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Review and Measurements of the Leaf Audio DSD1796DAC

WolfX-700

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Last Wednesday, forum member @Zek asked me if I could measure Leaf Audio DSD1796 DAC.Because he was very curious about the DSD1796 chip.

This is a cheap unit. So for this friend's curiosity ... I bought one.

Photo.jpg


Helping others is also redeeming yourself.


Here is the time for the 555 and Leaf DSD1796 joint show

Designer claims THD + N is 0.008%
Dashboard.jpg



-20dbFS

This is much better, so I suspect the problem comes from a USB-powered design with a single 5V power supply

D.jpg



D-R
Dynamic-Range---AES17.jpg


Linearity-(-20.jpg


THD-Ratio
THD+N-Ratio-vs-Measured-Level.jpg


THD+N Ratio.jpg



IMD-SMP
SMPTE-Ratio.jpg


Multitone.jpg



And Headphone Amplifier:

I use a 50R resistor as the load

Power.jpg



This is a simple review and measurement.
Overall, I think the performance of this unit is average.
But taking into account (I bought) the price and features. I think C / P is high.
 
Last edited:

Zek

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Thank you @WolfX-700 :)
Is the measured device a standard model or a tweaked one?
 
OP
WolfX-700

WolfX-700

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Thank you @WolfX-700 :)
Is the measured device a standard model or a tweaked one?

Standard model

I have the same OPAMP as the tweaked one, I also tried to replace it and did a quick measurement-basically no change
 

pma

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Clipping looks different, like crossover distortion. The profile for 0dBFS is analog output stage distortion.
 

Zek

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I tried to explore what the difference was - replacing some capacitors and op-amps I think.
 
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WolfX-700

WolfX-700

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I tried to explore what the difference was - replacing some capacitors and op-amps I think.

I asked the developer, tweaked one just changed OPAMP from 4580D to 49720NA
 

JohnYang1997

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emmm. The performance is pretty bad regardless of price. Is it better than apple dongle? And meizu dongle?
 

Zek

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I asked the developer, tweaked one just changed OPAMP from 4580D to 49720NA
I compared the inside images of Leaf Audio and Douk Audio and found differences in 12 capacitors and 3 op-amps.
You measured Douk Audio and not Leaf Audio - is there any difference between the two.
Douk Audio.jpgLeaf Audio.jpg
 
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HammerSandwich

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That's useless. The DC interface is also a 5V design ...
Could there be a boost converter that can use more input current? I can't imagine including the extra port & switch if they do nothing.

EDIT: And now I've seen @Zek's pictures...
 
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WolfX-700

WolfX-700

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I compared the inside images of Leaf Audio and Douk Audio and found differences in 12 capacitors and 3 op-amps.
You measured Douk Audio and not Leaf Audio - is there any difference between the two.
View attachment 41041View attachment 41042

Aha, you pay great attention to details

However, this is only the difference between production batches ...

leaf.jpg
 

bunkbail

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emmm. The performance is pretty bad regardless of price. Is it better than apple dongle? And meizu dongle?
Depends on the power of the headphone out, I guess.
 
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