Review and Measurements of Okto DAC8 8Ch DAC & Amp

[g29]

Quick Domestic Tour Update:

I just finished a week with the DAC8 prototype on the domestic tour and forwarded it onto the next participant. I did a brief initial test using it in stereo mode to feed an active XO to verify functionality and then removed the active XO from the signal path and spent the remainder of the time using it in 6 channel mode.

I used USB in (44.1 to 192 content) and 6 channels out with Win7-64bit, JRMC's 96dB Linkwitz-Riley digital XO's (dual 48dB Butterworth), REW's AutoEQ and rePhase to actively biamp stereo speakers and integrate stereo subs. The front panel display fonts are very legible. After setting the master volume, individual channel volumes and Sabre filter, I did not touch the other menu options (except to try the 18dB boost).

Since this is not the correct forum for subjective opinions, I will summarize it is a very clean, detailed DAC with great imaging and I would like to thank Pavel (@Okto Research ) for the opportunity to audition it and @amirm for reviewing it and making it known.

 

[Tks]

Quick Domestic Tour Update:

I just finished a week with the DAC8 prototype on the domestic tour and forwarded it onto the next participant. I did a brief initial test using it in stereo mode to feed an active XO to verify functionality and then removed the active XO from the signal path and spent the remainder of the time using it in 6 channel mode.

I used USB in (44.1 to 192 content) and 6 channels out with Win7-64bit, JRMC's 96dB Linkwitz-Riley digital XO's (dual 48dB Butterworth), REW's AutoEQ and rePhase to actively biamp stereo speakers and integrate stereo subs. The front panel display fonts are very legible. After setting the master volume, individual channel volumes and Sabre filter, I did not touch the other menu options (except to try the 18dB boost).

Since this is not the correct forum for subjective opinions, I will summarize it is a very clean, detailed DAC with great imaging and I would like to thank Pavel (@Okto Research ) for the opportunity to audition it and @amirm for reviewing it and making it known.

No one is opposed to impressions here. Heck any impressions are better than none when people want to know more about a product. It doesn't always have to be about the totality of ever sonic quality under the sun. The main problem arises when people want to talk about aspects that fly in the face of observable fact. Saying the imaging is great, and the device produces clear, clean, detailed sound isn't contentious and people can extrapolate what you mean when you say this - no one rational expects a THD measurement from you to take you at your word. But if one were to say "the warmth and auditory alacrity and veracity of the laterally forward presentation is very liberating" ..that's the sort of stuff that gets people to roll their eyes because no one knows what that could possibly mean.

Thanks for the impressions :]

 

[audimus]

No one is opposed to impressions here. Heck any impressions are better than none when people want to know more about a product. It doesn't always have to be about the totality of ever sonic quality under the sun. The main problem arises when people want to talk about aspects that fly in the face of observable fact. Saying the imaging is great, and the device produces clear, clean, detailed sound isn't contentious and people can extrapolate what you mean when you say this - no one rational expects a THD measurement from you to take you at your word. But if one were to say "the warmth and auditory alacrity and veracity of the laterally forward presentation is very liberating" ..that's the sort of stuff that gets people to roll their eyes because no one knows what that could possibly mean.

Thanks for the impressions :]

Not always. If something measured well and you wax poetic, people here will be fine even if there is no correlation established between the measurements and what you describe.

But if you wax poetic about something that might not measure well, people go into fetal position screaming “It doesn’t compute” and accuse you of heresy.

A Pavlovian response or Skinner conditioning or both, I am not sure.

 

[gvl]

I was next in line after @g29. As I'm not as advanced I just spent some time listening in the 2ch mode to various material from Spotify and Qobuz during last 3 evenings. This experience brought me much joy and urge to part with my money, but unfortunately the Stereo version is still being prepped for release and that is what I want. I wish I could keep it longer but the circumstances led me to pass it on to the next participant somewhat early. As I'm writing this he and the DAC8 are on their way to the Schiitr to attend one of their meetups, hopefully he will be able to take it for a spin there there will be a follow up report. I planned to go as well, but other things came up. Special thanks to Pavel for giving me this opportunity and kudos on the excellent product!

 

[g29]

Has anyone in North America received their production DAC8 PRO yet or have been given a firm delivery date yet ?

If so, please chime in.

 

[Okto Research]

We are now building and shipping around 5 DAC8 PROs a week. This number should significantly increase in the beginning of December, so hopefully we will be able to ship the vast majority of orders before Christmas.

The old, beaten-up demo unit (the one reviewed) is about to be sold to a tour participant in LA area. The US tour is going to pause for a moment until a production DAC8 PRO is going to replace it, another one will be finally sent on the European tour.

