Find me a new DAC!

OK. Collected brains.

I've had my Young DAC for too long to remember. What would you replace it with? Not a turntable!

Comments

  • This is the new one I bought recently.
    Sounds pretty decent to me.
    i see they’ve added a “make an offer” button now too, so you might get it for <£300 (Sold for around £800 when released.).
    https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F253385760055

  • Hmm. I'll take a look.

    I was wondering about some Schiit https://schiit.eu.com/dacs.
  • Looks like a very interesting range. :-)
  • Yeah. I've had an eye on them for a while. Not an ear :-(
  • Chord Qutest-seriously!
  • edited March 2019
    Thanks for that. I had seen the reviews, but I was hoping to spend this side of a grand. Maybe I'll wait until they start filtering though into the secondhand market.
  • edited March 2019
    I only have DIY DACs, built some ago. One I have already posted up on here, it was a combined USB and Coax jobby, the USB side was an Amanero feeding a Curryman and the Coax/optical was a super enhanced (forum group effort) Silicon Chip design.
    Lots and lots of super dooper (pooper scooper) linear power supplies with ripple reduction and decent regulation replacing all the standard stuff.
    I have just dug my other unit out of a box to use with a nice new lappy. This one is a combined DAC and headphone amplifier, Amanero again feeding a very basic Sabre based DAC. The secret to its success is again totally OTT PSU and careful regulation. Plus another Silicon Chip design headphone amp also heavily enhanced.
    I've had no reason to spend hard earned on a commercial version but have to say at current pricing the Asus Xonar Essence One Muses Edition looks a very attractive purchase if you are DACless.

    The Young has an excellent reputation and swathes of tweakery on the specialist forums. Maybe look into improving the power supply side of things, always a big bang for the buck if you can do some basics with a soldering 'wand".
    I think you will only gain a different flavour on the replace-with-another route.




    Hope the pics show, not having much luck with imgur recently and the image button here wouldn't let me paste link data in.









  • uglymusic said:
    Thanks for that. I had seen the reviews, but I was hoping to spend this side of a grand. Maybe I'll wait until they start filer though into the secondhand market.
    The Audiolab m dac is more affordable and still has balanced,rca and toslink outputs, and no switching power supply silliness.
  • edited March 2019
    phorize said:
    uglymusic said:
    Thanks for that. I had seen the reviews, but I was hoping to spend this side of a grand. Maybe I'll wait until they start filer though into the secondhand market.
    The Audiolab m dac is more affordable and still has balanced,rca and toslink outputs, and no switching power supply silliness.
    Thanks, but I don't really like the m-dac!
  • cj66 said:
    I only have DIY DACs, built some ago. One I have already posted up on here, it was a combined USB and Coax jobby, the USB side was an Amanero feeding a Curryman and the Coax/optical was a super enhanced (forum group effort) Silicon Chip design.
    Lots and lots of super dooper (pooper scooper) linear power supplies with ripple reduction and decent regulation replacing all the standard stuff.
    I have just dug my other unit out of a box to use with a nice new lappy. This one is a combined DAC and headphone amplifier, Amanero again feeding a very basic Sabre based DAC. The secret to its success is again totally OTT PSU and careful regulation. Plus another Silicon Chip design headphone amp also heavily enhanced.
    I've had no reason to spend hard earned on a commercial version but have to say at current pricing the Asus Xonar Essence One Muses Edition looks a very attractive purchase if you are DACless.

    The Young has an excellent reputation and swathes of tweakery on the specialist forums. Maybe look into improving the power supply side of things, always a big bang for the buck if you can do some basics with a soldering 'wand".
    I think you will only gain a different flavour on the replace-with-another route.




    Hope the pics show, not having much luck with imgur recently and the image button here wouldn't let me paste link data in.









    Mine does have a SuperTeddyReg PSU, which a while back was the dog's wotsits in the lug 'oles of many. It certainly made a lot of difference to mine.

    I have heard of people changing components in the Young, but that's way beyond my abilities (I had the PSU built for me). But, I'm intrigued, what are people doing to the Young? 

  • There is much capacitor swapping but more interesting is breaking out the regulator sections for the various low voltage rails for the main chips, oscillator etc.
    Then making a suitable higher quality regulator circuit and plumbing it in locally for each regulator isolated. This is beneficial for many multi low voltage devices and DACs are no exception.








  • Any links? Which forums?

    Otherwise, I shall have a conversation with Mr Google.
  • Diyaudio for recap.....trying to find regulator links...
  • Fab. Thanks for that Chris.
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