Have you listened to DSD?
-
WANTED: Happy members who like to discuss audio and other topics related to our interest. Desire to learn and share knowledge of science required. There are many reviews of audio hardware and expert members to help answer your questions. Click here to have your audio equipment measured for free!
JDS Labs Atom DAC Review
- Thread starter amirm
- Start date
Have you listened to DSD?
highpurityusbcable
Active Member
- Joined
- Jun 2, 2020
- Messages
- 196
- Likes
- 281
I tried DSD out of interest. Sounds the same as 320kbps MP3.
ZolaIII
Major Contributor
- Joined
- Jul 28, 2019
- Messages
- 4,946
- Likes
- 2,933
Depending how good output is done on the software player side you can get one or two dB SINAD advantage over other players and PCM/DSD with native DSD in JRiver for instance.
Which arguably doesn't do anything for the atom DAC/amp stack given how high SINAD is already.
Looks lean and mean for $211 delivered. What a deal.
Gradius
Addicted to Fun and Learning
Rayman30
Addicted to Fun and Learning
- Joined
- Dec 5, 2019
- Messages
- 866
- Likes
- 689
For the money its very good indeed! though not perfect, my complaints are the dual wall warts and cheap enclosures they use. But sound quality and measurements wise they are great! especially for my bar setup, I use the D50S/A50S on my main setup.
I have the Atom Amp and DAC and I find them to work great! Thanks for all of your hard work. I mostly pair them with my Sundara headphones. I understand that the DAC doesn't have as many connections or features as some others, the iFi Zen DAC for example, but it has everything you need without any gimmicks. For example, you could get the Zen DAC for the same price and it has more features, but would you rather be able to run balanced or would you rather simply have less distortion from your DAC to begin with and just plug in a standard 1/4 TRS connector? Plus, I can attest that if you email JDS Labs they will email you back in like 2 hours...it's crazy level service. I'll take a well made, basic product over gimmicky features any day of the week. For people concerned with "build quality" and what not you have to ask yourself what the primary purpose of your device is? If you're looking for better aesthetics why not just buy better furniture? Pretty much all that should matter from a DAC/AMP is the audio quality.
First of all, the atom amp volume knob is trash, and should be replaced right away.
As for build quality, yes, it absolutely matters. And yes, audio quality precedes build quality, but build quality is still a factor, like it or not. For example, I have my modi 3/magni heresy stack on my desk with my sub output control and audio interface on top of them. I'd be wery doing this with the atom stack because of how hollow and thin the atom amp feels.
Don't get me wrong; I love my atom as much as my heresy (well, once I changed the volume knob), but there's no denying it feels cheaply made, and I feel like I need to be "delicate" with it.
ishouldbeking
Active Member
Yeah, I agree that it's not the single determining factor, but it does matter. My Atom Amp is too light so it slides around a bit when plugging in cables or pushing the front buttons. The knob is trashy but would honestly be fine if it sat on the mounting post better; as it is it's too easy to wiggle loose and become crooked, which drives me nuts for purely aesthetic reasons. The design is otherwise great, and I do wish they could figure out how to do a basic aluminum version of this case for an extra $30, but it doesn't seem likely at this point. The good news for JDS owners is that the build quality issues are a pretty minor annoyance, whereas Schiit uses solid cases but has issues with grounding, headphones being destroyed, or amps catching fire. Different category of concern IMHO.
Worth noting that this is largely a thing of the past, and even if something does happen, schiit has been on point with customer service.
ishouldbeking
Active Member
EDIT: I should say, I have seen reports of more than one amp catching fire in the last couple weeks over in r/headphones :-(
At least one included pictures of a smoking amp.
Catch fire or just release smoke?
And like I said, schiit has been taking care of defective units, and this isn't anything widespread.
ishouldbeking
Active Member
The most recent one says smoke (but of course, where there is smoke...):
This one from a little earlier says fire:
Swore I saw one or two other similar posts recently, but might be mistaken.
ishouldbeking
Active Member
To be honest, if my A/V gear starts smoking, nothing from that brand ever again goes near me, my family, or my house. Considering what we already know about Schiit from the past decade or so, continued issues like this, even if sporadic, are enough for me to decide to steer clear. But by all means, do what thou wilt
ishouldbeking
Active Member
Last post from me on this issue here, as it's slightly off topic: here's a thread where folks discuss the issue, what seems to be the cause, and ongoing concerns. Some folks with impacted units still trust Schiit enough to buy other products, some are unloading their Magni's out of caution.
Rayman30
Addicted to Fun and Learning
- Joined
- Dec 5, 2019
- Messages
- 866
- Likes
- 689
Having dealt with a Schiit Heresy that had got really hot and fried itself. While it lasted, I can say that for the money the Schiit products are hard to beat, the amount of power the Heresy could produce cleanly and for the price was astonishing.
When I dealt with Schiit's support, they repaired the amp and sent me the full MSRP+ tax of my Sundara's that was plugged into it at the time. I have to say, I am cautious about their products moving forward, but the customer support I had received was top notch, and that's enough for me to continue purchasing their gear. Hopefully this is something they address in future revisions of their amplifiers.
When I dealt with Schiit's support, they repaired the amp and sent me the full MSRP+ tax of my Sundara's that was plugged into it at the time. I have to say, I am cautious about their products moving forward, but the customer support I had received was top notch, and that's enough for me to continue purchasing their gear. Hopefully this is something they address in future revisions of their amplifiers.
I have an SMSL Sankrit 2 DAC, fom the 'Chinese competition'. It sounds great, has a display for those who find that useful, and has a metal housing which is nice. Only beef I have is that customer support is nonexistent- I contacted the company twice with a simple technical question, once by email and once on their facebook page, and never got any response. Had the opposite experience twith two Schiit products I owned. Note Rayman30's experience. They replaced the connected device even though they were under no legal obligation to do so. Good luck getting that level of support from an offshore vendor if my experience is typical, as I suspect it is.
If it's a choice between a nicer box and customer support, I might go for customer support, I think I might opt for the latter.
Point well taken though about the enclosure though; I think they could have sold basically the same device with a metal enclosure (off-the-shelf perhaps) for maybe $125- $150, still 'entry level' pricing but maybe the improved 'feel' might have paid off. It would still be competitive in that price range.
Last edited:
Gradius
Addicted to Fun and Learning
Smokes from heat. Heat in general is due to low efficience.
L.E. isn't a good thing.
L.E. isn't a good thing.
Similar threads
