Review and Measurements of WesionTEK Khadas Tone Board DAC

[bunkbail]

Damn. I still can't wrap my head around the fact that this $99 DAC is performing this good and yet the designer provides the schematics on the net, FOR FREE?! When was the last time something like this happened in audio industry? The ol' ODAC days?

 

[Veri]

Damn. I still can't wrap my head around the fact that this $99 DAC is performing this good and yet the designer provides the schematics on the net, FOR FREE?! When was the last time something like this happened in audio industry? The ol' ODAC days?

I guess we finally know what nvawguy ended up doing
Spoiler: he's not amir

 

[bunkbail]

I guess we finally know what nvawguy ended up doing
Spoiler: he's not amir

LOL.

But seriously though, how do they recoup the money for R&D (assuming that they own the APx555 unit) and still provide the schematics while selling well-engineered products for very little money in this niche market?

 

[derp1n]

I guess we finally know what nvawguy ended up doing
Spoiler: he's not amir

I guess we finally know what nvawguy ended up doing
Spoiler: he's not amir

WAIT WHAT IF IT'S TRUE???

 

[Veri]

 

[willow]

willow, is this DAC completely pop-free on turnon/turnoff and spdif sync/unsync ?

when using alone Tone Board, it can be SPDIF in to ESS DAC
when using the Tone board with VIMs, it can be SPDIF in to VIMs or VIMs SPDIF out to ESS DAC.
check the below picture:

 

[willow]

I think the cases they're selling are only compatible for their SBC lineups and the DAC board don't fit in them. Shame coz they all look sexy.

here is a picture which use along with Khadas Tone board and Khadas VIMs along with DIY case. check this link

 

[bunkbail]

here is a picture which use along with Khadas Tone board and Khadas VIMs along with DIY case. check this link
View attachment 16365

Nice, can it be used without the SBC?

 

[willow]

Nice, can it be used without the SBC?

sure, we have two versions of Tone board, it can be used alone or used along with SBC.
but when using alone, it can't support SPDIF out.

 

[bunkbail]

sure, we have two versions of Tone board, it can be used alone or used along with SBC.
but when using alone, it can't support SPDIF out.

No I mean can the DIY case be used with Tone board alone?

 

[willow]

No I mean can the DIY case be used with Tone board alone?

I am sorry the case is not for Tone board.

 

[pos]

when using alone Tone Board, it can be SPDIF in to ESS DAC
when using the Tone board with VIMs, it can be SPDIF in to VIMs or VIMs SPDIF out to ESS DAC.

My question was about pops/noises/clicks/thumps that can occur on the analog outputs when a DAC is turned on or off, or when it get or looses spdif synchronization (sampling frequency change, etc.).
Does your DAC emit such clicks or is it completely silent in all those instances?

 

[Krunok]

No I mean can the DIY case be used with Tone board alone?

You can probably fit it in this case: https://www.audiophonics.fr/en/galaxy-galaxy-3mm/hifi-boitier-galaxy-gx147-40x124x170-p-1117.html

 

[Red_Red]

Hello,

As others have asked, could you please also test the SPDIF entry (in entry mode)?

Too bad they do not seem to have planned direct link USB to SPDIF (in output mode) in stand alone use...

And as I am new to this forum, I greet everyone sympathetically.

 

[Krunok]

Hello,

As others have asked, could you please also test the SPDIF entry (in entry mode)?

Too bad they do not seem to have planned direct link USB to SPDIF (in output mode) in stand alone use...

And as I am new to this forum, I greet everyone sympathetically.

If you're looking for a cheap but good USB to SPDIF converter (called also a "USB bridge") take a look at Topping D10.

 

[Red_Red]

If you're looking for a cheap but good USB to SPDIF converter (called also a "USB bridge") take a look at Topping D10.

Thank you even I had already thought about the Topping D10.
That said, the test conducted by our host, was not particularly extensive if not compare the influence of the D10 on the response of the RME ADI-2 DAC or shiit modi 2 ... I would have preferred a direct signal analysis at the Topping D10 SPDIF output.

 

[eugenius]

How do you switch input from USB to SPDIF on the generic version?

 

[TimW]

Can't wait to see the review and measurements of this DAC on the Khadas SBC. I think this is the one that would be used with the DAC, I found it for sale here with an interesting video:
https://www.gearbest.com/tv-box-min...0sej5XwmfEtdpbExC29Ta9-qiQtWRmGAaAj8NEALw_wcB
From what I can tell it comes with Android 7.1 installed. Can anyone tell me what music player software could be used with this device?

 

[amirm]

Here is the S/PDIF input performance. You activate it by just hooking up a USB power supply to USB port. I used the little switcher Wesion sent me.

With USB input, Channel 2 had some spikes around 10 kHz which are now gone, resulting in nearly 2 dB improvement.

 

[Dominique-T]

I could not find if this DAC is USB-OTG compatible...