Okto dac8 stereo DAC Review

[waynel]

Example? https://www.trianglehifi.com/en/produit/hifi-subwoofer-thetis-380/

Say goodbye to 120dB SINAD. Might as well just use a receiver in that case.

 

[AudioStudies]

Example? https://www.trianglehifi.com/en/produit/hifi-subwoofer-thetis-380/

I think so, but I am not familiar with this sub.

 

[UplandShadows77]

Say goodbye to 120dB SINAD. Might as well just use a receiver in that case.

And we're back to square one..?

 

[UplandShadows77]

I think so, but I am not familiar with this sub.

I understand. The HT capability sounded like it was right up the ally of what you were talking about (crossover). I was considering it or a REL. I'm too skeptical now if neither would work with the Okto however.

 

[AudioStudies]

Say goodbye to 120dB SINAD. Might as well just use a receiver in that case.

You are probably right. Not a lot of options here, though. Other than saying goodbye to bass.

 

[AudioStudies]

I understand. The HT capability sounded like it was right up the ally of what you were talking about (crossover). I was considering it or a REL. I'm too skeptical now if neither would work with the Okto however.

I think it will work, but I think Waynel is correct that you will no longer have 120 dB SINAD unless you get damn lucky.

 

[yejun]

I understand. The HT capability sounded like it was right up the ally of what you were talking about (crossover). I was considering it or a REL. I'm too skeptical now if neither would work with the Okto however.

REL has high level input, so you can connect it after power amp.
https://rel.net/we-take-the-high-road/

 

[AudioStudies]

Maybe we are at square one, if 120 dB SINAD is of paramount importance. Might still be able to get in the top tier, if not the top of the pack, I am not sure. A lot would depend on what sub was chosen. Unless there is some way out of this by somehow feeding the sub from the Okto ??? Are any subs equipped with digital inputs?

 

[waynel]

Maybe we are at square one, if 120 dB SINAD is of paramount importance. Might still be able to get in the top tier, if not the top of the pack, I am not sure. A lot would depend on what sub was chosen. Unless there is some way out of this by somehow feeding the sub from the Okto ??? Are any subs equipped with digital inputs?

The DAC8 Stereo is just ill suited for using with a sub unless you want two of them.
But there are options:

MiniDSP SHD studio(crossover and room correction) into Okto DAC8 pro (using 3 or four of the 8 channels) or PC usb into Okto DAC8 pro.

Budget option: Denon 3500H and nothing else

i think I’m going to try miniDSP SHD studio -> DAC8 pro (channel 1&2)-> benchmark AHB2-> Revel Salon 2’s
and DAC8 pro(channel 3&4) -> JL F113v2 subwoofer pair

currently I’m using an Anthem STR preamp Which is great but only ~100dB SINAD (not that I can hear anything wrong with it or expect to hear a difference) . What the Anthem does great is HT bypass, I’ll need to put together a trigger controlled switch for this.

Wayne

 

[haraldo]

Really no need for me as I'm a stereo music listener and multichannel movie watcher

me too... but the idea is to possibly go with fully active speaker setup with multiple subwoofers, and if you even want individual control of the subwoofers it can become quite a few channels

 

[haraldo]

The DAC8 Stereo is just ill suited for using with a sub unless you want two of them.
But there are options:

MiniDSP SHD studio(crossover and room correction) into Okto DAC8 pro (using 3 or four of the 8 channels) or PC usb into Okto DAC8 pro.

Budget option: Denon 3500H and nothing else

i think I’m going to try miniDSP SHD studio -> DAC8 pro (channel 1&2)-> benchmark AHB2-> Revel Salon 2’s
and DAC8 pro(channel 3&4) -> JL F113v2 subwoofer pair

currently I’m using an Anthem STR preamp Which is great but only ~100dB SINAD (not that I can hear anything wrong with it or expect to hear a difference) . What the Anthem does great is HT bypass, I’ll need to put together a trigger controlled switch for this.

Wayne

Do I understand correctly that are you looking to possibly change the Anthem STR pre for a MiniDSP SHD studio + DAC8?

 

[waynel]

Do I understand correctly that are you looking to change the Anthem STR pre for a MiniDSP SHD studio + DAC8?

maybe so, I tried to order a DAC8 pro today but not sure when I’d get it

 

[haraldo]

maybe so, I tried to order a DAC8 today but not sure when I’d get it

thx, will be very interesting to hear what you get out of it ... I was thinking about the Anthem STR pre but will not go for it .... I want something better and still in the thinking box

 

[waynel]

thx, will be very interesting to hear what you get out of it ... I was thinking about the Anthem STR pre but will not go for it .... I want something better and still in the thinking box

Nothing wrong with the STR, great functionality and I can’t hear any noise. I actually prefer ARC genesis to Dirac live that I previously used but the STR preamp doesn’t have state of the art SINAD...

 

[haraldo]

Nothing wrong with the STR, great functionality and I can’t hear any noise. I actually prefer ARC genesis to Dirac live that I previously used but the STR preamp doesn’t have state of the art SINAD...

I guess nothing wrong with the STR but I am also thinking phase correction (also which MiniDSP SHD studio won’t do... ) but there are other solutions to go with DAC8. However, I could possibly try SHD and DAC8 with the available toolset

 

[Feyire]

For anyone interested, my dac8 stereo with RPi4 was shipped with Volumio pre-installed, just like in Amir's review. The installed version was very recent (System version 2.778 dated June 7th 2020). The Roon Bridge plugin was also already installed.

Some brief subjective listening impressions so far:
When comparing the difference in sound quality I perceive with the optical input on the dac8 vs the optical input on my previously used SMSL SU-8 V2 DAC, I immediately noticed that the bass was for more tight and well defined with the dac8. Put simply, you could feel the lower bass much more. My girlfriend also noted this difference and complained about it (she doesn't like bass )

 

[Nikolas]

I guess nothing wrong with the STR but I am also thinking phase correction (also which MiniDSP SHD studio won’t do... ) but there are other solutions to go with DAC8. However, I could possibly try SHD and DAC8 with the available toolset

Are you sure that MiniDSP SHD Studio doesn't perform phase correction? Proof?

 

[haraldo]

Are you sure that MiniDSP SHD Studio doesn't perform phase correction? Proof?

No I am not sure, somehow this was my assumption ...

 

[Harmonie]

For anyone interested, my dac8 stereo with RPi4 was shipped with Volumio pre-installed, just like in Amir's review. The installed version was very recent (System version 2.778 dated June 7th 2020). The Roon Bridge plugin was also already installed.

Some brief subjective listening impressions so far:
When comparing the difference in sound quality I perceive with the optical input on the dac8 vs the optical input on my previously used SMSL SU-8 V2 DAC, I immediately noticed that the bass was for more tight and well defined with the dac8. Put simply, you could feel the lower bass much more. My girlfriend also noted this difference and complained about it (she doesn't like bass )

It's nice to see a post related to it's topic at last !
>20% of the pages are unrelated.
Any way to remove these and create a dedicated post ?

 

[Snafu]

How about you?

i came to read about Okto to buy one, but ended up buying Toyota and APx555 because it has awesome SINAD !