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Sale Price: $51.99
Today's Bonus:
- Sabre DAC Technology
- 96khz/24bit USB input
- Small, lightweight design
- Output on 3.5mm headphone jack
- Volume level is adjust with computer hardware keys
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I purchased the HiFiMeDIY DAC more out of curiosity rather than an actual need. Simply put I wanted to compare the performance of a DAC using one of the famed ESS Sabre D/A chips with the other audio gear at my disposal without having to spend hundreds or even thousands on higher end gear from Peachtree Audio, Oppo, JDS-Labs, McIntosh, etc. The HiFiMeDIY DAC fit the bill and this review details my (subjective) conclusions.The HiFiMeDIY Sabre DAC is an external USB D/A audio converter designed by the DIY community and based on the entry level ESS Sabre ES9023 D/A chip and the ubiquitous USB 2.0, full-speed compliant Tenor TE-7022L audio streaming controller from the Galaxy Far East Corp. (GFEC). The HiFiMeDIY DAC is a device of remarkable simplicity but in the same time a model of efficient circuit design. Power is supplied by the USB to a Linear Technology LT1763 low-noise, low drop-out (LDO) micro-power regulator while all other functions: USB control, data retrieval, pin-addressing, clocking, oversampling, D/A conversion, low-pass filtering, etc., are split between the Tenor and the Sabre chips. This arrangement eliminates the necessity for any other processor (dedicated to some of these functions) on the circuit board. The data transfer in the HiFiMeDIY DAC is synchronous (the USB data link is controlled by the computer rather than the DAC). This is, arguably, not the best arrangement for audio purposes due to jitter issues (this jitter issue depends greatly on the other duties of the computer's processor.) Nevertheless, the Tenor chip features integrated phase-locked loop (PLL) to support single crystal operation (12MHz) and has some buffering capability, which helps mitigate jitter to some degree. In addition, and perhaps more importantly, the Sabre chip has its own jitter elimination capability the famed (if still somewhat cloaked in mystery) ESS Hyperstream with Time Domain Jitter Elimination technology. Performance-wise the HiFiMeDIY DAC is capable of 8 96kHz at 16/24bit decoding (except 88.2kHz, which is not supported by the Tenor chip) and has a listed dynamic range (S/N) of 112dB. The technology packed in this little (2in x 1.5in x 0.5in) device is basically the same (with minor differences) as that in the Peachtree DAC-iT (the Dac-iT uses the ES9022 chip, which is essentially the same as the ES9023), the NwAvGuy's Objective DAC (ODAC), the Audio-Quest DragonFly, the NuForce uDAC-2, and others like these that are selling for five to ten times more than the HiFiMeDIY. Since the Sabre ES9023 chip features integrated low-pass filtering and a direct coupled 2Vrms line driver, all these DACs produce "sound" of a similar quality the differences in implementation, for instance different power supplies (e.g. Peachtree DAC-iT features a separate switching power supply), different USB transceivers (such as the now phased-out Texas-Instruments TAS1020 found on the DragonFly), different clocking schemes, etc., could provide subtle differences in the sound signature but are, as far as the line output is concerned, little more than window dressings.
On to the computer/audio gear used during my initial listening tests:
MacBook w/ Mac OS X 10.4.11
MacBook-Pro w/ Mac OS X 10.6.8
Dell Optiplex GX620-MT w/ Windows XP/SP3 and Linux Ubuntu 12.0.4/LTS (dual boot)
XMOS USB 2.0 Audio Reference Design Asynchronous DAC,
Matrix M-Stage Headphone Amp,
Audio-Technica ATH-A900 closed-back headphones (40ohm),
Superlux HD-681 semi-open headphones (32 ohm), and
Sennheiser HD598 open headphones (50ohm).
Playback software: Audacity, iTunes, VLC, Windows Media Player
Audio interconnects: RCA-to-RCA and 3.5mm to RCA adapter, both Auvio brand sourced from Radio-Shack (these Auvio cables are not cheap, as far as RS stuff goes, but they are actually pretty decent). Also used were two generic USB-hubs/multi-card reader combo devices (from Sabrent and Inland) and generic USB cables sourced locally from Micro-Center. Also to note, the 3.5mm analog jack of the HiFiMeDIY DAC doubles as optical S/PDIF out. I have not tested the S/PDIF output due to a lack of a 3.5mm optical adapter, however, the red LED light is clearly visible through the output jack when the DAC is plugged into a USB port. A brief setup note: The HiFiMeDIY DAC is plug-and-play on all three computers used and did not require downloading of any kind of drivers in Mac OS, Windows or Ubuntu. However, using the default drivers, I haven't been able to select the sampling frequency or the bit depth on Windows and Ubuntu. I suspect that the generic drivers on those systems default to either 44.1kHz or 48kHz and 16bit. The DAC seemed to work equally well when connected directly to a computer USB port or to a port on one of the USB-hubs. For most of the listening session I have used the MacBook-Pro as the source, the other two computers being used mainly to check the compatibility of the DAC with those older operating systems.
