• WANTED: Happy members who like to discuss audio and other topics related to our interest. Desire to learn and share knowledge of science required. There are many reviews of audio hardware and expert members to help answer your questions. Click here to have your audio equipment measured for free!

Review and Measurements of Okto DAC8 8Ch DAC & Amp

josh358

Senior Member
Joined
Jun 13, 2017
Messages
493
Likes
387
1.41. This isn't a release version, but it apparently works with Linux and I imagine there will be a release version in the not-too-distant future.
 

phoenixdogfan

Major Contributor
Forum Donor
Joined
Nov 6, 2018
Messages
3,297
Likes
5,075
Location
Nashville
I made some cables like that too for when I need single ended out. Barely any hum at all and only perceivable with ear in the speaker cone. Probably identical to any single ended connection in that respect.
Isn't this how all these cables which have RCA on one end and XLR on the other are wired?
 

AnalogSteph

Major Contributor
Joined
Nov 6, 2018
Messages
3,334
Likes
3,278
Location
.de
Isn't this how all these cables which have RCA on one end and XLR on the other are wired?
No, there isn't even one single correct pinout for XLR > RCA, it depends on the output. 2 and 1 with pin 3 floating is going to be correct in a lot of cases though.

Some RCA > XLR cables will just be unbalanced and connect pin 1 and 3 at the far end, that's a mere mechanical adapter. In order to make semi-proper use of the balanced input, shield and cold have to be split at the RCA end. And sometimes you only want the shield to be connected on one side.

Note that RCA > XLR and XLR > RCA cables will be using physically different connectors either way - XLR is obviously gendered so such a cable can never be used in the other direction. I imagine XLR cables always being female to male makes the life of sound guys a little less hard, they can just plug in another one if more reach is needed.
 

Vit

New Member
Joined
Nov 26, 2020
Messages
3
Likes
2
An I missing something here about the nanodigi?
How are you using it in a HT (presumably Mch) use case?
FWIW, when I trialed Oppo->AES through a Venu 360 (crossovers), I was not able to discern any time lag vs. using the analog nputs (AES inputs bypass the Venu's A-D).
IRCC, when I looked up the latency specs vs. what is recommended (<1ms??) it was well within that.
Are you concerned about latency in the nanodigi or OktoDAC?
I continue to be amazed at all the different ways the OktoDAC can be put to good use.


I finished an Open Baffle project and tried the Octo Dac8Pro with EKIO. Unfortunately, it doesn't work for me.
The bass is very bad and I couldn't find a good setting for the AE Dipole15 speakers.
I tried with a 2x4 miniDSP and the result is very good.
For this reason I would like to buy a Venu360.
Can you tell me please, how to connect PC-> OktoDAC-> Venu360? I'm interested in what you said here: (AES inputs bypass the Venu's AD). I would like to skip the AD conversion.
And is this sequence of PC-> OktoDAC-> Venu360 - amplifier correct?
I thought it had to be PC-> Venu360 -> OktoDAC - amplifier...
Thanks a lot !
 

Attachments

  • 20210317_132506.jpg
    20210317_132506.jpg
    353.5 KB · Views: 191
  • 20210317_132819.jpg
    20210317_132819.jpg
    468.4 KB · Views: 193

Neddy

Addicted to Fun and Learning
Joined
Mar 22, 2019
Messages
754
Likes
1,019
Location
Wisconsin
Certainly. (Those are VERY pretty speakers!!)
OktoDAC8 pro has Ch 1 & 2 output in AES as well as analog.
Venu will accept AES Ch1&2 (simpler cabling, too!).
So OktoDAC->Venu AES is plug and play, wiring-wise.

I DID have trouble figuring out how to do the input/mix configuration for it, and ended up calling Harman support for the Venu, who were extremely helpful.
Turned out it had to be done through the front panel.
The Harman support tech told me that using AES inputs bypassed the ADC circuits...but I'd take that with a grain of salt, as he didn't seem extremely certain about that (or just had never been asked that before.)

AES should be pretty simple to set up by itself, and is one of the default configs.

[Most of my config setup problem was b/c I am 'mixing' the Okto Ch4 LFE/Subwoofer (analog) output to Venu 'Ch3' (analog) input, for advanced sub control and dBX bass features.

CH1/2 and the Sub/LFE aren't mixed or combined in any way on it, just crossovers and limiters. Strictly speaking, really not needed since I'm using a Crown DSP amp to drive that with, but having extra xover flexibility, AND be able to monitor what's coming in on the Sub input IS very handy.)]

Let me know if it's still an issue and I'll get a screen shot of the front panel setup for you.
FWIW, it was the Harman support tech who told me that using AES inputs bypassed the ADC circuits...but I'd take that with a grain of salt, he didn't seem extremely certain about that (or just had never been asked that before.)
Good luck!
 

Vit

New Member
Joined
Nov 26, 2020
Messages
3
Likes
2
My mistake: (Now I understand, use Venu360 only to drive a JBL subwoofer.
Since I can't handle Crossover on my PC (it's complicated for me), I should probably go for a SHD Studio or DDRC-88D.
Thank you very much for your quick response, I was already ready to order a Venu :)
 

Neddy

Addicted to Fun and Learning
Joined
Mar 22, 2019
Messages
754
Likes
1,019
Location
Wisconsin
Not quite; I'm using the Venu for bi-amping & crossovers for mains, and it can handle tri-amping as well. I just added the sub feature b/c I can.:)
The Okto8 DAC part - for stereo - is overkill in that case, however.
Best wishes, regardless!!
 