The DAC8 Stereo is very close to being unveiled.

Cheers,
Pavel, Okto Research

 

[Neddy]

Excellent news! Waiting with worms in my teeth (bated breath) for shipping info any day now?

 

[vinjoutw]

I am in Taiwan and I received my OKTO DAC8 Pro today! excellent device. Just hook up with two channel and listened for two hours. It sound great (Wilson audio Sophia speaker with Spectral DMA 150S2 AMP, Mac mini as source). The sound clarity, detail, and sound stage are phenomenal.

 

[Neddy]

Thanks for sharing! I'm curious - did you get advance shipping notice/tracking info, or did it just 'appear'?
Nice to see the new rev 'in the wild'!!

 

[vinjoutw]

Neddy,
Yes, Pavel sent email notify me the shipping plan. On the day of shipping, Fedex tracking number provided. Communication with Pavel was good and responsive.

 

[Neddy]

Thank you!!

 

[PA3BPAT]

Personally, I would use it in place of the preamp. For me, the USB is generally sufficient and I would prefer a network input to an HDMI or, even, the 8-channel AES3 but I do agree that an HDMI input might open it up to a new market. I am not certain that the market would be sufficient to justify the investment.

Sorry for jumping into rather old discussion. I came to the forum specifically to dig some information on this particular (DAC8 PRO 8-channel) product.

Please clarify me if I am wrong: at the moment (without HDMI-in implementation) the only option for listening multichannel DSD is doing so from the SACD rips on computer? If so, the answer about possible market is simple: listening MCh SACD from SACD-players. Hard to say will it justify the investment, this market is not huge. But it is rather steady market with loyal consumers.

 

[MWC]

There is much more Mch DSD out there than just SACD.iso. Native dsd sells lots of Mch DSD downloads as do some other sites. This is an emerging and fast growing market place.

 

[Kal Rubinson]

Please clarify me if I am wrong: at the moment (without HDMI-in implementation) the only option for listening multichannel DSD is doing so from the SACD rips on computer?

Well , the disc player option is obvious.

If so, the answer about possible market is simple: listening MCh SACD from SACD-players. Hard to say will it justify the investment, this market is not huge. But it is rather steady market with loyal consumers.

Not huge but declining as the release of physical SACDs declines while the release of multichannel DSD (and other formats) continues.

 

[Neddy]

Please clarify me if I am wrong: at the moment (without HDMI-in implementation) the only option for listening multichannel DSD is doing so from the SACD rips on computer?

So I've been scratching my head over the 'what to do with 'legacy' HDMI sources' too!
Maybe someday someone will make an affordable HDMI to AES interface, but I'm not holding my breath.

In my case it means an HDMI bluray player (Oppo, for movies and BR audio) and a preamp/processor (admittedly less than TOTL) that has phono and FM sources as well.

I had been going down the path of either building or buying an 8 channel unbalanced (Oppo) to balanced (Okto) switchbox.
Easy enough to build, but hard to do elegantly, and my system has some added complexities that make it even more 'headachey', and would cost somewhere around $200 or so to build or buy.

So I'd almost resigned myself to manually switching amp inputs when I needed to switch between PC/Ockto Mch audio to any of the other sources.
(Yes, I grant that most, but not all, BR audio can be purchased as DLs now, and I can (probably) rip SACDS to files (and have many of them already)....and that down the road I'll continue to do DLs instead of discs.) But I do have a decent BR movie collection, and for special occasions like to fire up the projector for big screen stuff (like - the upcoming Expanse!)

BUT - here's my latest thought:
Why not simply use a ADC audio mixer to get those 'legacy' analog sources into the PC?

While another round of A to D won't do great things for the audio quality, it isn't that great to begin with, and frankly is plenty enjoyable for movies anyway.
So here are some possibilities I've come up with:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MIXF20...olid=2428J58830ARG&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01EXI8Y9...olid=2428J58830ARG&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01E6T54K...olid=2428J58830ARG&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

Anybody have any experience with any of these, or recommend similar A-to-D products for getting my 'old analog' sources onto a PC?
(The <$300 price range is my preferred budget).

I'm planning on using JRiver with the OktoDAC, and I assume I'd have to use either the supplied software with any of these products, or select something different (not JR, presumably.

(I also have some musical instruments - synth, etc - that might be nice to route to these things - a side benefit in my case).
Further, it occurred to me, that with all the various inputs, I might be able to eliminate the preamp/processor and just use the Oppo's analog outputs directly (using 'spare' inputs for a phono preamp input - I can live without FM if I need to).

Thoughts? Comments??

