Ciúnas Audio ISO DAC Teardown and Failed Review

[Killingbeans]

The one in there is black so maybe a different revision.

Then my bet is still on eBay. Lots of "genuine" chinese AMANEROs on there with random PCB colors.

So, the actual DAC is inside the breakout board sandwich?

I can't even begin to describe how much this screams 'prototype!'

I've seen comparable contraptions in the early stages of product developments, and each time the engineer would joke about how horrible it was

 

[amirm]

So, the actual DAC is inside the breakout board sandwich?

That's my guess without tearing them apart.

 

[Labjr]

10-15 years ago everyone was raving about all the garage-built DACs and reclocking/de-jittering devices that probably looked like that inside. Or even worse. Most of it was being designed by ear.

 

[Purité Audio]

To be absolutely scrupulous should we (royal we) perhaps test another example of known provenance?
Keith

 

[restorer-john]

I don't know what to say.

 

[amirm]

To be absolutely scrupulous should we (royal we) perhaps test another example of known provenance?
Keith

I am ready if someone can get one.

 

[restorer-john]

To be absolutely scrupulous should we (royal we) perhaps test another example of known provenance?

I agree with this. The interior is just so much of a mess, I can't believe anyone would have the temerity to actually sell it. Surely the example above is an unfortunate attempt at humour?

 

[Mnyb]

I recognise the name . I think he posted on the Squeezebox forum some years ago ? Hanging out on every online fora all the time can be a sickness in itself , one should find time to actually listen to music and live life too .

 

[dukanvadet]

I wonder if all those boards are ebay finds. If they were made for this device you would propably make them fit the slots in the enclosure? Even if its a prototype you would need it to give somewhat reliable results comparable to a finished product?

 

[amirm]

They are definitely off-the-shelf boards. None are custom made for this unit that I can tell.

 

[mkawa]

this is a fire hazard. i have a shelf full of those cells and they can spot weld themselves to terminal contacts if you short them.

i don't see how supercapacitors, either EDLCs or solid substrate, will make things better. the same size edlc has a 400F charge that it can discharge pretty much instantaneously at 3v. this is dangerous hardware. if you can't even figure out kicad, you should not be working with it..

 

[restorer-john]

I've seen comparable contraptions in the early stages of product developments, and each time the engineer would joke about how horrible it was

Here's some 2014 engineer's prototypes/test mules of Technics' developments:

Built on an old base plate:

Old TOTL multi-player die-cast base unit being used for an amplifier proto:

Mock up:

Final product (still not sure how this horror of design ever saw the light of day)

 

[Stellabagpuss]

l have to say this is really bad review, very unprofessional.
Surely if you had tested, or if there was issue, letting JK respond, prior to this its is poor review.
l normally enjoy your tests, but this seems so personal.
In the sprit of fair play, why not ask JK for a review sample, then test.
For what it's worth, l recently tested his ISODAC Supercap, l found the sound far superior to my RME Adi-2, l can't profess the technical reasons why, accept to say the ability to hear details clearer.
Lastly, can l ask why there is never an opinion on how the items being reviewed sound?
l only ask, out of interest.
l look forward to a proper review in the future, rather than a personal attack on a persons business model

 

[vkvedam]

 

[Schackmannen]

l have to say this is really bad review, very unprofessional.
Surely if you had tested, or if there was issue, letting JK respond, prior to this its is poor review.
l normally enjoy your tests, but this seems so personal.
In the sprit of fair play, why not ask JK for a review sample, then test.
For what it's worth, l recently tested his ISODAC Supercap, l found the sound far superior to my RME Adi-2, l can't profess the technical reasons why, accept to say the ability to hear details clearer.
Lastly, can l ask why there is never an opinion on how the items being reviewed sound?
l only ask, out of interest.
l look forward to a proper review in the future, rather than a personal attack on a persons business model

Hard to tell how it sounds if it doesn't work...

 

[Stellabagpuss]

That's my point..why not ask for a review model, instead of non review, reporting when working would be logical, at least in my view

 

[zermak]

Ok @amirm you can upload the real review now; nice Halloween trick there. Really scary stuff in the box! I probably can do a better job soldering (and I solder twice a year) and in components management/positioning.

@Stellabagpuss
Amir received the gear to be tested and he spent his precious time with it. The report besides the bad conclusions is still welcome. You can read it or not. The title is pretty clarifing about the non review.
He probably even contacted the engineer(?) behind this to get more insight as he usually does when something is missing.
PS: I'll ignore the rest of your message cause I am still wondering how a proper engineered DAC can sound when it's only job is to trasform digital data into analog sinewaves.

 

[Liberal Democracy]

l have to say this is really bad review, very unprofessional.
Surely if you had tested, or if there was issue, letting JK respond, prior to this its is poor review.
l normally enjoy your tests, but this seems so personal.
In the sprit of fair play, why not ask JK for a review sample, then test.
For what it's worth, l recently tested his ISODAC Supercap, l found the sound far superior to my RME Adi-2, l can't profess the technical reasons why, accept to say the ability to hear details clearer.
Lastly, can l ask why there is never an opinion on how the items being reviewed sound?
l only ask, out of interest.
l look forward to a proper review in the future, rather than a personal attack on a persons business model

Can you share your test results and setup?

If it was a sighted evaluation, a purely subjective 'listening' based one then unfortunately it will likely be misleading and certainly of very little relevance to actual performance.

Such ' testing ' is why audio is in such a mess and devices like this exist.

 

[Labjr]

I think Amir was taken aback when he opened the unit and felt this needed to be seen. IMO, if that wasn't modded, there's no excuse for that kind of workmanship in a product you're selling to the public. Even if it was working, it didn't stand a chance of producing good test results like that. I've built better looking kits on my kitchen table.

I've seen Jkeny in various forums over the years. I don't think he's an EE by trade. He mostly was modding stuff several years ago. Though I haven't paid attention to any of his recent projects.

 

[Sinquito]

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