Okto dac8 stereo DAC Review

[Sukie]

I suppose it's down to cost and/or how often you expect to change cards for updates. The card sticking out the back panel could be prone to damage when plugging connectors in as well, its pretty safe where it is.
Most of the updates can be done using SSH anyway. A half dozen screws is not much to deal with if its not a regular occurrence. I tend to fit the card at the outset then don't touch it once set up and the configuration has been copied to my Laptop.

The cost is negligible and the card is pretty secure. I get that people probably won't want to change the card (much) when it's up and running, but removing screws in order to change from Volumio seems a bit laborious (and out of the comfort zone of some perhaps).

I suppose I'm asking why Okto would preload Volumio and then make it relatively difficult to change that?

 

[Qwin]

Volumio is not supplied any more due to a distribution agreement or lack of, you just get a blank SD Card and load what you prefer, I like moOde for instance.
"relatively difficult" is a bit strong, I've had remote controls that were more difficult when it came to changing batteries.
If you can't manage changing the SD Card, little hope of downloading and flashing an image, let alone setting up static IP addresses or implementing a NAS. These things are all relative. I have my own wish list.

 

[Sukie]

Volumio is not supplied any more due to a distribution agreement or lack of, you just get a blank SD Card and load what you prefer, I like moOde for instance.
"relatively difficult" is a bit strong, I've had remote controls that were more difficult when it came to changing batteries.
If you can't manage changing the SD Card, little hope of downloading and flashing an image, let alone setting up static IP addresses or implementing a NAS. These things are all relative. I have my own wish list.

Agreed. I'm an RPi user and so have no problem with any of what mentioned. Was just conscious of a slightly strange (but understandable) omission.

 

[EchoChamber]

Volumio is not supplied any more due to a distribution agreement or lack of, you just get a blank SD Card and load what you prefer, I like moOde for instance.
"relatively difficult" is a bit strong, I've had remote controls that were more difficult when it came to changing batteries.
If you can't manage changing the SD Card, little hope of downloading and flashing an image, let alone setting up static IP addresses or implementing a NAS. These things are all relative. I have my own wish list.

I use RoPieeeXL and it works really well. Much better interface than Volumio and if you have Roon, it works flawlessly assuming you have a good Wi-Fi router.

 

[Harmonie]

Hanging out of what, you would have to drill a hole in the back panel, big enough for the smallest connector to fit through.
It would look terrible, even if you could get a grommet to fit over the connector.
I spent a day making, or rather modifying the lead, it was worth the effort for a tidy job.

Of course.
You did a nice job and my humble respect !
Hope it will give some mod idea to Pavel.

 

[Aphemicman]

I just read another positive review for DAC8 stereo by Stereophile February 2021. I will order one and see how long it takes to get it!

 

[EchoChamber]

I just a read another positive review for DAC8 stereo by Stereophile February 2021. I will order one and see how long it takes to get it!

I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

 

[Aphemicman]

This unit is costing ~$1573 with shipping and remote. Are there any custom taxes/fees that get billed separately for importing into U.S?
I hope this unit sounds better than MiniDSP SHD. I found the DAC section of SHD to be inferior compared to Cary audio DAC200ts when paired with MartinLogan Odyssey speakers and Hegel H200 amplifier. There was added harshness and extra treble, even after a long break-in period and Dirac correction made the sound even worse. I am just using SHD as an ethernet audio streamer in another room.

 

[EchoChamber]

This unit is costing ~$1573 with shipping and remote. Are there any custom taxes/fees that get billed separately for importing into U.S?
I hope this unit sounds better than MiniDSP SHD. I found the DAC section of SHD to be inferior compared to Cary audio DAC200ts when paired with MartinLogan Odyssey speakers and Hegel H200 amplifier. There was added harshness and extra treble, even after a long break-in period and Dirac correction made the sound even worse. I am just using SHD as an ethernet audio streamer in another room.

Based on Amir’s measurements, you are likely to get much less distortion with the Dac8. My subjective experience is of a cohesive and un-hyped sonic presentation. Natural and detailed - something I’ve been looking for for decades.

I did not have to pay any US custom tax. But keep an eye on shipping, mine got stuck in customs - they didn’t know what it was...

 

[Qwin]

Ooops
Just noticed a Typo on my post #818
The lead I modified was Micro HDMI Male to HDMI Female.

@Harmonie - I think Pavel keeps an eye on this thread, so as several people have shown an interest, he may consider it. Comes down to the percentage of users that would find it useful, against the additional cost, which would be for all Streamer customers.
There are some nice HDMI ribbon cables which can easily be made in small batches to any length required. Something like that might be more appropriate for production.

 

[AndreaT]

I just read another positive review for DAC8 stereo by Stereophile February 2021. I will order one and see how long it takes to get it!

Still waiting for mine ordered in Sept 2020

 

[hampestampe]

Still waiting for mine ordered in Sept 2020

Glad I did order mine a couple of weeks ago. I guess they will get a lot of new orders now after reciving yet another great review. As far as I understand Stereophile have only reviewed three other dacs that messure similar numbers or better.
The $9850 Weiss DAC502, the $4998Level 3 HoloAudio May and the $15,400 MBL N31 DAC/Cd-player

 

[AndreaT]

Glad I did order mine a couple of weeks ago. I guess they will get a lot of new orders now after reciving yet another great review. As far as I understand Stereophile have only reviewed three other dacs that messure similar numbers or better.
The $9850 Weiss DAC502, the $4998Level 3 HoloAudio May and the $15,400 MBL N31 DAC/Cd-player

I received today an email from Okto: almost ready to ship!!!

 

[hampestampe]

I received today an email from Okto: almost ready to ship!!!

OK, great!
It's kind of obvius that their estimated lead-time 6-8 weeks is a pretty poor estimation.
Whats your order number, and what exact date did you put your order?
Mine is #281, (2020-12-27)

 

[AndreaT]

OK, great!
It's kind of obvius that their estimated lead-time 6-8 weeks is a pretty poor estimation.
Whats your order number, and what exact date did you put your order?
Mine is #281, (2020-12-27)

I believe # 218 is mine

 

[AndreaT]

I believe # 218 is mine

Sorry, # 213, just checked. However I know Pavel moved in Dec 2020 to a new manufacturing facility and had to reorganize production. It is therefore likely the throughput has improved !

 

[Ceez]

Hello all: long time reader, first time poster with a question to the community and @Okto Research about the custom output voltage. Will any of the Dac8 measurements suffer when the output voltage is increased to the maximum 12 volts? (particularly concerned about noise filtering and output impedance).

Background: ifi DAC driving a single-ended KT-150 output stage through a step-up interstage transformer. Impedance at the DAC and the grid are excellent, but the setup is 6dB short from maxing out the output stage even though the gain of the interstage is high (I also lose a dB at 20KHz, but the clarity is worth it overall). Would like to use the Dac8 with high output voltage, perhaps with a lower-gain interstage.

@amirm - I agree with your concerns about poor out-of-band filtering. The out-of-band noise going through the KT-150s when playing back DSD files is scary.

 

[sq225917]

See the graph on the first page, from 2.5v output upwards its pretty much at its best.

 

[Ceez]

See the graph on the first page, from 2.5v output upwards its pretty much at its best.

Thank you!

 

[Ceez]

See the graph on the first page, from 2.5v output upwards its pretty much at its best.

@amirm analyzes the standard 4.1V RMS full-scale Dac8. Any guess at how specs would change (or suffer) when the Dac8 buffers are custom set to 12V RMS?