Okto dac8 stereo DAC Review

[HiFiDiscoveryTrip]

After more than a year of daily use also still very happy with it!

I love the large display making it easy to read from your seat and also the ease of use of the device. Also the fact that there is a pi computer in the housing for streaming is super convenient.

The unit has dual XLR outputs that allow you to use it to biamp or drive a subwoofer, which is what I use them for.

 

[wizardofoz]

The unit has dual XLR outputs that allow you to use it to biamp or drive a subwoofer, which is what I use them for.

These are the exact equivalent of using a Y cable... both are in parallel with a single output channel. they are not individually driven/buffered outputs

 

[hampestampe]

Reporting after 1.5 years of almost daily use: flawless functioning, I did not test yet the streaming function. An excellent DAC that has gifted me hours and hours of listening pleasure with no gremlins during its use.

I had mine since May 2021. I indeed, it's a great dac. Some small things, I do not like is that on/off/mute is on the same button, the display is often undimmed when it receives IR-signal, not ment for the Okto.
The IR receiver in the dac needs a good, proper signal to work well, I have some issue when using it with my Harmony Univarsal remote, since the tranciever unit is like 5 meters from the dac, and that distance is close to the limit, to get it working. (Similar problem with my Auralic Aries G1, also "smart learning IR". My Classé CP-500 pre, is flawless). The volume knob of the Okto, does feel a bit like a fragile part and I do handle it with care.
But again, power/on/off/mute on the same button is just stupid and the biggest issue for me other than that, great product.

 

[HiFiDiscoveryTrip]

These are the exact equivalent of using a Y cable... both are in parallel with a single output channel. they are not individually driven/buffered outputs

Is that good or bad? Seems convenient to me …

 

[wizardofoz]

Is that good or bad? Seems convenient to me …

well it changes the load impedance if you have 2 loads on different outputs that are not buffered. If you do have to do it then I guess just try one at a time connected and see if it makes any noticeable difference when both are connected. I have no need of this so dont use it, but its wired that way internally.

 

[Feyire]

I had mine since May 2021. I indeed, it's a great dac. Some small things, I do not like is that on/off/mute is on the same button, the display is often undimmed when it receives IR-signal, not ment for the Okto.

I also hate it when the display gets undimmed randomly - it especially ruins the movie immersion when watching in a dark room.

 

[Reynolds853]

9-15-22 Ordering opened up again. Back in production! I have owned mine for over a year and love it. Just did an a/b against a Mark Levenson 519 and it was on par in that system - very little difference. Same could be said for T+A unit, although the T+A may be a touch brighter/ more detailed (not preferred but very minor difference - could have been filter nuances.) I have yet to hear better. In terms of design, I really like the Apple remote. It works great with this unit. I like the mute/power/off in one button because it simplifies the remote, as well. I feed mine with an Aries G1 streamer. The volume knob is fine but does not feel as solid as the rest of the unit (plastic vs metal). But hey... for the price I have no complaints. Also, I use the remote 99% of the time.

 

[AndreaT]

Just an update: my Okto dac8 Stereo is now playing the FLAC transferred to the MAN301/SSD Samsung 500GB (one of the three SSDs), XLR to Hypex NC400 of the Soundtrack of Blade Runner 2049. Paradigm Studio 100 v.3 and SW REL Strata III, one for each channel.

I wonder if the dynamic range is as important as the FR. I am measuring (Spectrum app on iPhone XR) in my very quiet home living room tonight a delta of well over 75-80 dB between the ppp and the fff of the recording, with a volume only at -35 dB! I think a wide delta allowed by super quiet electronics and location is adding to my experience and how much! We are talking about a difference of 10exp8, or 100 million, between the quietest and the loudest sound reproduced, something not achievable by a lesser DAC, source and amp. Not even in a movie theatre you have that, thanks to popcorn noises, people talking and other noisy pollutions (often from the nearby theatre in the multiplex). Wide dynamic Music needs SOTA very quiet electronics: the sense of awe when you perceive the large difference between loudest and softest passage is wonderful and opens the release of rivers of Dopamine!! Thank you Okto Research for this masterful DAC! Thank you, once more, Amir for the excellent measurements and review!

 

[AndreaT]

I had mine since May 2021. I indeed, it's a great dac. Some small things, I do not like is that on/off/mute is on the same button, the display is often undimmed when it receives IR-signal, not ment for the Okto.
The IR receiver in the dac needs a good, proper signal to work well, I have some issue when using it with my Harmony Univarsal remote, since the tranciever unit is like 5 meters from the dac, and that distance is close to the limit, to get it working. (Similar problem with my Auralic Aries G1, also "smart learning IR". My Classé CP-500 pre, is flawless). The volume knob of the Okto, does feel a bit like a fragile part and I do handle it with care.
But again, power/on/off/mute on the same button is just stupid and the biggest issue for me other than that, great product.

Hi, no issues with remote using the Esoteric RC-1156 from about 4.5 m. I use the volume knob only to turn the DAC on, it turns off in 15 or 30 min when no music signal. I agree with fragile, it could be a nicely weighed brass knob, perhaps.

