooked with your BluRay discs, is to rip them to BDMV / MKV files stored on the PC and find a better than PowerDVD solution to play them. I have used Power DVD in several iterations over the years and I really dislike the way they nag one to upgrade and even refuse to reinstall one's bought and paid for program more than 4 times. I hereby disclose my deep prejudice towards them. There are many other, even free, programs that will play BDs ripped to MKV or BDMV e.g. VLC, MPC-BE, or KODI. This would remove your need for a hardware connection for BD playback. BTW I play such Mch files from PC storage to my Mch receiver.

 

[Tks]

I wish more DAC's would include multiple inputs like the DAC8 Stereo is doing. Only thing missing would be Bluetooth input and this thing would've been amazing connection wise. Though that's just being picky, with streaming and having an internal RPi4, that more than enough does away with my desire for Bluetooth input tbh.

It looks wonderful btw.

 

[Neddy]

@MWC Thanks much!
I've purchased PDVD and expect to install in the next week or so - I tried it many years ago and hated it, sure can appreciate your prejudice - but times may have changed?
I've considered ripping, but for my purposes not worth the effort/time, though I know I have the gear to do it.
For instance, BD rentals.
Yes, I'm playing Mch files now from PC drive via Oppo, to my pre/pro...but this is a major performance upgrade, and so the audio system will get it's own dedicated PC/NUC finally. HT/BD playback will be a very small part of my usage.
I've used MusicBee, VLC, MPC-HC and others as well, very curious to see how the Jriver/PwrDVD combo works with Okto.

 

[maxidcx]

Hi,
@Neddy, FYI, as you have an Oppo you might consider upgrading it with a Vanity board (audiopraise, also in Czech Republic) which provides 4 SPDIF output (with same clock). I have this setup at home feeding an old but serious denon avc-a1sr; this will feed the dac8pro very well, without intermediate adc/aes conversion.

 

[Neddy]

Hi Max, some one posted some pics of a JBL system using that (on Lansing Heritage, perhaps?) a while back - was that you?
Yes!, that would be The IDEAL solution, but those boards (even for later models) are NLA, and the last used one I could find sold two years ago (two days before I started looking for one!).
Thanks much!

 

[Okto Research]

Is a 9028Pro still the chip inside the Dac8 Stereo? Why the increase in price for less output channels?

It's a 9038PRO chip, the Stereo version also includes a streamer (Raspberry Pi) hence the additional cost.

It is still the ES9028PRO, we just were just able to squeeze more from it. The old 8-channel demo unit still holds quite well in the ASR chart in companion of stereo DACs and it doesn't enjoy the benefit of decreased noise due to Sabre channel summing. With the DAC8 PRO, we took that performance step further, while the DAC8 Stereo adds channel summing with the twist of 8 individual analog sections. There is nothing missing.

Our products are not exactly known for being expensive and the price adjustment for the DAC8 PRO will eventually follow. DAC8 Stereo trades 3/4 of the DAC8 PRO channels for 2x the dynamic range - that's it.

Nice. So any of the Linux Distro's can be installed and maintained by the end user?

Is access to the Pi's SD card easy?

The SD card is revealed after removing the top lid (the Pi is mounted upside-down).

@Okto Research

2 Questions:

1) When can @amirm get one of EACH (DAC8 Pro and Stereo) of the production units for testing ?
2) What is the lead time now on new orders ?

1) We expect to ship the DAC8 Stereo to ASR by the end of January. Not sure about the PRO since the demo unit has already been tested, but we could do it as well if there is interest.
2) A new PRO order is expected to ship in early February.

@Okto Research,

1. How tall is the stereo unit with the Bluetooth antenna fully extended vertically?
2. Will Volumio still be pre-installed on the Raspberry Pi 4?
   • Which model is the Pi: 1GB, 2GB or 4GB RAM?
   • What size is the SD card?
   • How does the Pi communicate with the DAC? Is it over I2S or USB or..?

1) The antenna is foldable and can be positioned in an arbitrary angle. An exact length is not known at the time since we are choosing between various models.
2) What will be installed on the Pi will be revealed in the second part of the Stereo unveiling
- 1GB
- 16GB
- USB (asynchronous, so without jitter concerns, DSD capable etc.)

@Okto Research , I wonder why the floating balanced output (like in DRV134)
https://www.ti.com/lit/ds/symlink/drv134.pdf
is used so rarely. Not only it brings a notable improvement thanks to output CMR capability, but after you put one of the outputs to the ground, voltage on the second one doubles and there are no issues with XLR==>RCA adapters.

Not sure, it is not a type of circuit we could even use since it expects single-ended signal on the input while in our case, everything is differential from the beginning. It also appears to be rather noisy (30k internal resistors...)

