spaceman Posted April 6, 2019 Share Posted April 6, 2019 Hi I am looking to buy an ESS Sabre DAC that has the following: 1) USB Powered 2) Is based on the ES9018 chip (and not ES9023 chip) 3) Has 2xRCA outputs, and not just a 3.5mm headphone jack output since it's going to be connected to amplifier speakers (Yamaha HS7) Can anyone please recommend a product? Thank you very much Link to comment
franz159 Posted April 6, 2019 Share Posted April 6, 2019 I'm not really understanding why you are specifically searching for a "ES9018" chip... Otherwise, my recommendation would the 99$ Khadas Tone Board https://www.khadas.com/tone It measures as DACs costing multiple time its cost, as you can see here. Unfortunately, it uses the much newer ES9038Q2M chip and not the older 9018. It is USB powered and it does have 2 RCA outputs. And the sound is clear, detailed and airy, with an unbelievable sense of rhythm. It decodes all PCM resolutions up to 384 Khz and DSD up to DSD256, no MQA. Link to comment
spaceman Posted April 6, 2019 Author Share Posted April 6, 2019 Hi franz159 Thank you very much for the recommendation. I mentioned ES9018, vs ES9023, because I am not interested in the ES9023 chip.. The newer ESS chips are OK too, as long as it's not ES9023. Will check it now.. Link to comment
franz159 Posted April 6, 2019 Share Posted April 6, 2019 3 minutes ago, spaceman said: Hi franz159 Thank you very much for the recommendation. I mentioned ES9018, vs ES9023, because I am not interested in the ES9023 chip.. The newer ESS chips are OK too, as long as it's not ES9023. Will check it now.. If you go for it, please report your impression. I was much pleasantly surprised by its sound. Link to comment
spaceman Posted April 6, 2019 Author Share Posted April 6, 2019 Sure. Do you have it at home? Or heard it some place else? Link to comment
franz159 Posted April 6, 2019 Share Posted April 6, 2019 I have had it for about a month and I'm very happy about the results I'm getting. I do not have uber expensive stuff, but I tend to talk and recommend only stuff that I have owned or at least used. It remains my very subjective opinion...but in this case, somebody also took some measures as I mentioned Link to comment
spaceman Posted April 6, 2019 Author Share Posted April 6, 2019 1 hour ago, franz159 said: I have had it for about a month and I'm very happy about the results I'm getting. Nice. I am curious to ask, If I may, why only 1 month, why didn't you stay with it for good? Link to comment
franz159 Posted April 6, 2019 Share Posted April 6, 2019 2 minutes ago, spaceman said: Nice. I am curious to ask, If I may, why only 1 month, why didn't you stay with it for good? My bad explanation.. I still have it and using it almost daily. it is my travel companion used with a raspberry pi running Moode Audio, which I bring with me in my work travels every week. Link to comment
spaceman Posted April 6, 2019 Author Share Posted April 6, 2019 Sounds cool. Did you make a case for it, or buy one? And BTW, I am seeing now Topping D10, based on ES9018K2M. Did you get to hear it too? Link to comment
Sunya Posted April 6, 2019 Share Posted April 6, 2019 Pro-Ject DAC Box S2+ or Pre Box S2 Digital, both with the ES9038K2M https://www.project-audio.com/en/product/dac-box-s2/ https://www.project-audio.com/en/product/pre-box-s2-digital/ Link to comment
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