 

[PA3BPAT]

There is much more Mch DSD out there than just SACD.iso. Native dsd sells lots of Mch DSD downloads as do some other sites. This is an emerging and fast growing market place.

Thank you, I know. but that's not a point. The points are:
1. I already have plenty of MCh SACD (in plastic, not ISOs) and I would like to continue listening them. Most of the AVRs (including mine) I know have mediocre DACs and unbypassable PowerAmps, but at least I can enjoy something. DAC8 (would it have HDMI) might allow me to enjoy more offering better DA conversion and line out to Amps. Unfortunately, DAC8 doesn't seems to be able to do the job. Hopefully yet.
2. Excluding PC from my audio tract was a relieve; I do not want to go back to PC-based system. Ever.

Not huge but declining as the release of physical SACDs declines while the release of multichannel DSD (and other formats) continues.

I do not have sales statistics, so cannot argue. But, again, I already have some number of SACDs in my collection and they have to be enjoyed, haven't they?

Maybe someday someone will make an affordable HDMI to AES interface, but I'm not holding my breath.

That won't help for DSD. Only HDMI-SDIF-2 / SDIF-3 would. Or HDMI-USB. Or SACD player with USB audio out with class 2 driver. But so far I have never seen either...

 

[MWC]

If you insist on not using SACD iso via a PC and only use an SACD player, I think you'll find that any digital out from the SACD player will cripple the audio. Either it will convert it to 16bit PCM or it will only pass DSD to a DSD enabled receiver. The copy protection in the various SACD hardware is a minefield of obscurity. You can be more sure of getting real DSD via SACD iso over USB on a PC.

 

[PA3BPAT]

it will only pass DSD to a DSD enabled receiver.

Which is pretty much standard option for decent AVRs modern days.

The copy protection in the various SACD hardware is a minefield of obscurity. You can be more sure of getting real DSD via SACD iso over USB on a PC.

...again PC. I do not want PC in audio chain. Moreover, decrypting SACDs requires time, disc space and (the hardest part) rather exotic hardware. If I consider SACD decryption of my collection that would be only for the purpose of reduction of SACD wear.

 

[MWC]

Only FYI, SACD decryption does not require 'rather exotic hardware' any more: several modern SACD/BD players are able to perform the task e.g. Various (10x) Oppos: e.g. BDP-103, Sony BDP-S5100 or Pioneer BDP-80fd and the Cambridge Audio CXU. Ability to do so depends on the MediaTek MT85xx SoC cpu.

Fuller list below:
Sony brand compatible Blu-ray players:
BDP-S390 (also sold as BX39 in some markets)
BDP-S490
BDP-S590 (also sold as BX59 in some markets)
BDP-S4100
BDP-S5100 (also sold as BX510 in some markets)
BDP-S6200 * (also sold as BX620 in some markets, requires Sony ARMv7 AutoScript version developed Feb. 2019)
BDP-S7200 * (requires Sony ARMv7 AutoScript version developed Feb. 2019)
BDP-S790 * (requires Sony ARMv7 AutoScript version developed Feb. 2019)

Pioneer brand compatible Blu-ray players:
BDP-80FD
BDP-160
BDP-170

Oppo brand compatible Blu-ray players:
BDP-103 and 103D
BDP-105 and 105D

Cambridge brand compatible Blu-ray players:
Azur 752BD
CXU

Arcam brand compatible Blu-ray & CD/SACD players:
FMJ UDP411
FMJ CDS27

Primare brand compatible Blu-ray player:
BD32 MkII

Electrocompaniet brand compatible Blu-ray player:
EMP3

MWC said:
it will only pass DSD to a DSD enabled receiver.

PA3BPAT replied:
Which is pretty much standard option for decent AVRs modern days.

This is sadly not the case that one would expect. Rather few AV Receivers actually do play native DSD without PCM conversion. Hence my comment "The copy protection in the various SACD hardware is a minefield of obscurity."

 

[somebodyelse]

Maybe someday someone will make an affordable HDMI to AES interface, but I'm not holding my breath.

I believe the license terms for the HDMI/HDCP side don't allow output to formats lacking copy protection, so it can't be done legitimately in countries where those licenses apply.

Anybody have any experience with any of these, or recommend similar A-to-D products for getting my 'old analog' sources onto a PC?
(The <$300 price range is my preferred budget).

There have been a few reviews that include the ADC portion of pro interfaces. They haven't covered the interfaces you linked, but do cover others in the same series as the Behringer and Focusrite. The master index of reviews has them in the desktop DAC/ADC section. Someone in another thread pointed out that the last generation of firewire interfaces are hitting the 2nd hand market and can be good value if your OS still supports them. Unless you use linux my limited experience won't be relevant.