Cheers
Pavel, Okto Research

 

[Bliman]

In late fall, after having waited several months for the (already paid for) dac8 stereo, I was about to jump on the new version of the ADI-2 dac. The streaming capabilities of the dac8 stereo let me stand by Okto. The RME's representative rather uppity communication didn't help switching brands either .

I disagree completely about the communication of RME. They are one of the best ones in the business and not only by product. I also doubted which one I should take by the streaming by the OktoResearch. But now I am going to go another route with the streaming. And I am glad that I chose the RME because eq and room correction is a big eye-opener for me. I would never could have corrected it without one or with something similar. But I hope all goes well for OktoResearch.

 

[BYRTT]

For one or the other reason it looks many use non recommended single ended devices downstream of Okto's balanced output interface, stumpled over Neurochrome's upcomming universal buffer for another diy project and think that device looks like it can interface the single ended scenario and preserve the fantastic numbers as ASR review revealed. Disclaimer, myself have no personal or financial relation to Okto or Neurochrome niether can i know how pair them up will work real life, post is based passion to preserve those signal quality Okto can perform and specification plus documented measurement on that universal buffer looks be good and transparant but maybe @Okto Research can comment what they think about load quality of that interface paired to their source.

Link to universal buffer interface: https://neurochrome.com/products/universal-buffer

 

[Neddy]

Oh frabjous day!
Thank you Pavel, Thank you Amir!




It'll be a few days (at least) before I get it hooked up.
Very First impressions:
Surprisingly heavy - feels like it's carved out of billet aluminum.
Love that tiny remote!
Plastic knob is....meh?
Wait time for a new Aston Martin order I hear is 3-4 months, I feel this is a far better deal, and also feels 'bespoke'
Now to finish building it's new home
More Later!

 

[Czech6]

Almost like seeing an old friend again... I've spent some quality time with the demo/prototype not long ago. Nice and simple box design on a shipping product! Good to see an extra screw on the top plate, vents are also gone, dust won't get in anymore. That's a $19 Apple remote! The knob was alright but not great - you'll probably use the remote anyway. Just like the demo, it seems to ship with a generic USB cable but no power cord?

 

[Neddy]

Pretty funny - I was just wondering if there was a power cord I'd missed?!
Those things multiply like coat hangers, so it's not like I don't have half a dozen still sealed in original bags, so why waste more of them.
I knew about the remote, but not being an apple person, didn't realize how small they are - very very nice, esp since I'm trying to cut down on big clunky remotes.
I like how the front plate labeling is (laser?) etched - the whole thing exudes 'class' and 'quality'.
Definitely no flex or vent holes anymore - solid as a brick.
Agree about the knob, but will upgrade to the new one when available...this one looks and works fine, just a teensy bit too plasticky for the rest of the design. I he hadn't mentioned it about the new model, I wouldn't have cared at all

 

[1234VICE]

Our products are not exactly known for being expensive and the price adjustment for the DAC8 PRO will eventually follow.

Thank you for keeping us updated. I have a question about the price adjustment, which hopefully you are able to address.

Will the price increase also apply to the people who have been waiting for the tour to commence? Alternatively, could you perhaps elaborate on the expected price jump? Potentially, I will let myself be bullied into pulling the trigger, to avoid the price increase and to simply be done with it. The wait is approaching a year now, and I am pretty sure that I want to keep it anyway.

Overall, I sympathize with your company philosophy, however, admittedly I am not particularly impressed with your sales policies. The lack of a trail period forces customers into making a gamble, and I feel that this is bad code of conduct. Moreover, the lack of a explicit return policy is peculiar, since it is dictated by European law [link], and thus rejecting a return within two weeks is a violation of European consumer's rights.

Still, I can imagine that as a startup company, you do not have the infrastructure nor financial resources to support an elaborate trail period. Thus, the tour appeared to be a good compromise, and I applaud the intentions and initiative. It is shame that it did not pan out. At the same time, I suppose that the consumer has spoken, as I understand that you are not in a limited supply of orders.

Thank you again.

 

[Czech6]

From the Warranty section of the user manual:
To ensure your satisfaction, we also offer a 30-day return policy. In case of a return, the customer pays the cost of the shipping back to us and the refunded amount does not include the cost of the previous shipping from us to the customer. The returned product and accessories must be complete, clean and free of scratches and other damage.

 

[1234VICE]

From the Warranty section of the user manual:
To ensure your satisfaction, we also offer a 30-day return policy. In case of a return, the customer pays the cost of the shipping back to us and the refunded amount does not include the cost of the previous shipping from us to the customer. The returned product and accessories must be complete, clean and free of scratches and other damage.

That covers my question. Thank you for pointing this out.