 

[phoenixdogfan]

9-15-22 Ordering opened up again. Back in production! I have owned mine for over a year and love it. Just did an a/b against a Mark Levenson 519 and it was on par in that system - very little difference. Same could be said for T+A unit, although the T+A may be a touch brighter/ more detailed (not preferred but very minor difference - could have been filter nuances.) I have yet to hear better. In terms of design, I really like the Apple remote. It works great with this unit. I like the mute/power/off in one button because it simplifies the remote, as well. I feed mine with an Aries G1 streamer. The volume knob is fine but does not feel as solid as the rest of the unit (plastic vs metal). But hey... for the price I have no complaints. Also, I use the remote 99% of the time.

Great! I have a DAC 8 Pro and everything went so quiet I was afraid they were no longer a going concern. Ordered mine around January 2021 and it took a few months to arrive. Once I got the Asio driver straightened out, it has been seamless, transparent, and trouble free. I use 5.1 channels for stereo and home theater and the remaining two channels to power my headphone amp. I see no reason to ever buy another DAC. Ever.

 

[Robbo99999]

Just an update: my Okto dac8 Stereo is now playing the FLAC transferred to the MAN301/SSD Samsung 500GB (one of the three SSDs), XLR to Hypex NC400 of the Soundtrack of Blade Runner 2049. Paradigm Studio 100 v.3 and SW REL Strata III, one for each channel.

I wonder if the dynamic range is as important as the FR. I am measuring (Spectrum app on iPhone XR) in my very quiet home living room tonight a delta of well over 75-80 dB between the ppp and the fff of the recording, with a volume only at -35 dB! I think a wide delta allowed by super quiet electronics and location is adding to my experience and how much! We are talking about a difference of 10exp8, or 100 million, between the quietest and the loudest sound reproduced, something not achievable by a lesser DAC, source and amp. Not even in a movie theatre you have that, thanks to popcorn noises, people talking and other noisy pollutions (often from the nearby theatre in the multiplex). Wide dynamic Music needs SOTA very quiet electronics: the sense of awe when you perceive the large difference between loudest and softest passage is wonderful and opens the release of rivers of Dopamine!! Thank you Okto Research for this masterful DAC! Thank you, once more, Amir for the excellent measurements and review!

I'd be kinda surprised if your DAC was making the difference in the experience. You'd probably be having the same experience with a DAC from the orange section of this graph or to hedge my bets for sure in the green section (assuming it had all the connectivity features you needed):

 

[AndreaT]

I'd be kinda surprised if your DAC was making the difference in the experience. You'd probably be having the same experience with a DAC from the orange section of this graph or to hedge my bets for sure in the green section (assuming it had all the connectivity features you needed):

Well, many of the DACs in the orange section are as expensive or more expensive the the Okto dac8 Stereo, so, once again, thank you Amir!

 

[Robbo99999]

Well, many of the DACs in the orange section are as expensive or more expensive the the Okto dac8 Stereo, so, once again, thank you Amir!

You've got a good DAC, it's definitely good enough! (with margin to spare!)

 

[AlexDD]

Would this DAC pair up well with an amplifier for medium sized tower speakers (Lumina V)?

 

[AndreaT]

Would this DAC pair up well with an amplifier for medium sized tower speakers (Lumina V)?

It has an easy to use rotary volume control. It also integrates well with existing remote controls thanks to a learning function. I use my old Esoteric remote for volume and input switching. It has XLR outputs only, so beware as you must choose a power amp w XLR inputs (not RCA).

 

[wizardofoz]

You can always use XLR to RCA adaptors

 

[hampestampe]

You can always use XLR to RCA adaptors

This is from the manual of the dac8 Stereo, although "Pro" is mentioned in the text:
Warning: we discourage from using balanced-to-unbalanced cables and converters. Doing so will result in a vastly decreased analog performance and may be also cause of groundloop induced hum issues. Unbalanced signal paths (e.g. widespread RCA) are unsuitable for device-to-device connections if high signal performance is desired, since they do not offer a separate path for equalizing ground loop currents that will naturally occur in a real-world environment. Additionally, XLR to RCA cables or converters commonly have XLR pin 3 shorted to ground, which will overload the dac8 PRO’s output stage and may even be cause to damage after long-term use with high signal levels. In case you need to interface the dac8 PRO to an amplifier with single-ended inputs only, please use cables without the short, like “Benchmark XLRF to RCA adapter cable for analog audio – pin 3 floating”
oktoresearch.com
https://www.oktoresearch.com › ...PDF
dac8 Stereo Owner's Manual - Okto Research

 

[wizardofoz]

Indeed. I make my own cable but the concerns are not the end of the world if you isolate the cold grounding pin referenced.

Personally I use bal xlr to a pre or a bal/se transformer or active interface like those from JLM audio.

Also note the duplicated outputs are actually in parallel

 

[shawnwes]

I've just purchased a used dac8 Stereo online, haven't received it yet though, and am wondering if anyone knows of any issues using it with HQPlayer to play flac files via USB 2.0 between the laptop and dac? Output will be xlr to xlr input on Luxman 550 Aii

 

[Feyire]

dac8 Stereo v1.2 firmware now available for download with instructions at https://www.oktoresearch.com/dac8stereo.htm.

Anybody try it yet?