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The new Khadas Tone Board looks amazing (with balanced output)

AzureZH

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ded616f03002eef53bd8cc93517b638b05556a46.jpeg


Khadas staff Gouwa posted a picture of the all-new upcoming Khadas Tone Board yesterday.
https://forum.khadas.com/t/balanced-output/3312/22

It looks amazing, can't wait to buy it!
 

THW

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for me I think the case looks garish, too much of an “edgy” and “gamer” aesthetic.

i prefer simpler, neater and cleaner designs myself.

but balanced KTB though, that could be useful for someone wanting balanced out for their DAC
 
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AzureZH

AzureZH

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for me I think the case looks garish, too much of an “edgy” and “gamer” aesthetic.

i prefer simpler, neater and cleaner designs myself.

but balanced KTB though, that could be useful for someone wanting balanced out for their DAC

I think the case maybe optional. there should be bare board for sale.
 

THW

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I think the case maybe optional. there should be bare board for sale.

I do hope bare board is available, that case looks horrid to me
 

daftcombo

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Looks pretty. No worse than a totaldac.

Is that a volume knob we see? Digital volume control?

ESS hump still there or not?
 

daftcombo

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tbh the TotalCrap doesn’t set a particularly high bar when it comes to aesthetics :p
I thought its aesthetics was the main appeal to totaldac customers, since it can't be sound quality.
 

THW

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I thought its aesthetics was the main appeal to totaldac customers, since it can't be sound quality.

they could also be buying into the R2R and NOS meme.

plus based on the review in this site, it honestly doesn’t look great.
 

daftcombo

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they could also be buying into the R2R and NOS meme.

plus based on the review in this site, it honestly doesn’t look great.

I was kidding, the look is a disaster indeed.

We should start a thread with DAC aesthetics-only reviews though.
 

maxxevv

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Unless those are mini-XLR3, else that sure doesn't look like balanced outputs. ( As it appears to a render rather than an actual photo)

Unless of course by "balanced" they mean dual-mono amplification outputting via RCA? Which really isn't necessary as a DAC provides no tangible advantages in doing that.

Edit:

Come to think of it, why hasn't any DAC manufacturer considered using mini-XLR3 as output for their output to keep a slimmer form factor (if they are using external power transformers)?

@tomchr , ever considered that for your amps or DAC's ??
 
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Tatteredmidnight

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Unless those are mini-XLR3, else that sure doesn't look like balanced outputs. ( As it appears to a render rather than an actual photo)

Unless of course by "balanced" they mean dual-mono amplification outputting via RCA? Which really isn't necessary as a DAC provides no tangible advantages in doing that.

Edit:

Come to think of it, why hasn't any DAC manufacturer considered using mini-XLR3 as output for their output to keep a slimmer form factor (if they are using external power transformers)?

@tomchr , ever considered that for your amps or DAC's ??
Maybe because mini-XLR3 is a bear to hand terminate and there are very few cheap, pre-made cables available. I know this from making replacement cables for my AKG K240s
 

Azeia

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Why not balanced TRS? This is already pretty common on a lot of gear out there. Requires more depth but less space on the rear panel.
 

Azeia

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Less is more. I don't like this one.
Yeah, the case design is terrible. But it wouldn't be the "khadas tone board" if there wasn't an actual board option, with other cases available. =p
 

Tatteredmidnight

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Man, Khadas has it rough. First round they release a bare board and this community has a full on case-gate meltdown regarding @March Audio, threads are started on DIY and 3D printed solutions, etc. Now they show V2 with a case and integrated volume control and it’s too ugly, doesn’t have the right connectors, etc.

Really makes you appreciate their willingness to put in the effort to do these designs for such a low volume (pun intended), presumably low margin product, at such a high performance level.
 

FrantzM

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At the price of the original , one can have a jewel encrusted Gold Case and still be better off the other (total) widely discussed DAC in ASR. This case looks cheap and tacky... This observation wasn't from a blind test :D
 

Azeia

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Man, Khadas has it rough. First round they release a bare board and this community has a full on case-gate meltdown regarding @March Audio, threads are started on DIY and 3D printed solutions, etc. Now they show V2 with a case and integrated volume control and it’s too ugly, doesn’t have the right connectors, etc.
I wasn't around when the first version came out, but I never cared about it not having a case, and not sure why anyone else would mind either; more options of third-party cases. I'd have probably bought an Atom if I could've swapped the case with a metal one, but as far as I know there's no aftermarket cases for that. So I generally don't mind the bare board solutions.

As for expressing sympathy for them regarding getting complaints from people either way, I mean I would think anyone with a bit of experience in product dev & design could've seen a problem with this chassis. For one thing, it makes stacking with other hardware difficult unless you put it on the top of the stack, and does not fit the usual design aesthetic that high quality audio products will have which most of their consumers would expect.

I can appreciate the effort that a small business puts into a product, and how difficult that can be, but at the same time i don't think it's fair to just dismiss any consumer concerns out of hand and classify them all as just irrational and selfish. Some people make reasonable points, others don't. They're running a business, and that means they need to know how to filter the reasonable critique from the unreasonable, and listen to the former if they want to improve their offerings.
 

Tatteredmidnight

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I wasn't around when the first version came out, but I never cared about it not having a case, and not sure why anyone else would mind either; more options of third-party cases. I'd have probably bought an Atom if I could've swapped the case with a metal one, but as far as I know there's no aftermarket cases for that. So I generally don't mind the bare board solutions.

As for expressing sympathy for them regarding getting complaints from people either way, I mean I would think anyone with a bit of experience in product dev & design could've seen a problem with this chassis. For one thing, it makes stacking with other hardware difficult unless you put it on the top of the stack, and does not fit the usual design aesthetic that high quality audio products will have which most of their consumers would expect.

I can appreciate the effort that a small business puts into a product, and how difficult that can be, but at the same time i don't think it's fair to just dismiss any consumer concerns out of hand and classify them all as just irrational and selfish. Some people make reasonable points, others don't. They're running a business, and that means they need to know how to filter the reasonable critique from the unreasonable, and listen to the former if they want to improve their offerings.
I think you are mischaracterizing my comments. I am not saying people’s criticism is irrational, rather highlighting the impossibility of the position Khadas are in due to their own excellent execution. I think it’s also worth mentioning that they are not primarily an audio company, but actually a SBC (single board computer) supplier. The original board was released as an extension of the ecosystem for their VIM product line.

I appreciate where you are coming from, and hopefully they will continue to offer a bare board solution, but I don’t share your position. I don’t particularly want to spend the time or energy mucking with third party cases. There are a glut of options for high performance, low cost audio gear right now. We are truly in a unique and exceptional time for this, and throwing shade at the companies disrupting established, lower performance offerings will eventually discourage new entries into this space. I appreciate the option to choose the solutions that most appeal to me personally.
 
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