Review and Measurements of Melokin DA9.1 ES9038PRO DAC and Headphone Amp

[manoy385]

Seems like there is no budget ES9038Pro DAC that performs precise enough. Will probably go for a Topping D50 + good headphone amp.

Have you tried the HifiMe UDA38PRO? I don't think it has been measured yet and it's cheaper than the Melokin. Some people prefer it over the D50 in other forums.

 

[amirm]

Have you tried the HifiMe UDA38PRO?

I just ordered this. Will see how it does when it arrives from Hong Kong.

 

[JustIntonation]

Ah, I thought you were going to keep it. Regardless, thanks for confirming some of my findings.

I think as the DAC chip gets better, it gets even harder to get the best performance out of them since the distortion and noise of the rest of the DAC (box) needs to improve correspondingly. The Oppo UDP-205 pulls this off but I suspect they had direct help from ESS to get there.

I thought I was going to keep it too for a moment
There is something very good about the sound of the DA9.1 to me. But the bit hazy imaging is too much for me to accept. It deminishes realism with certain music for me.

I'm very curious what you think regarding the sound of DAC chips / brands. Do you think there is something to the idea that there is a "sound signature" coming from a DAC chip itself, all else equal (including about equal performance specs of the different DAC chips)?
Or is this really only due to surrounding components and perhaps certain DAC chips require different surrounding components and this may often lead to a similar sound signature?
I'd love to know a realistic answer to this and I currently don't have enough knowledge of DAC chips and the limits of measurements.
Currently there are a lot of people who think for instance AKM has a diffent base sound from Sabre chips and Burr Brown is different yet again. I don't know if there's truth to this. I've been leading myself to think there probably is but I could well be mistaken.

 

[maxxevv]

This is the ES9038Pro DAC I have :

https://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=a1z09.2.0.0.64272e8dhuYWdc&id=520572954027&_u=91u1q9km1839

I got the 'flagship' version with the Amanero board and AD797 opamps. Not mentioned in the descriptions is that the version comes with headsinks for the DAC chip and a few other chips not shown in the pictures. Also, it comes with sealed toroidal transformers.

So far, I like the tonality of the classical strings and vocals it produces. No way to gauge how well it measures though. And from what I can see, it seems a sensible board layout.

Its too prohibitively expensive to send it over from my part of the world for it to be measured unfortunately, it would cost like more than half the unit's value in fact with the back and forth shipping.

 

[amirm]

That's pretty reasonable for a unit with remote control and such.

 

[JustIntonation]

Have you tried the HifiMe UDA38PRO? I don't think it has been measured yet and it's cheaper than the Melokin. Some people prefer it over the D50 in other forums.

Haven't tried it. But if I had to guess I'd say it will likely measure worse than the Melokin DA9.1
We'll see soon from Amir's measurements

 

[Jimster480]

Another disappointment... it begs the question, how do you design audio gear without an analyzer?
I mean if that is literally the business that you are interested in going into, even a used AP can be found around $8-9k, surely this would be more than acceptable for a startup cost of a brand....

 

[alfabian]

The Melokin DA9.1 comes with a cheap crystal CTS160B3. I replaced for Crystek CCHD-950-25-100 (27 USD).
"This is a critical component, the sound performances can be compromised with a cheap oscillator" (http://www.audiodesignguide.com).
I've also provided a better 12V power supply and I'm using the Burson V6 dual discreet buffer opamp instead of the IC Texas OPA1612 (dual too) that comes in the DAC (It is plug-and-play). This opamp acts on both headphones and RCA output (I asked the DAC manufacturer about that).
It's certainly much better...

 

[Jimster480]

The Melokin DA9.1 comes with a cheap crystal CTS160B3. I replaced for Crystek CCHD-950-25-100 (27 USD).
"This is a critical component, the sound performances can be compromised with a cheap oscillator" (http://www.audiodesignguide.com).
I've also provided a better 12V power supply and I'm using the Burson V6 dual discreet buffer opamp instead of the IC Texas OPA1612 (dual too) that comes in the DAC (It is plug-and-play). This opamp acts on both headphones and RCA output (I asked the DAC manufacturer about that).
It's certainly much better...

