Okto DAC8 Pro - open to new orders

[JP]

Can you DM me the link? I’ve a unit I bought second-hand.

 

[Ibanez]

The link to the driver is sent to you by mail when your DAC is ready to be sent to you.

 

[dartinbout]

I also got mine 2nd hand (from Ebay). I was never able to make Asio4All work on my Win10 HTPC. I bought the $9 driver from https://www.diyinhk.com/shop/driver...audio-driver-v4-full-version-and-signed-.html
It works great and it allows DSD 128 8 channels. Considering the difficulty of getting this gorgeous piece of entertainment hardware new, I that it was worth the added cost.

 

[MJT]

Can you DM me the link? I’ve a unit I bought second-hand.

I've learned that each driver download is licensed per DAC, so I'm unable to do so. Fortunately it's relatively inexpensive to buy through the link dartinbout shared.

 

[Ibanez]

Yes if bought secondhand i can understand you will need to buy the DIYINHNK driver. The seller actually should need to provide his sent driver that he got from Pavel/Okto research to get everything wirking correctly.
I have Asio4All,
Qobuz (Asio4All) > Jriver (dephonica Asio sink driver) > dephonica ( KS DAC8PRO) or maybe Dac8 Pro Asio also should work.
And in Jriver > File > Open Live > Asio (configure Asio4All 8ch 192)

I don't know if the DIYINHK driver you linked to is better, but it should be the same as the one Theyson licensed driver Okto would give the original buyer.

I hope you all get it working, this dac is a really good piece of gear.

 

[Trell]

I've learned that each driver download is licensed per DAC, so I'm unable to do so. Fortunately it's relatively inexpensive to buy through the link dartinbout shared.

Really? It’s just a driver so why don’t the company make it available for download on their homepage?

 

[Kal Rubinson]

Really? It’s just a driver so why don’t the company make it available for download on their homepage?

Yes, it does not seem likely to me. If someone pays the $9 for the driver, I wonder if they have to identify their PC or DAC by S/N.

 

[dartinbout]

I'm guessing that, given the novelty of this implementation of the chipset and the insanely low cost of the device, that Okto has to shave the bottom line as smooth as possible. The DIYINHK driver works quite well for me as it fully exploits the chipset for ASIO multichannel. Until the Topping 8 channel device is available, we'll see nothing comparable in the marketplace (unless you've got F___ you money for an Exasound and a few pro mixing audio consoles). I got mine by setting alerts on Ebay but I've seen them occasionally here and elsewhere.

 

[dualazmak]

Hello friends,

Just for your reference, yesterday I posted my latest system configuration including "All in ASIO I/O setup with software XO/EQ EKIO using ASIO4ALL";
- The latest total system configuration with DIY 12-VU-Meter Array, the best tuned time alignment and Fq response, together with further various setup info: as of May 30, 2022: #540

My DAC8PRO's firmware is ver.1.32, and the DIYINHK ASIO USB driver is Ver.4.59.0 provided by OKTO when I got DAC8PRO in May 2020; working perfectly fine on Windows 11 Pro.

 

[MaxBuck]

As I hear so often from my foul-mouthed friends, "Who do you need to blow to get one of these things?"

 

[dartinbout]

Heck, I'd be willing to channel my inner "altar boy" for updated firmware. As a 2nd hand owner, it's not likely I'll get it either, any other way 8
(Serial # 5 and Firmware 1.0)

 

[dartinbout]

Yes, it does not seem likely to me. If someone pays the $9 for the driver, I wonder if they have to identify their PC or DAC by S/N.

I did not have to disclose the info but the provider did ask why I needed the driver, if I hadn't purchased their DIY DAC board, with included chipset. I ignored the request as I got a DL link immediately upon purchase. Okto support appears to be iffy enough for registered owners much less for those working on the fringes of this hobby. I only found this source from here, in one of the hundreds of thread entries. There is very little info on this outside of ASR. I would still recommend searching for 2nd hand one as this is a Faberge egg type of device.

 

[mdsimon2]

Heck, I'd be willing to channel my inner "altar boy" for updated firmware. As a 2nd hand owner, it's not likely I'll get it either, any other way 8
(Serial # 5 and Firmware 1.0)

Is it really not possible to update the firmware? I feel like I've read conflicting information on this. I know that @Burning Sounds update his firmware from 1.32 to 1.42 (which actually caused degraded performance when using a miniDSP nanodigi) but I also remember reading that updating the firmware was not possible (or may require opening the DAC and using a JTAG programmer?).

For anyone that has updated their firmware how did you do it?

Michael

 

[MJT]

My order arrived, a little over 6 weeks. Very well packed. Fit and finish is amazing, better than photos. Looking forward to integrating with system.