Deribas

Member
Joined
Dec 10, 2020
Messages
6
Likes
1
OKTO stopped taking orders for the 8-channel DAC. I wonder if it’s a temporary supply-chain problem or the End of story for this device.
 

waynel

Major Contributor
Forum Donor
Joined
Nov 14, 2019
Messages
1,035
Likes
1,288
OKTO stopped taking orders for the 8-channel DAC. I wonder if it’s a temporary supply-chain problem or the End of story for this device.
Stereo too. I think their backlog is too large and they need to catch up with production.
 

josh358

Senior Member
Joined
Jun 13, 2017
Messages
493
Likes
387
Stereo too. I think their backlog is too large and they need to catch up with production.
I wouldn't be surprised. Pavel has been very hard to reach. Then too, there's been a shortage of some electronics components.
 

John1959

Member
Joined
Mar 13, 2020
Messages
88
Likes
152
Location
Netherlands
OKTO stopped taking orders for the 8-channel DAC. I wonder if it’s a temporary supply-chain problem or the End of story for this device.
Well, it's not the first time they had to decide (temporary) not taking any new orders. I guess the supply chain has little to do with it, just demand far surpassing the production capacity (may be the very favourable recent Stereophile review has something to do with it). . I think this is the right thing to do. So not charging your CC and let you wait for a year or so or even longer. That would be unacceptable of course.
 

Snoozer

Member
Joined
Oct 16, 2019
Messages
22
Likes
11
Are there any owners of the DAC8 reading this thread ?

I get huge spikes between tracks when playing native DSD in Linux with different family rates, let's say playing one track in DSD128 and the next one in DSD128x48.

My setup: Ubuntu 20, Intel I9, RTX3070 ; player: HQplayer Embedded
Library management: Roon (on a different PC in my LAN)

Google says it seems to be a common design problem for dacs based on USB with XMOS. They way to solve it (according to Miska, developer of HQPlayer) is by muting the DAC 50ms at beginning of each track when playing DSD material. Pavel from OktoResearch says it might be a problem with my unit. Does anybody else have suffered from that ?
 

nhs

Active Member
Joined
Apr 16, 2021
Messages
145
Likes
78
Hi all,

I'm considering to order an okto dac8 pro for use with my Oppo BDP-105. But there is a basic question related to MCH SACD.
How can I feed the digital MCH SACD signal from the Oppo into the Okto?
Afaik the oppo 105 only puts the SACD signal to HDMI out.

Thx
 

Neddy

Addicted to Fun and Learning
Joined
Mar 22, 2019
Messages
754
Likes
1,019
Location
Wisconsin
The only direct way would be via an Oppo mod'ed for AES outputs, which are long since unavailable (there are some modders still offering these features, I see, but not cheap, and who knows how reliable?)
I eventually gave up on that and just bought a USB ADC (Motu 8Pre USB) that takes the 8 analog outputs and feeds them via USB to my source PC, and from there (via JRIver, in my case) out to the OktoDAC via USB.
Not elegant, but it works, gets me the Mch decoding I wanted for Blurays and streamed content, and doesn't cost an arm and leg!
Or, just bite the bullet and spring for an Oppo 205 ($$$$) and switch outputs between that and the Okto for Mch movies..performance of both is pretty much the same.
:):eek:
 

mdsimon2

Major Contributor
Forum Donor
Joined
Oct 20, 2020
Messages
2,478
Likes
3,315
Location
Detroit, MI
Hi all,

I'm considering to order an okto dac8 pro for use with my Oppo BDP-105. But there is a basic question related to MCH SACD.
How can I feed the digital MCH SACD signal from the Oppo into the Okto?
Afaik the oppo 105 only puts the SACD signal to HDMI out.

Thx

Per @Kal Rubinson post 191 in the thread linked below the Meridian HD621 or UHD722 will do this.

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/okto-8-owner’s-thread.13899/page-10

They seem to be reasonably priced on ebay.

Michael
 

nhs

Active Member
Joined
Apr 16, 2021
Messages
145
Likes
78
The only direct way would be via an Oppo mod'ed for AES outputs, which are long since unavailable (there are some modders still offering these features, I see, but not cheap, and who knows how reliable?)
I eventually gave up on that and just bought a USB ADC (Motu 8Pre USB) that takes the 8 analog outputs and feeds them via USB to my source PC, and from there (via JRIver, in my case) out to the OktoDAC via USB.
Not elegant, but it works, gets me the Mch decoding I wanted for Blurays and streamed content, and doesn't cost an arm and leg!
Or, just bite the bullet and spring for an Oppo 205 ($$$$) and switch outputs between that and the Okto for Mch movies..performance of both is pretty much the same.
:):eek:
Thank you @Neddy, I see it's not a trivial issue as I thought so far:(
 

Vincentponcet

Active Member
Forum Donor
Joined
Mar 13, 2020
Messages
248
Likes
106
The only direct way would be via an Oppo mod'ed for AES outputs, which are long since unavailable (there are some modders still offering these features, I see, but not cheap, and who knows how reliable?)
I eventually gave up on that and just bought a USB ADC (Motu 8Pre USB) that takes the 8 analog outputs and feeds them via USB to my source PC, and from there (via JRIver, in my case) out to the OktoDAC via USB.
Not elegant, but it works, gets me the Mch decoding I wanted for Blurays and streamed content, and doesn't cost an arm and leg!
Or, just bite the bullet and spring for an Oppo 205 ($$$$) and switch outputs between that and the Okto for Mch movies..performance of both is pretty much the same.
:):eek:

What is the point of doing DAC -> ADC -> DAC ?
You are applying a transformation in the middle like EQ or room correction ?
 
Top Bottom