Review and Measurements of WesionTEK Khadas Tone Board DAC

[Nango]

What is the reason for such an item in front of an Earmen Sparror dongle or similar pls? KTB 2 is senseless to me.

 

[W1ll1eTheP1mp]

What is the reason for such an item in front of an Earmen Sparror dongle or similar pls? KTB 2 is senseless to me.

Well, its not a must, but its nice to have DSD512 instead of DSD128 as of Earmen when using Roon. KTB 2 has volume control also. Im not gonna use it with a phone. I got LG V40.

 

[Nango]

There are other dongles with volumen control See Tempotec HD or MU3 https://m.es.aliexpress.com/item/1005001769753892.html and Lotoo Paw S1 or MU2 MK2. Their Power consumption is around 30-45mA so it won't drain your battery in 1-2 hours.

 

[PoorishDecision]

what're the benefits from upgrading the firmware on the tb1? i only play 44.1khz flac and .wav files via fb2k wasapi, is there any point in bothering?

 

[alashikata]

1. No benefit, however you can keep up with the new driver if there is one. If it works, then don't touch until it fails on new pc/lt, windows or something.
2. Benefit: to play files with higher khz and stable with SACD ISO.

 

[mihvas]

Please help. I have Optical and HDMI-Arc output TV. And this board with Coaxial input.
What is better adapter (less jitter, less delay) - Arc/HDMI to Coaxial or Optical SPDIF to Coaxial?
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000083327774.html
or aliexpress.com/item/4001200782198.html

 

[kchap]

It's typical of some of the ESS9038Q2M filters, most noticeably the Apodizing one. SBAF has a highly zoomed comparison, VS the Matrix ESS9038Pro

Khadas TB Frequency Response y-axis highly zoomed

Matrix XSP Frequency Response y-axis highly zoomed

We're talking in the range of 0.1db movements though. I don't think this is an audible phenomenon, not really.

I have just placed an order for the tone board. Is the filter user selectable? I get the impression it is not.

 

[Veri]

I have just placed an order for the tone board. Is the filter user selectable? I get the impression it is not.

Nope. But it is not really an audible issue. If you are concerned use 88/96kHz sampling rate and you get a flat line.

 

[kchap]

Nope. But it is not really an audible issue. If you are concerned use 88/96kHz sampling rate and you get a flat line.

Thanks for the confirmation. I thought it was the case that that the filter was fixed so I'm not concerned.

 

[Theriverlethe]

Did they ever bother to fix the resume-from-standby bug?

 

[schmalgausen]

Is the Tone Board still actual? I use Objective DAC many years and not sure if it will be audible upgrade.

 

[phoenixsong]

Is the Tone Board still actual? I use Objective DAC many years and not sure if it will be audible upgrade.

I think there is a version 2 now which has been reviewed here as well

 

[schmalgausen]

But they use the same DAC chip and I don't want such a simple amplifier.

 

[phoenixsong]

But they use the same DAC chip and I don't want such a simple amplifier.

*Edit: Audibility differs from one person to the next. There are better measuring standalone DACs now though

 

[schmalgausen]

I found tone1 by accident and I'm not sure if it is the best at the moment because I am not a big fan to research all the news.

 

[phoenixsong]

I found tone1 by accident and I'm not sure if it is the best at the moment because I am not a big fan to research all the news.

It is quite far from the best, but whether you will hear any difference is dependent on its own set of factors

 

[schmalgausen]

Any alternatives in the same price range?

 

[phoenixsong]

Any alternatives in the same price range?

Topping and JDS's most recent budget DACs are popular options if you care not for ADC or streaming features

 

[dsnyder0cnn]

I found tone1 by accident and I'm not sure if it is the best at the moment because I am not a big fan to research all the news.

I have the Tone1. It sounds pretty good. Uses the Apodizing filter in the ESS DAC (not changeable). Here's the frequency and step response that I've measured (1 dB scale, so variations are not audible):

Some pre-ringing, but not horrible for a $99 (now $79) DAC. The Tone2 Pro has selectable filters, some of which have significantly better time-domain response. (I'll look around to see if I can find my test results. If so, I'll edit this post.)

As others have suggested, the Tone1 is far from the best these days for DACs under $200.

Note: The Topping D30 Pro really should not be on this list as it's $399. I guess it's just missing price information in this database.

The Tone2 Pro is in fact, by a fair margin, the best Amir has measured under $200. This is due, in part, to the availability of the novel balanced RCA outputs (balanced outputs are uncommon in DACs under $200). However, using them requires an additional expense of $49 - $79 for balanced RCA to XLR cables (I have both lengths…nicely built and worth the cost, IMHO).

I find the internal headphone amp to be adequate but not great (better, if you use the I2S input for power). What is great is the sound of the Tone2 Pro via balanced connection into a suitable external amp or preamp. I find that the HYBRID FAST filter has the best sound. Although you can buy the Tone1 + case + suitable interconnects for under $125, if you have a resolving system downstream, I think you'll find that the Tone2 Pro + balanced RCA cables ($250) is at least twice as nice.

 

[kchap]

I also have a tone 1 DAC. I would have preferred a linear phase sharp cutoff filter but I doubt I can hear the difference. The DAC is powered via the USB cable so I get a large pop in my speakers when the streamer is switched on and again when it is switched off. I'm looking into solutions for that issue but apart from that issue I'm happy.