VMV D1se2 Stereo DAC Review

[Stokdoof]

No hdmi arc, no trigger, no streaming ,no go

 

[RichB]

This DAC looks great. It gets a 3, due to lack of a trigger out that is not sensible on a DAC with volume control and a remote.

- Rich

 

[little-endian]

Very expensive for "just a DAC", even if it is a very well measuring one. I think other features like parametic EQ need to be added if you're gonna charge $700 for a DAC.

Although one could probably replicate many features with a notebook-foobar-plugins-combo and a cheap DAC as well, the RME DACs interestingly are way less under suspicion of being overpriced due to the EQ functions alone.

However, when it comes to their Pro models, one is set back quickly another 700-1000 bucks only for the ADC part as well, although it also is "just an ADC" in this case.

I am playing the devil's advocate here as I think other features than only (mostly equal) sound quality may justify surcharges.

 

[Trell]

Although one could probably replicate many features with a notebook-foobar-plugins-combo and a cheap DAC as well, the RME DACs interestingly are way less under suspicion of being overpriced due to the EQ functions alone.

It's not just the PEQ as there are a ton of other features (including a powerful headphone amp) as well that the RME ADI-2 DAC FS has, along with an excellent manual and very long time support. I do own the RME ADI-2 DAC FS but it won't sound any different than the reviewed VMV D1se2 Stereo DAC if DSP is disabled on the RME.

 

[ThatGuyYouKnow]

This DAC looks great. It gets a 3, due to lack of a trigger out that is not sensible on a DAC with volume control and a remote.

- Rich

Agreed. All DACs at this price should have a trigger in and out.

 

[BlackTalon]

So they call it "musical origami"

That's just SMSL regurgitating MQA's description.

 

[little-endian]

Definitely. The fact alone that one can manually enable the de-emphasis circuit for pre-emphasised sources (granted, a special use case nowadays) shows, how much further RME thinks. I am not aware of any other DAC which allows this.

Topping on the other hand, not only ignores pre-emphasis flags, but also repeated emails about this issue from (potential) customers.

 

[Koeitje]

Apologies if you've explained this chart elsewhere but why does a SINAD vs volume control position chart have an X-axis with time as its unit?

Because he changes the volume while measuring SINAD.

 

[little-endian]

But wouldn't the volume position as a unit then make more sense? After all, each gain setting itself should be quite constant over time SINAD-wise.

 

[Ken Tajalli]

Isn’t about adding a (super clean!) HPA to the D1se2 and using its output to drive an amp output stage?

I didn't understand, so I didn't reply.
help me.

 

[Jas0_0]

No DSP? Next!

 

[shuppatsu]

But wouldn't the volume position as a unit then make more sense? After all, each gain setting itself should be quite constant over time SINAD-wise.

That would likely be a lot more work for little benefit. I’m guessing here, but the AP analyzer doesn’t know the volume position. So you’d have to enter everything into a spreadsheet. But the analyzer can tell you to steadily increase the volume while keeping track of the time. Any red flags will still be apparent.

 

[Solveit]

Is it realy a market for another DAC like this?
Boring.

 

[little-endian]

Well, if they keep bumping up the supported sample rates, leaving cats, dolphins and bats behind, audio DACs could become interesting again, at some point theoretically becoming suitable for outputting analog video (we're now at 768 kHz, so lets see when we arrive at the norm 13.5 MHz sample rate for standard definition).

What we lost in audibility, we gain in visibility.

 

[Ajax]

I voted fine as I see no need for SMSL to continue adding more of the same to their range of DACs. Having said that SMSL and Topping have provided a great service by exposing the audio jewellery market and driing down prices.

There are products such as the Minidsp Flex that not only offer similar transparency, but with digital crossover and room compensation, all for less money ($550).

My next system (project) will be the Flex 8 ($600) combined with a 4 channel Buckeye Hypex NC252 amplifier ($925) driving a pair of Linkwitz LXminis ($800) plus a pair of second hand SVS SB2000 active subs ($1,200).

SOTA sound at recreational listening levels (80-85db) for $3.5k.

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Buckeye Amps

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Life's good if you are an audiophile / music lover

 

[Chilli]

I'll be honest, I've had a lot of good digital converters over the past 20 years. I now have new DAC with ES9039Pro, and it's the best DAC chip I've heard so far, its audio performance is so good that it outshines the older multibit chip or even modern R2R DACs.
I would be very happy if there were more different devices with the new Hyperstream IV series from ESS.

Which dac did you buy?

 

[pseudoid]

Thanks @amirm,
That must have been the least wordiest of any of your reviews.
Like a WYSIWYG.
Or like a MoVFWD (Man of Very Few Words Department, which was a Letters-to-Editor award)

 

[shuppatsu]

Where should we go from here? What's left in DAC improvements, facilities aside?

We could have a DAC/ADC with a programmable DSP. Then we could try to make it Turing-complete using the audio output as state and looping it back through the ADC. Then use it to solve Advent of Code challenges.

Esoteric and pointless you say? That’s why I’ll slap an Audioquest badge on it and charge an extra $3K for it.

 

[MaxBuck]

Really great filter attenuation. But the feature set doesn't seem to offer any real reason to spend this much.

 

[Sir Sanders Zingmore]

That would likely be a lot more work for little benefit. I’m guessing here, but the AP analyzer doesn’t know the volume position. So you’d have to enter everything into a spreadsheet. But the analyzer can tell you to steadily increase the volume while keeping track of the time. Any red flags will still be apparent.

The output voltage is measured and is a good proxy for volume position. It might be clearer to plot SINAD vs output voltage.