I would say the 1612 is more than capable of delivering top quality audio. Its slew rate is 27 and its CMRR is 120db...
In terms of the oscillator, I've never heard of changing those out in DAC's.

 

[maxxevv]

If you want to go deep, I would go for ultra-low noise opamps such as the AD797 or LT1128 / 1028.
But of course, you need to jump through quite a few hoops to make them work as they are single channel and both have unity gain stability concerns.

The LT1128ACN8 has a CMRR of 126db. The Burson V6 only rates up to 98db. That's quite an order of magnitude in difference isn't it? Not to mention the Input Voltage Noise Density values yet.....

 

[Bhargu]

This is the ES9038Pro DAC I have :

https://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=a1z09.2.0.0.64272e8dhuYWdc&id=520572954027&_u=91u1q9km1839

I got the 'flagship' version with the Amanero board and AD797 opamps. Not mentioned in the descriptions is that the version comes with headsinks for the DAC chip and a few other chips not shown in the pictures. Also, it comes with sealed toroidal transformers.

So far, I like the tonality of the classical strings and vocals it produces. No way to gauge how well it measures though. And from what I can see, it seems a sensible board layout.

Its too prohibitively expensive to send it over from my part of the world for it to be measured unfortunately, it would cost like more than half the unit's value in fact with the back and forth shipping.

Are you saying the "Ultimate" flagship model comes with the Amanero USB interface or did you buy that separately? I tried reading the page using a translator, but couldn't be sure about that part.

 

[Bhargu]

I just ordered this. Will see how it does when it arrives from Hong Kong.

@amirm, I have read some user reports of UDA38Pro that switching the USB power channels with a cleaner power supply using something like the iFi iDefender produces significant improvement. Do you have any way of replicating this in your measurements?

 

[amirm]

@amirm, I have read some user reports of UDA38Pro that switching the USB power channels with a cleaner power supply using something like the iFi iDefender produces significant improvement. Do you have any way of replicating this in your measurements?

This is a mains powered unit. How would that apply here?

 

[gvl]

Even in mains powered units USB interfaces can be powered from the USB bus which may potentially pollute downstream modules in sloppy designs.

 

[amirm]

Even in mains powered units USB interfaces can be powered from the USB bus which may potentially pollute downstream modules in sloppy designs.

Ah yes, that is true. I wonder if it is here though.

 

[gvl]

Ah yes, that is true. I wonder if it is here though.

I kind of doubt adding any USB cleaning gizmos can fix that cross-eyed linearity chart.

 

[Bhargu]

This is a mains powered unit. How would that apply here?

I was talking about doing that for your measurements of UDA38Pro, not the Melokin. The Hifime unit can be powered by USB alone. DC power is optional.

For Melokin, I have read comments that cleaner DC supply might be useful. Did you use the stock power supply our your lab power supply?

 

[maxxevv]

Are you saying the "Ultimate" flagship model comes with the Amanero USB interface or did you buy that separately? I tried reading the page using a translator, but couldn't be sure about that part.

Install Google Chrome and use its native page translation (just a right click on the page itself). Its good enough to get around 70~85% of the necessary details right.

The 'flagship' model in the listing comes with the Amanero USB interface. It comes too with dual sealed Talema toroidal transformers, LM49710 + AD797 opamp chips and heatsinks for a few of its circuit chips including that of the DAC.

RMB 1950 was what I paid for it, as per listing. (Excluding shipping that is.)

That's what I ordered and what I got.

 

[amirm]

For Melokin, I have read comments that cleaner DC supply might be useful. Did you use the stock power supply our your lab power supply?

I used its own supply. When I have some idle time, i can try with lab supply.

 

[Chr1]

I too would be most grateful if you could possibly recheck with your lab supply. I have been powering mine with a 12v lead acid battery and am really enjoying it. Like a previous poster I have swapped the buffer op amp for a discrete Burson V6. I haven't changed the oscillator however. To me it sounds fantastic but obviously without the relevant tests this is all purely subjective...

Many thanks!