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Okto dac8 stereo DAC Review

zenmastering

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The Emotiva cables are a better solution than any converter, no offense to Neurochrome. I'd imagine your local PA shop would love to build you such a cable, as they're likely underemployed at the moment.
 

Veri

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The Emotiva cables are a better solution than any converter, no offense to Neurochrome.
Actually, no. The cable will never carry over the full signal since there aren't both a hot and cold pin available. The buffer will take the full input into the single ended output. That's not possible over a cable adapter, period.

And Okto themselves do not recommend XLR>RCA cables, even if they are properly wired. They might work fine might you, but it's not ideal.
 

zenmastering

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What is this 'full signal' you are referring to?

Floating pin 3 and using Pin 2 plus ground is one half of a symmetrical* signal, so you lose 6dB. No biggie, as you'd want to lose a bit more to match consumer levels, anyway. It's just the single-ended version. Only in the worst possible environment will the CMRR loss be an issue...

Ground loops are everywhere, balanced or single-ended...it comes down to the design of each piece of equipment.

A short interconnect is not likely to be a problem and is something I would do before introducing any more active circuitry into the signal path. Easy to try and quite likely to 'work.'

By necessity, I use a combination of single-ended and balanced gear in my studio. I know how to build such converters and I rarely need them...

* assuming that the Okto DAC has symmetrical outputs and is not just a 'noise-balanced' output configuration.

Actually, no. The cable will never carry over the full signal since there aren't both a hot and cold pin available. The buffer will take the full input into the single ended output. That's not possible over a cable adapter, period.

And Okto themselves do not recommend XLR>RCA cables, even if they are properly wired. They might work fine might you, but it's not ideal.
 

Jerry Sobel

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I was thinking of ordering an Okto DAC but I am puzzled by the last item on the ordering about choosing my output voltage. Is there a need to choose- as it is an option?
 

Feyire

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I was thinking of ordering an Okto DAC but I am puzzled by the last item on the ordering about choosing my output voltage. Is there a need to choose- as it is an option?

Are you asking about whether you need to add the following to your order?

1613237617198.png


If so, you only need to add this if you want an output voltage other than Okto standard of 4.2V
 

Feyire

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Yes that’s it! What reason would I want anything else other than the 4.2V output?
That would depend on your audio chain/setup and how you want to handle things.

So for example, let's assume a simple setup where you have 2 high gain amplifiers connected to a DAC and you also have some high sensitivity speakers. Now, due to the high gain of the amplifiers and the high sensitivity of the speakers, it might be that you need to use the volume control at your DAC with levels at or below -40dB before you can reach a comfortable listening level.

With such a high level of attenuation being performed at the DAC, you are essentially not getting the optimal performance from it in terms of dynamic range, signal-to-noise ratio, minimising amount of intermodular distortion, etc.

There are a few ways you could deal with this situation:
  • Put a pre-amp between the DAC and amps and perform the volume control at the pre-amp (i.e. DAC set to max output)
  • Lower the gain in your amplifiers (if possible), or purchase lower gain amplifiers
  • Purchase a DAC with an output voltage to optimally match with the gain of your amplifiers and sensitivity of your speakers
Basically speaking, if you are unsure about all this, just stick with the default 4.2V output and don't worry about it for now.
 

Zooqu1ko

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Yes that’s it! What reason would I want anything else other than the 4.2V output?
There are a few amplifiers that can benefit from higher ouput voltages - i believe some purifi modules are among those - but you'd probably know if you had one of those devices. For one, they aren't standard consumer fare, and, if you had made the unlikely mistake and bought/built one without knowing its input voltage requirement, it would probably be way too quiet.
 

Jerry Sobel

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There are a few amplifiers that can benefit from higher ouput voltages - i believe some purifi modules are among those - but you'd probably know if you had one of those devices. For one, they aren't standard consumer fare, and, if you had made the unlikely mistake and bought/built one without knowing its input voltage requirement, it would probably be way too quiet.
I own Benchmark amps which I believe have a 4 volt output.
I also have a preamp between my DAC and amps- the Benchmark LA4.
 

mp006ltk

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Do you still have. this unit for sale? What voltage is it?

I do still have the unit, but it looks like the headphone amplifier was DOA. I don't use headphones so I never tested it and the unit was brand new so I assumed.....

Output is standard voltage.

I'm waiting on a replacement board from Pavel but the only response I have in a few weeks is that it would have shipped out some time ago.

Hopefully this post puts some pressure on them to rectify this issue. I will update when I receive the part, and the unit is again available for sale.
 

Jerry Sobel

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I do still have the unit, but it looks like the headphone amplifier was DOA. I don't use headphones so I never tested it and the unit was brand new so I assumed.....

Output is standard voltage.

I'm waiting on a replacement board from Pavel but the only response I have in a few weeks is that it would have shipped out some time ago.

Hopefully this post puts some pressure on them to rectify this issue. I will update when I receive the part, and the unit is again available for sale.
Hmmm, I think I will wait until their customer service has improved. It must be a bit frustrating.
 

Chobes11

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How would I find out what output voltage to use? Thinking to use this feeding my NC1200 to ML XT60 which has a sensitivity of 94db.
Any suggestion how incorporate a subwoofer with this? my sub doesn’t have xlr.
 
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Is anybody getting any replies from Pavel. It has been month since I have written to him with some questions about the unit. Have sent him a reminder and yet not a single word from the company. Wonder how the support for this unit will be if there are any issues. Is there. any personal. email other than [email protected] where they respond.

It takes sometimes two days or so, but I’m still receiving feedback from the oktoresearch.com mail address you are referring to. They apparently had an issue with the supply of the front plates of the units.
 

AndreaT

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My unit finally shipped. Yes, the front plates had to be reordered as a batch of then was below specs. It took a while, but I believe this is a fair inconvenience to pay for a low price of a very high quality unit. My order was placed in sept 2020z
 

hampestampe

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My unit finally shipped. Yes, the front plates had to be reordered as a batch of then was below specs. It took a while, but I believe this is a fair inconvenience to pay for a low price of a very high quality unit. My order was placed in sept 2020z
You placed your order in September and havn't recived it yet?!
What is your order number? Mine is #281 and I paid for mine in December 2020. I hope I will recive my unit next month....
But if you have been waiting since September it sounds i a litle bit to optimistic.
 

JohnM-73

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I think at this point they really need to be more transparent about the realty of their delivery schedules, on their website. It still says 6-8 weeks there, which from all the feedback here seems misleading. Ultimately it doesn't matter how well performing their DAC is or the value for money offered, if their 6-8 weeks turns into 2-4 months in practice. Bad word of mouth will unfortunately get out.
 
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revelution

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I’m #296 and still waiting patiently. I do wish they would send out some communication on the delays they’re having. I get that sometimes production doesn’t go to plan and things are delayed. I just hope it’s worth the wait.
 

kriskis

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my order number 277 hasn't arrived yet, but they promised to send it in two weeks
 

mp006ltk

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So the good news is a part arrived today. The bad news is that he sent me an 8 channel board for a 2 channel DAC. Didn't notice until I was ready to plug it in.

The fun continues....

I've asked them to overnight the replacement.
Again, I will update when I know more.
 

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