 

[Ibanez]

Hello again
I am pleased with my unit, so please don't be rude to me.
But i have some thoughts about what i am goona show you.
If you look inside the reviewed DAC8 Pro here on ASR, ( https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...rements-of-okto-dac8-8ch-dac-amp.7064/page-28), scroll down to pictures, that unit has two more caps and one more of that blue (what it is the name?)
Why has Okto removed two caps, one blue and also thinner cables and the netbridge is plastic and with no screws. My netbridge is a bit wiggeling actually.
Without telling customers why they have removed parts and at the same time raised the price with like 300€ ex vat, without notice. It will degrade performance, that is what i belive, i can have wrong also. And PSU is actually what we are listening to, a bad psu gives more distortion
How do we even know if our units even mesure the same, or even compareable as the units that are reviewed here and on stereophile?
I will attach an file on on my unit opened case.
Best regards.

 

[phoenixdogfan]

I also got mine 2nd hand (from Ebay). I was never able to make Asio4All work on my Win10 HTPC. I bought the $9 driver from https://www.diyinhk.com/shop/driver...audio-driver-v4-full-version-and-signed-.html
It works great and it allows DSD 128 8 channels. Considering the difficulty of getting this gorgeous piece of entertainment hardware new, I that it was worth the added cost.

I use the same driver for my DAC 8 Pro. It is a lifetime purchase, btw. When I switched computers twice this year, I was able to transfer the license to the new PC.

I'm sure I could get ASIO4All to work, but for the price of a $9 driver that works perfectly, why would I want to mess with that?

And of course the Octo is amazing. It just works. I feed input channels 1-2 with the Aes/Ebu output of my Smyth A16 and use it to drive my THX AAA 789, for my headphone based system. Then I have my PC via USB feed channels 3-8 from JRiver, for 5.1 surround for my home theater/stereo speaker based system. Everything works perfectly, I just switch between AES/EBU input for headphone listening and USB input for stereo/home theater. Only DAC/preamp I need for all my audio playback. Nice big display which is easy to read from my listening position too. It's really perfect, and was worth the cost and the six month wait.

 

[MJT]

Hello again
I am pleased with my unit, so please don't be rude to me.
But i have some thoughts about what i am goona show you.
If you look inside the reviewed DAC8 Pro here on ASR, ( https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...rements-of-okto-dac8-8ch-dac-amp.7064/page-28), scroll down to pictures, that unit has two more caps and one more of that blue (what it is the name?)
Why has Okto removed two caps, one blue and also thinner cables and the netbridge is plastic and with no screws. My netbridge is a bit wiggeling actually.
Without telling customers why they have removed parts and at the same time raised the price with like 300€ ex vat, without notice. It will degrade performance, that is what i belive, i can have wrong also. And PSU is actually what we are listening to, a bad psu gives more distortion
How do we even know if our units even mesure the same, or even compareable as the units that are reviewed here and on stereophile?
I will attach an file on on my unit opened case.
Best regards.

Mine is the same. The blue components are the transformers. The transformer changed from two Talema transformers (one 12v and one 7v) to a single unmarked transformer. Caps went from three (one 10000uF 25V and two ?uF ?V) to just two (one 10000uF 25V and one ?uF ?V). I hope someone with some expertise could chime in on whether this would have any effect on measurements and sound.

There's also an addition.. these units have a Mean Well IRM-20-5 AC/DC Converter 5V 20W, which the older units did not. I'm surmising that there's a 5V stage in which the transformer+cap was replaced with a DC converter, and likely the 12V stage remains relatively the same (1 transformer + 2 caps).

EDIT: Looking at other internal photos around the web, this appears to be the same configuration as the DAC8 Stereo at the same time Amir measured one with amazing results. Here's a forum that notes the RME DAC has no added value in high end power supplies. Might be the same case here.

I've never scrambled for a screwdriver so fast as when I saw your post, and I got disconcerted when I saw mine. But now I think we're good.

 

[MJT]

I'm sure I could get ASIO4All to work, but for the price of a $9 driver that works perfectly, why would I want to mess with that?

I don't think DIYINHK ASIO driver is a replacement for ASIO4All. My understanding (based on the manual and info in this forum) is the DIYINHK driver is ASIO "compatible" in which we're to use the DIYINHK driver "with" ASIO4All and bridge in order to circumvent Windows audio processing, unless using Linux.

 

[mdsimon2]

I haven't opened mine to see what it looks like but it pretty much measures the same as Amir's review, I got ~117 dB SINAD and ~121 dB dynamic range at 4 V output measured by a grade B Cosmos ADC.

1 kHz SINAD, 4 V

1 kHz dynamic range, 2 mV output, 20 x log (4 x 10^6 / 3.54) = 121 dB

Michael

 

[Ibanez]

Thanks for that mesurement Michael, pretty close to Amirs, that was kind of you to share.
But anyway, it is strange that the change is there witout any notice to customers. Shouldn't the unit become an MKII if they change parts in it, just an thought. But as i wrote, i am really pleased with tha DAC in it self despite this fact, it plays very clean and accurate.
And as i understand in hifi, it is the PSU that we actually listen to, or else people wouldn't be paying crazy money for custom made PSU and power conditionerers.
The dac chips are so good today so it is the surrounding implementation that becomes more important, like good psu, good cables, good caps.

Thanks again for your measurements Michael.