 

[Okto Research]

Thank you for keeping us updated. I have a question about the price adjustment, which hopefully you are able to address.

Will the price increase also apply to the people who have been waiting for the tour to commence? Alternatively, could you perhaps elaborate on the expected price jump? Potentially, I will let myself be bullied into pulling the trigger, to avoid the price increase and to simply be done with it. The wait is approaching a year now, and I am pretty sure that I want to keep it anyway.
Thank you again.

The above mentioned price adjustment for the DAC8 PRO will bring it to the level of the DAC8 Stereo. No one is bullying you, it is a preliminary information and the change is not going to happen until we have DAC8 PROs in stock and ready to ship.

Also, the European DAC8 PRO tour has started, the tour unit is now in France.

Agree about the knob, but will upgrade to the new one when available...this one looks and works fine, just a teensy bit too plasticky for the rest of the design. I he hadn't mentioned it about the new model, I wouldn't have cared at all

It is made of aluminum (cold on touch and with laythe toolpath visible, try and see), also not particularly cheap... well, the in-house made one is coming soon to the DAC8 PRO as well.

 

[Neddy]

I'll be darned - it is aluminum. My bad!
(But, stamped? hollow, anyway, and still feels a tiny bit tinny compared to the 'billet' nature of the rest of the unit
But then I'm used to fader wheels sliced from solid bars...nothing like having some inertia.
Thanks, though, Pavel, it is - as far as I'm concerned - a work of art.

 

[Okto Research]

Yes, the manufacturer makes it hollow (milled-out) from the inside. Maybe they target aerospace applications, who knows. Our custom made knob is full, although still aluminum, so not super heavy. The inertia is defeated by the detents of the sensor (rotary encoder).

Glad you like the product!

 

[1234VICE]

Also, the European DAC8 PRO tour has started, the tour unit is now in France.

I find this surprising, as I tried to sign up for the tour back in March 2019. In our email correspondence, it was mentioned that I would be notified. I suppose that it got mixed up somewhere. Congratulations on the start of the tour regardless.

I will contact you by email.

 

[phoenixdogfan]

Many thanks for great ideas!

I may have not made the use case clear, so: (deep breath!)

99% of my Okto use will be via JRiver (FLAC library) and PC-NUC/USB (which also has an external bluray drive.)

BUT, that leaves a small library of Bluray movies and BR Audio disks, which I gather may not play multich correctly on the PC via PowerDVD

PLUS, there are some streaming apps that aren't available (or work Mch) on Win10, so I'd like to be able to use my Roku on the HDMI input on the Oppo 103 BR player, and somehow feed the Oppo's analog outputs into either the PC or (via) AES to the Okto (lots of O's there!).

There are no affordable HDMI-> AES devices.
(AES is preferred, since I could theoretically use the Okto remote to 'flip' between USB/PC audio sources and AES (HDMI legacy) sources - would be so slick!)

Hence, the request for an ADC that outputs either AES (preferred - direct to Okto!) or USB (many to chose from, but more complexity).

Tascam, Scarlett, Behringer make affordable ADC - USB decks, but seem to have software issues with W10 (from reviews), and have many more features than I need!

EG,
https://smile.amazon.com/Tascam-US-...face/dp/B00MIXF200?ref_=ast_sto_dp&th=1&psc=1

The Oppo 103 is not a very high end HDMI DAC, so no need (or budget!) to find a high performance ADC for this, esp for the occasional use/movie/HT application.

PS. Oh, one other, very minor, use: I still have a darned nice turntable and phono-preamp...haven't even thought about how I want to get that into the PC/OktoDAC yet! But THAT I might just decide to sell off....haven't played an LP in more than a year!

<Yah, I think too much sometimes ....Grin>

If my use case is to have a dsp engine to do 7.1 with crossover of 80db on the sub and routing the output via USB to an OCTO 8, could I just use JRiver as my front end with no other software (like rePhase) to provide filters, room and speaker correction, etc? Would that work well using just the "room correction" feature in DSP studio, or are there some limitations in the program that would make that a poor choice? In other words would JRiver plus an Octo 8 add up to a 7.1 Preamp processor all by themselves, or do I need to find a supplemental software to use as a plug in to make that kind of use case work well?

 

[Neddy]

I'm not (yet) well enough versed to answer, but intend to try out the JR DSP Studio for non-main/sub room correction, and will use REW to determine the EQ settings for those.
So I assume it will work? I'm sure others can answer more concretely...
I'm doing main speaker bi-amp and subwoofer crossovers downstream of the Okto...but will also try doing the sub in DSP Studio as well (but the Venu's peak limiters are very handy for use with the sub and LFs when things Get Loud).
Still a few days away from getting everything hooked up....