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Review and Measurements of Okto DAC8 8Ch DAC & Amp
- Thread starter amirm
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somebodyelse
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- Dec 5, 2018
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It's got a standard FreeDSP expansion connector which I think is TDM capable, so could support 8 channels out. They don't have a board to do that at the moment. It may be worth asking about it though. It might be worth asking if they'd send one for testing too - if it measures well then there may be a few takers from round here.
Sure is intriguing!
Downside is that my electron chasing years are way back in the rear view & not sure I have have the patience to go that deep (anytime soon, at least).
Another option would be to go with one of the plethora of 8 chan -> USB decks, work my way thru console/studio software, and feed that to JR on the NUC...and then from that on to the Okto Pro....maybe.
8 chan to AES would be simplest as I could 'just' switch Okto from USB to AES inputs to flip between the Oppo 103s analog outputs (so super high SQ is not a high priority) and USB (JRIver) from the NUC (which will be 99% of my listening/watching anyway.)
(I'm doing main+ sub EQ/DSP downstream of the Okto, and not really concerned about RmEQ on the surrounds for bluray movies.)
So, I'll follow up on the DIY as time and energy permits, and report back....but in the meantime keep looking for other simpler solutions?
Thanks - great tip!!
Downside is that my electron chasing years are way back in the rear view & not sure I have have the patience to go that deep (anytime soon, at least).
Another option would be to go with one of the plethora of 8 chan -> USB decks, work my way thru console/studio software, and feed that to JR on the NUC...and then from that on to the Okto Pro....maybe.
8 chan to AES would be simplest as I could 'just' switch Okto from USB to AES inputs to flip between the Oppo 103s analog outputs (so super high SQ is not a high priority) and USB (JRIver) from the NUC (which will be 99% of my listening/watching anyway.)
(I'm doing main+ sub EQ/DSP downstream of the Okto, and not really concerned about RmEQ on the surrounds for bluray movies.)
So, I'll follow up on the DIY as time and energy permits, and report back....but in the meantime keep looking for other simpler solutions?
Thanks - great tip!!
I have gone for the RME. But congratulations OktoResearch your stereo unit looks very nice and the knob is great too. I hope you will succeed with your brand and that you can grow. And who knows we will meet again. But for now, it looks like a splendid unit. Very nice. I wish you all the luck.
In late fall, after having waited several months for the (already paid for) dac8 stereo, I was about to jump on the new version of the ADI-2 dac. The streaming capabilities of the dac8 stereo let me stand by Okto. The RME's representative rather uppity communication didn't help switching brands either 
.
.
Can the OctaMic II (by RME) deal with DSD or is it PCM only? As I can't find any reference to DSD in the OctaMic II reviews I've read. Whereas the Okto DAC8 Pro can deal with 8ch of DSD128 (or DoP64) and has ASIO drivers for Windows.
Thanks for that - I had not looked at RME yet (they all seem way out of my price range)...but will keep an eye out for deals.
And they offer several products that do ADC to AES - good to know, as I had not found many (any) that did mch AES conversion.
Oddly, I might even find a use for extra mic/line inputs down the road, but not enough to make it requirement, or pay more for
It's a real shame there isn't (an obvious, and low cost) mch analog to AES converter out there, as it would the perfect solution for legacy Bluray on the OktoDAC. (And for those streaming sources that don't run on PCs - I have a Roku Ultra that I won't be able to use with the Okto!)
The Mch dilemma continues...
Great tip, thanks!!
And they offer several products that do ADC to AES - good to know, as I had not found many (any) that did mch AES conversion.
Oddly, I might even find a use for extra mic/line inputs down the road, but not enough to make it requirement, or pay more for
It's a real shame there isn't (an obvious, and low cost) mch analog to AES converter out there, as it would the perfect solution for legacy Bluray on the OktoDAC. (And for those streaming sources that don't run on PCs - I have a Roku Ultra that I won't be able to use with the Okto!)
The Mch dilemma continues...
Great tip, thanks!!
digitalfrost
Major Contributor
Be aware that other DACs from RME are much older than the ADI-2 FS and will probably not have the same great performance. The OctaMic II was introduced in 2007. I wish they would update their Fireface card with the ADI-2 FS DACs...
