Golden days of AKM is gone

[yummy]

Thing is, with AKM chips you gotta make it to full-specs performance, no one does it right now, in Golden days of AKM, everyone did that, now? nah

this used to be their standard

those manufacturers some went bankruptcy, some went underwater, tons of them using AKM in those days

 

[maxxevv]

There are loads of dual 4497 chipped DAC's coming on stream in China. And many new 4493 implementations too.
Apparently, the 4497 is easier to implement than the 9038PRO, hence DAC systems are overall cheaper when it comes with those it seems.
Should be interesting days ahead in the coming year, especially now that they have announced / released the 4499 TOTL chip.

 

[amirm]

There certainly seems like someone flipped a switch and new designs in China coming out with AKM DACs.

 

[maxxevv]

Its a cost factor I believe. If you look at AKM boards with the 4493 and 4497, they seem strangely sparse compared to 9038Pro ones.

 

[gvl]

I would think that DAC market is a niche, but there is like dozen new DACs coming to market each month, so it must be a pretty deep niche.

 

[Kyle / MrHeeHo]

There certainly seems like someone flipped a switch and new designs in China coming out with AKM DACs.

What if you finding the ESS Hump in so many DACs is responsible for that?

 

[bennetng]

What if you finding the ESS Hump in so many DACs is responsible for that?

Maybe Amir should replace the SINAD chart with IMD+N @ -30dBFS to troll ESS. Not about audibility but I like to see more AKBM girls. Don't forget about ESS has some evil partnership with MQA as well.

 

[Soniclife]

Don't forget about ESS has some evil partnership with MQA as well.

Is the MQA fee built into the chip, or only if it is enabled by the manufacturer? Not paying MQA fee could well be the driver.

 

[Ron Texas]

There certainly seems like someone flipped a switch and new designs in China coming out with AKM DACs.

It's mostly marketing, although cost probably factors in. Meanwhile the D30 has great sound for $120 with its ancient (by digital standards} DAC chip.

Anyone want to buy some really expensive cables made from Kabbalah blessed copper? I will personally recite the blessings.

 

[bennetng]

Is the MQA fee built into the chip, or only if it is enabled by the manufacturer? Not paying MQA fee could well be the driver.

I am not an insider who signed some NDAs and know nothing beyond reading their press release.
http://www.esstech.com/index.php/en/news/newsroom/sabre-dacs/

 

[Panelhead]

The domestic dac market is not what drives the chip makers. The pro interfaces are much higher volumes. But sad to see what hey use for chips. Most are AKM, just not the TOTL chips.
Getting the entire dac to deliver the specs published for the chips is their goal.
I guess saving 10.00 on chips is big if production is 1,000’s.
My dac has a AK4413 chip. It is specced like a four channel AK4396. Seems fine. Wish it was a AK4414. Or two of the new AK4499.

 

[andreasmaaan]

TOTL DAC chips are overkill. A well implemented mid tier chip is plenty transparent. I think the pro companies understand this.

The domestic dac market is not what drives the chip makers. The pro interfaces are much higher volumes.

This is news to me. Do you have a source please?

 

[Panelhead]

I will look for the number of recording interfaces either manufactured or sold. The recording industry keeps tabs on all kinds of sales.
I live in a large city. There are no what I consider high end audio stores. There is about 50 selling musical instruments, recording gear, and home studio equipment. They have ADC/DAC’s stacked on shelves. And just like audio, internet sales are a huge part of the market.
I have not searched with the correct terms to find what annual sales are.
One item I have seen, people going into Guitar Centers tend to leave with shopping carts full of gear. No tire kickers like audio salons.

 

[derp1n]

 

[infinitesymphony]

AKM went from miracles to velvet sounds.

One item I have seen, people going into Guitar Centers tend to leave with shopping carts full of gear. No tire kickers like audio salons.

When I go to GC my only plan is to kick the tires. Most items are either too low-end or too high-end and unavailable to try.

However, I agree with your first assertion that pro audio gear likely drives the DAC market. Some of my fellow musician friends have modest but nice project studios. None of them have any clue about the specs of the DAC they're using. They just use the best interface they can afford and hope for the best.

Historically speaking, that's not a bad idea. Even a decade ago you could get an E-MU 1212M with Cirrus CS4398 for $150, or the E-MU 0404 USB with the AKM AK4396 for $200. Both nice chips, and the majority of users probably had no clue what was in them.

 

[bennetng]

Historically speaking, that's not a bad idea. Even a decade ago you could get an E-MU 1212M with Cirrus CS4398 for $150, or the E-MU 0404 USB with the AKM AK4396 for $200.

But EMU is dead. Today $200 interfaces all have much worse measured performance and less functionalities.

 

[andreasmaaan]

But EMU is dead. Today $200 interfaces all have much worse measured performance and less functionalities.

That’s not true IMHO. Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 measures about as well as the EMU for about $130 and that’s just one example off the top of my head..

 

[bennetng]

That’s not true IMHO. Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 measures about as well as the EMU for about $130 and that’s just one example off the top of my head..

Please show me the measurements.

 

[andreasmaaan]

Please show me the measurements.

Here for example.

I'm comparing these to measurements of the EMU here. Haven't looked at them in extreme detail, but it's clear that the measurements show similar numbers for THD, IMD, SINAD, etc.

Neither unit produces noise or distortion above audibility thresholds.

 

[bennetng]

Here for example.

I'm comparing these to measurements of the EMU here. Haven't looked at them in extreme detail, but it's clear that the measurements show similar numbers for THD, IMD, SINAD, etc.

Neither unit produces noise or distortion above audibility thresholds.

http://borisgermanov.blogspot.com/2014/03/focusrite-scarlett-2i4-rmaa-test-report.html
https://focusrite.com/usb-audio-interface/scarlett/scarlett-2i2#specs
http://www.creative.com/emu/products/product.aspx?pid=19169