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Okto dac8 stereo DAC Review

Feyire

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@amirm, if you have time, could you perform a SINAD over time measurement so we can see the effect of temperature?
 

Sonic delight

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EchoChamber

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@amirm Is the display always blue, or can it be set to a different color? On their web site they show it with a white display...
 
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amirm

amirm

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@amirm, if you have time, could you perform a SINAD over time measurement so we can see the effect of temperature?
It is certainly constant over a one hour period as I had to go back to the dashboard for another reason and got the same results.
 

audioBliss

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I'm reading this on their website
"
Custom output voltage
Choose a custom output voltage that matches your amplifier. Available in range from 1 to 12V RMS. Please specify the requested value in your order note.

"
Imagine this with AHB2s
 
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amirm

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@amirm Is the display always blue, or can it be set to a different color? On their web site they show it with a white display...
It is near white. The blue cast must be the monitor/color balance. I don't think you can change the color.
 

Soniclife

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So I would say the streaming functionality is less than perfectly integrated but as much as they could given the platform restrictions.
It strikes me that whilst it's not perfect it's a lot better than most solutions on the market, including from big companies. The pi gives the user a lot of flexibility now, and is likely to keep up with user requirements way more than other proprietary solutions.
Is there an internal shot to give an indication if it's likely to support the pi5 etc?
 

Xyrium

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The only issue that causes me pause is the relative unknown support, and future of this company. Otherwise, SOTA all the way, I'm quite envious! I love the look and the performance. If it had an integrated Xover, it might sway me to take the risk!
 

phoenixdogfan

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Any DAC with a SINAD better than -105dB is pointless with those amps. As the amp SINAD is the bottleneck. In fact the $20 dongle I just posted measurements of is overkill as well with that amp.
Given that the only amp whose SINAD exceeds the Eval 1 with its buffer bypassed (108 db) is the Benchmark AHB2 (113db), are you saying that this unit is overbuilt for absolutely every amp out there?
 

Sonic delight

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Then why bring it up for comparison? How do we know how well it works with an iPhone? Plus that one linked to isn't even the Pro version that was reviewed.

Because $20 gets you as good as it gets now. So not sure what the big deal is regarding this DAC. My measurements were conducted using the iPhone 7 as the audio source. Amir reviewed this one as well. I posted in his review thread of this DAC already today. From my computers my results were similar to what Amir got. From my 12' MacBook's USB C port running from batteries the SINAD was only -100dB. Goes to show how clean the iPhone is in comparison.
 

Sonic delight

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Given that the only amp whose SINAD exceeds the Eval 1 with its buffer bypassed (108 db) is the Benchmark AHB2 (113db), are you saying that this unit is overbuilt for absolutely every amp out there?

Yes the only thing that matters is the SINAD coming out of the binding posts of the final amp in the system. That result will be identical from the binding posts of the Purifi or Benchmark AHB2 regardless if the $20 Meizu or the Okto DAC was used as a source.
 

JP

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I'm reading this on their website
"
Custom output voltage
Choose a custom output voltage that matches your amplifier. Available in range from 1 to 12V RMS. Please specify the requested value in your order note.

"
Imagine this with AHB2s

I've my Dac8 DSP modified to put out ~11V to feed 4 AHB2.
 

Vasr

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Because $20 gets you as good as it gets now. So not sure what the big deal is regarding this DAC.

I find this comparing apples and oranges. Some of us need to connect a source or two with Toslink out. Some of us need a remote to just turn on the HiFI system and switch to a source we want to play with the same remote. Not everything can be done with a smartphone or as conveniently.

When manufacturers try to provide that functionality, few seem to be able to do it with the functionality for those use cases this offers without screwing up performance or charging an arm and a leg. Hence the celebration.

Isn't the above obvious? Yes saying it is the best dac in the world is a bit of a hyperbole because the world also includes dongles but it is the best in class for anything comparable.
 

Sonic delight

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I find this comparing apples and oranges. Some of us need to connect a source or two with Toslink out. Some of us need a remote to just turn on the HiFI system and switch to a source we want to play with the same remote. Not everything can be done with a smartphone or as conveniently.

When manufacturers try to provide that functionality, few seem to be able to do it with the functionality for those use cases this offers without screwing up performance or charging an arm and a leg. Hence the celebration.

Isn't the above obvious? Yes saying it is the best dac in the world is a bit of a hyperbole because the world also includes dongles but it is the best in class for anything comparable.


Some people may. But many people don't. Regardless there's $100 DAC's that have all the inputs, and exceed the SINAD of any speaker amp in existence.
 

Feyire

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Some people may. But many people don't. Regardless there's $100 DAC's that have all the inputs that exceed the SINAD of any speaker amp in existence.
There are many people, like myself, who only make use of digital volume control in the DAC. In such a usage scenario, a DAC with a higher signal-to-noise ratio is always desired.
 
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