Okto dac8 stereo DAC Review

[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.
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.

@hampestampe, have you found any solution for the display undimming issue when the DAC receives an IR signal not meant for it?

This issue still haunts me when watching movies in the dark as the screen undims unexpectedly at random times.

 

[mdsimon2]

@hampestampe, have you found any solution for the display undimming issue when the DAC receives an IR signal not meant for it?

This issue still haunts me when watching movies in the dark as the screen undims unexpectedly at random times.

I also find this annoying as my phone triggers the undimming. I feel like this behavior wasn't always present, but I don't recall if it changed when I got a new phone or when I upgraded the FW.

Michael

 

[Feyire]

@hampestampe, @HiFiDiscoveryTrip ,@mdsimon2 , @dualazmak

Good news, received an e-mail yesterday from Pavel that they are investigating the issue with the unexpected IR signals triggering the display to undim.

They expect to resolve it in the next firmware update

 

[hampestampe]

@hampestampe, @HiFiDiscoveryTrip ,@mdsimon2 , @dualazmak

Good news, received an e-mail yesterday from Pavel that they are investigating the issue with the unexpected IR signals triggering the display to undim.

They expect to resolve it in the next firmware update

Great to read, the good news.
So now we are soon leaving the "beta testing stage"
So if that will be fixed I'd be happy.
Would be great if they moved the mute function from the on/off button it's so anoing that my Harmony remote trigger different functions when pressing the button different settings of the IR pulses does not matter. It's a useless function any way.

 

[ednaz]

Just joining in here, longtime lurker (although not often, only when I'm shopping for something). I have the Okto Stereo DAC, since June 2023. It's the DAC for my secondary system, in my photography studio and print area. Integrated amp - an old Anthem 225. Speakers, B&W 702 S2, with a Velodyne subwoofer, tuned for room and speakers. When I got the amp they couldn't do wifi streaming as the RPi supply was pretty much non-existent. Ran it for a long time with an Auralic Mini with linear power supply doing the streaming part. I called in a favor with a former colleague and got an RPi, did the installation myself beginning of 2024. The space is sound treated - diffusers and absorption on the wall behind and on the sidewalls (sliding glass door on one sidewall that I covered with sound absorbing curtains, then had to balance off the other wall.)

I've enjoyed the sound pretty much from day 1 (although listening day 1 was after a couple weeks of doing burn in... all the debates about whether it matters other than speakers I can't get into, so I just take the path called "what could it hurt" and do burn ins with all my gear.) With my system - and it's kind of crazy to talk about how a DAC sounds without taking the system into account - it's got nice rock solid imaging, good enough for me to note when cellos aren't where I'd expect them to be. In jazz, country, or alternative the imaging is solid enough that some older albums (that panned some instruments hard) make me crazy. Excellent voice rendering, excellent piano rendering even when the engineering made a 15x15 foot size piano. Adding the RPi for streaming instead of the Auralic Mini made a slight improvement. Very musical, I've had a few DACs pass through here that were excellent in detail and everything else but didn't engage the listening part of my brain. The Okto Stereo most certainly does, my first two hour relax and listen turned into 8 hours as I jumped around listening to stuff I love and know well. It's been kind of a trap - if I sit down to listen I never seem to be able to stop when I intended. IMO that's a good sound system - it commands your attention and then delivers joy and ruins your resolve to go do work.

A couple downsides. I too hate the single knob thing, mostly because everybody who does it does it slightly differently so you can't remember how to do what you want on THIS system. That's mitigated a bit by my style of once I'm set up with a streamer or DAC I tend to not mess with it again. I bought a dirt cheap junky Apple Remote clone and haven't touched the knob since. The balanced outputs are way too powerful for the Anthem's balanced inputs. Listening at moderately high volumes, the Anthem's volume knob is set at a bit more than a quarter of total adjustment range, with speakers that are not terribly efficient. A few other DACs I've run with that integrated and those speakers I'd usually be at half of total range or more. Have often thought about shipping it back to get it modded now that Okto offers different balanced output options. I've also found that in my system, all the wonderfulness doesn't happen unless I'm listening at a pretty high volume. Everything flattens out when I want background music, and that's OK... but some of my other systems have great imaging and sound no matter the volume level.

Overall am very happy with it. If I could get one with RCA outputs, I'd buy another to replace the old Exasound DAC in our family room - the Marantz Cinema 30 we use there only has RCA inputs. Also have thought about getting another as a headphone streamer/amp (I find it to be amazing with really good headphones) but I don't do headphone listening enough to justify it,

 

[Kal Rubinson]

the Marantz Cinema 30 we use there only has RCA inputs.

And only stereo, afaik.

 

[ednaz]

And only stereo, afaik.

That's right. I read your multichannel explorations with great envy. I just don't have the time, or the music library of multichannel, to make it worthwhile. We just downgraded from Marantz separates to the Cinema 30 (some downgrade... sounds significantly better in two channel, and when playing the small number of music multichannel albums that I do have.) I really enjoy listening to the multichannel stuff we have, particularly Bernie Dresel 's DVDs, which mix so that you sit INSIDE the band. But. Priorities.

 

[Sal1950]

Just joining in here, longtime lurker (although not often, only when I'm shopping for something).

I really enjoy listening to the multichannel stuff we have, particularly Bernie Dresel 's DVDs, which mix so that you sit INSIDE the band.

Welcome to ASR @ednaz , happy to hear from you.

We have a large number of multich enthusiasts here and are constantly working on ways improve the sound of the available components and their use.
I'm very pleased we have author of "Music In The Round" Kal Rubinson here enriching our knowledge of TOTL surround playback.
Thanks for stopping by, looking forward to your further contributions.
Sal1950

 

[ednaz]

Welcome to ASR @ednaz , happy to hear from you.

We have a large number of multich enthusiasts here and are constantly working on ways improve the sound of the available components and their use.
I'm very pleased we have author of "Music In The Round" Kal Rubinson here enriching our knowledge of TOTL surround playback.
Thanks for stopping by, looking forward to your further contributions.
Sal1950

Nodding thank you, which you probably cannot see. I don't weigh in much on forums about audio gear, I focus on learning from what others have learned. Happy Padawan here. My expertise is in other areas, and I get ignored enough on those forums.