Review and Measurements of WesionTEK Khadas Tone Board DAC

[gvl]

Highly unlikely, the board delivers almost SOTA performance from a normal USB port as is. It may help in a pathological case, but you'd need to check with your particular PC - there is no generic answer.

 

[willow]

Hello,

Please correct me if I am mistaken, but I believe you are a representative of Khadas? If not, please ignore this question.

But if so, have you considered producing a version of this DAC that is a Raspberry Pi [RPi] HAT? If it can take input from the RPi as well as maintain s/pdif input it has now that would be ideal.

Hello, thank you for your question. Yes, I am a representative of Khadas. But we still dont have the plan to producing the vesion of this DAC to the Raspberry Pi as we have our own SBC call Khadas VIMs, which have the better specification. But Tone board can be supported the S/PDIF input with the Ras Pi. If you want to have the S/PDIF in and out, please use our SBCs. Thank you.

 

[Cidious]

Highly unlikely, the board delivers almost SOTA performance from a normal USB port as is. It may help in a pathological case, but you'd need to check with your particular PC - there is no generic answer.

Well I'm already using an USB purifier for signal and power between the lines. And a good USB cable. The purifier sticks straight into the laptop. I might change it to the hub with its own supply. And all the AC comes from Weiduka outlets which are filtered. It's not best case scenario but definitely not worst case.

So I guess the improvement will be minimal against the money investment being about 80% of the DAC itself.

Thanks for the response. I'll run it just from USB power first and see how it performs compared to my AK4493 devices and older ES9018. I LOVE the minimalistic design.

 

[Veri]

I LOVE the minimalistic design.

Indeed. Good job, Khadas

 

[ngs428]

Anyone have any idea when the Tone Boards ordered during the Chinese New Year will ship?

If I am not mistaken, they are simply on preorder now. Is that because of the new year or are they literally out of stock?

 

[alashikata]

I got mine on ebay that shipped from HK which took 2 weeks to arrive in US.

 

[maxxevv]

I ordered mine 35 days ago. It still hasn't left China according to postal tracking !!!

 

[m8o]

Hello, thank you for your question. Yes, I am a representative of Khadas. But we still dont have the plan to producing the vesion of this DAC to the Raspberry Pi as we have our own SBC call Khadas VIMs, which have the better specification. But Tone board can be supported the S/PDIF input with the Ras Pi. If you want to have the S/PDIF in and out, please use our SBCs. Thank you.

Thank you very much!

Indeed, I am thinking about how I can mount this ontop of a DigiOne but connected by S/PDIF not the pins. Thank you again for the reply.

 

[Roen]

Will arrive on Thursday!

 

[Roen]

About the screen printing inversion, simply swap the front and back panels.
In this case, the card can not be attached to the bottom panel without drilling new holes.
But that's not a big problem because the main fixture are the RCA connectors.

About the led hole, it was made to add a 2mm round led soldered on the PCB.
But you are right, it's easier to use the onboard one by drilling a hole in front of it.
And we should have illustrated it in the manual.

When will the next batch be available?

 

[Cidious]

Before spring festival they were out of stock. I talked directly to the factory then. And during spring festival not much happened. No shipping company is open at that time. Now they are in stock again. Everyone should receive them soon.

 

[caguilar91]

About the screen printing inversion, simply swap the front and back panels.
In this case, the card can not be attached to the bottom panel without drilling new holes.
But that's not a big problem because the main fixture are the RCA connectors.

About the led hole, it was made to add a 2mm round led soldered on the PCB.
But you are right, it's easier to use the onboard one by drilling a hole in front of it.
And we should have illustrated it in the manual.

Would like to know if for the next batch the LED opening will be for the onboard LED or it will keep the same?
Also, I wonder why it's marked DC IN if in reality it's Data+Power Input, so why not USB-C IN instead?

 

[Reyer]

Anyone knowledgeable is able to compare it to the first Xonar STX? Should I expect huge, big or "just" a noticeable difference? (Pardon the heresy)

 

[Cidious]

Received my Khadas and I'm just going to spit it out.

Any burn in difference registered with any of you guys? Because to me it doesn't sound that great. My old ES9018 beats it and the DX3 Pro too. Don't know what the fuzz is about.

Yes the DAC apparently measures good but doesn't sound very good to my ears... Yes it has detail, thick ( a bit overbloated bass) and in your face sound but lacking refinement and almost no sound stage present. Sounds a bit colored too. a bit anxious. After a while of listening I need to turn the volume down because I start feeling annoyed with something. The voices sound a bit like in a swimming pool too (the coloration).

Maybe I overexpected seeing it's measurements. Maybe those measurements don't translate very well into listening experience.

Maybe it's flavor and taste coming into play here but I compared it to my unmodified DX3 Pro and that unit is just a way better in many areas. More musically pleasing package, more natural voices. More sophisticated. And with a case, bluetooth, display, remote control and optical in. At twice the price though. But still dirt cheap.

I'll give it a few days of running.. see if any burn-in will change anything.

 

[maxxevv]

Are you listening to it direct or is it plugged into and output from a headphone amp ?

You never mention the component chain you are using it with.

 

[NTomokawa]

I'll give it a few days of running.. see if any burn-in will change anything.

Spoilers: it won't, because there is no such thing as "burn-in" on electronics like this.

Offset voltages and bias currents settle within seconds. Capacitors "form" within seconds. Even with ancient tube-based electronics, all that was needed was a little bit of tube warming.

Any differences that you may notice is merely your brain adapting to the new sound.

 

[willow]

Anyone have any idea when the Tone Boards ordered during the Chinese New Year will ship?

If I am not mistaken, they are simply on preorder now. Is that because of the new year or are they literally out of stock?

hello, I am sorr for your long waiting for the 15 days Chinese new year holiday. and the post office has stoped to arrange the shipment in 20 days. Now everything is on runing. we are ready to ship out the paid packages.

 

[maxxevv]

hello, I am sorr for your long waiting for the 15 days Chinese new year holiday. and the post office has stoped to arrange the shipment in 20 days. Now everything is on runing. we are ready to ship out the paid packages.

Mine were ordered first week of January and I still don't have it !

 

[ngs428]

hello, I am sorr for your long waiting for the 15 days Chinese new year holiday. and the post office has stoped to arrange the shipment in 20 days. Now everything is on runing. we are ready to ship out the paid packages.

Good! Will Khadas send an email to me when it ships?

 

[Cidious]

Are you listening to it direct or is it plugged into and output from a headphone amp ?

You never mention the component chain you are using it with.

Sorry for that

Laptop -- powered usb hub - USB signal and power purifier - DAC - QMS Q5 active speakers.

So yes directly from DAC into active speakers. Just like I test all my DACs. If I use headphones i'd use the Lehmann in this case. Haven't tried headphones yet. It's time for my afternoon nap. I became thirty recently. I can feel I'm getting older.