Uhm, sorry to interrupt, but @BYRTT was responding to my question about devices to convert Mch analog to AES so I can feed that into my OktoDAC (for 'legacy' Bluray/Roku/HDMI support)...not about the RME as an alternative to the Okto.
His suggestion was very helpful -as I was not aware of those products before , even if out of my price range.
The DSD question seems way off topic, given that? At the very least it confused me some.
In the meantime, My OktoDAC appears to have gotten stuck in US customs, dang it!
His suggestion was very helpful -as I was not aware of those products before , even if out of my price range.
The DSD question seems way off topic, given that? At the very least it confused me some.
In the meantime, My OktoDAC appears to have gotten stuck in US customs, dang it!
I'm sorry I seem to have misunderstood about the proposed use of the RME. Maybe because it strikes me as a bit odd that another very nice and not cheap DAC is suggested as merely a Mch conversion device for the OKTO., but then getting thing connected as one wants does get awfully complicated, with no simple solutions presenting themselves all too often. On this case, maybe 2 DACs are better than one
Many thanks for great ideas!
I may have not made the use case clear, so: (deep breath!)
99% of my Okto use will be via JRiver (FLAC library) and PC-NUC/USB (which also has an external bluray drive.)
BUT, that leaves a small library of Bluray movies and BR Audio disks, which I gather may not play multich correctly on the PC via PowerDVD
PLUS, there are some streaming apps that aren't available (or work Mch) on Win10, so I'd like to be able to use my Roku on the HDMI input on the Oppo 103 BR player, and somehow feed the Oppo's analog outputs into either the PC or (via) AES to the Okto (lots of O's there!).
There are no affordable HDMI-> AES devices.
(AES is preferred, since I could theoretically use the Okto remote to 'flip' between USB/PC audio sources and AES (HDMI legacy) sources - would be so slick!)
Hence, the request for an ADC that outputs either AES (preferred - direct to Okto!) or USB (many to chose from, but more complexity).
Tascam, Scarlett, Behringer make affordable ADC - USB decks, but seem to have software issues with W10 (from reviews), and have many more features than I need!
EG,
https://smile.amazon.com/Tascam-US-...face/dp/B00MIXF200?ref_=ast_sto_dp&th=1&psc=1
The Oppo 103 is not a very high end HDMI DAC, so no need (or budget!) to find a high performance ADC for this, esp for the occasional use/movie/HT application.
PS. Oh, one other, very minor, use: I still have a darned nice turntable and phono-preamp...haven't even thought about how I want to get that into the PC/OktoDAC yet! But THAT I might just decide to sell off....haven't played an LP in more than a year!
<Yah, I think too much sometimes ....Grin>
I may have not made the use case clear, so: (deep breath!)
99% of my Okto use will be via JRiver (FLAC library) and PC-NUC/USB (which also has an external bluray drive.)
BUT, that leaves a small library of Bluray movies and BR Audio disks, which I gather may not play multich correctly on the PC via PowerDVD
PLUS, there are some streaming apps that aren't available (or work Mch) on Win10, so I'd like to be able to use my Roku on the HDMI input on the Oppo 103 BR player, and somehow feed the Oppo's analog outputs into either the PC or (via) AES to the Okto (lots of O's there!).
There are no affordable HDMI-> AES devices.
(AES is preferred, since I could theoretically use the Okto remote to 'flip' between USB/PC audio sources and AES (HDMI legacy) sources - would be so slick!)
Hence, the request for an ADC that outputs either AES (preferred - direct to Okto!) or USB (many to chose from, but more complexity).
Tascam, Scarlett, Behringer make affordable ADC - USB decks, but seem to have software issues with W10 (from reviews), and have many more features than I need!
EG,
https://smile.amazon.com/Tascam-US-...face/dp/B00MIXF200?ref_=ast_sto_dp&th=1&psc=1
The Oppo 103 is not a very high end HDMI DAC, so no need (or budget!) to find a high performance ADC for this, esp for the occasional use/movie/HT application.
PS. Oh, one other, very minor, use: I still have a darned nice turntable and phono-preamp...haven't even thought about how I want to get that into the PC/OktoDAC yet! But THAT I might just decide to sell off....haven't played an LP in more than a year!
<Yah, I think too much sometimes ....Grin>
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