Before moving on to sound quality, I must mention that although the HiFiMeDIY DAC is marketed as a DAC with some direct headphones driving capability, personally I would not recommend it being used in such a fashion. While the device can indeed drive low impedance headphones directly, the sound quality obtained that way is rather poor (simply because the Sabre chip output line-driver is just that a line driver, IT IS NOT a headphone amp! Moreover, the whole thing is powered by the USB and because of the way things were implemented here direct drive of some low impedance loads, e.g. 30-60ohm headphones puts a very large strain on the LT1763 voltage regulator and the pump-charge circuits inside the Sabre chip.) Personally I use it with a dedicated headphone amp (the Matrix M-Stage mentioned above). Since all my headphones are low impedance (32-50ohm) and the open-circuit output of the Sabre chip is actually just above 2Vrms, I set the Matrix M-Stage gain to 0dB (no voltage gain thus, in effect, using the headphone amp as a current buffer). For the purpose of my initial listening tests I also connected the XMOS DAC to the second line input of the M-Stage. (The M-Stage has two line inputs, 47kohm, and a face-plate mounted switch which allows one to toggle between the two inputs and thus compare two input sources.) Note: the HiFiMeDIY Sabre DAC does require 2-3hr of break-in time.
I will spend little to no time here comparing this DAC with the sound-cards in the computers. Of the three computers I have here the MacBook-Pro has the "best" sound, but by comparison with either the HiFiMeDIY DAC or the XMOS Reference DAC, listening to it is, more or less, a waste of time. So, the comparisons will be drawn here solely between the HiFiMeDIY DAC and the XMOS. (Note: The XMOS USB 2.0 Audio Reference ADC/DAC is actually an evaluation board from XMOS available at Digi-Key at about three times the price of the HiFiMEDIY DAC featuring the 24bit/192kHz Cirrus Logic CS4270 audio codec (differential multi-bit sigma-delta conversion, switched capacitor) and the 32bit, 500MIPS/8threads, XMOS XS1-L1 event driven processor. It supports all sample rates from 44.1kHz to 192kHz and uses two dedicated on-board clocks (for 44.1kHz and 48kHz and their multiples). In addition, the XMOS DAC uses the SMSC USB-3318 high-speed USB 2.0 transceiver, clocked separately by a 13MHz reference crystal and the NCP699SN18T1G low quiescent current LDO voltage regulator from ON Semiconductor. The XMOS solution is largely considered one of the best implementations of the "asynchronous" USB Audio currently available although a pricey one, see for instance the 6moons review of the April Music Stello-U3.)
The Sound (overall conclusion): Dynamic, detailed, well staged and layered, airy, clean, clear, well balanced and noise-free.
More specifically, the HiFiMeDIY Sabre DAC is performing, essentially, at the same level as the XMOS with a few differences owed mainly to the particular implementations of the low-pass filters in the two devices and their inherent noise levels. Thus, while I would rate the level of detail retrieval in the Sabre to be similar to that of the Cirrus Logic in the XMOS, the higher gain digital filter in the Sabre (versus the digital (-50dB)/analog (-40dB) combo low-pass filtering in the XMOS) rends a better, more airy stereo image, albeit at a price: slightly increased graininess (especially in the upper registers) and more pronounced sibilance (at times). By comparison the XMOS sounds a bit more laid back with a slightly veiled, smoother presentation but very musical and somewhat more forgiving, particularly with some of the more compressed (i.e. loud) material (which is, unfortunately, found on most of the new music CD nowadays). The only other notable difference is a slightly emphasized low-end with the Sabre: the bass has a tad more impact than with the XMOS though not enough to require EQ changes with any of the headphones. The Sabre also has the upper hand in the S/N arena, presenting a truly black background (better than -95dB/the M-Stage level) when compared to the -87dB THD+N of the Cirrus Logic codec used in the XMOS DAC. However, the XMOS has the advantage of a full sample frequency range (including 88.2kHz, 176.4kHz, and 192kHz) and has better soft mute and pause controls (and is also an A/D converter). On the timing/jitter front, the HiFiMeDIY DAC seems (at least to my ears) capable to match the asynchronous solution in the XMOS, since I couldn't detect any rhythm/pace issues even when the DAC was connected to an USB-hub and the hub was simultaneously used to transfer some large files to a USB memory stick. Jitter performance may, however, vary depending on the computer used, the quality of its usb connections and any other devices used (USB hubs, cables, etc.) As a rule of thumb I'd recommend plugging the DAC directly into the computer rather than a USB hub (whenever possible).
To conclude, the HiFiMeDIY Sabre DAC is a remarkable piece of audio gear with outstanding sound quality (especially when used with a headphone amplifier) and which features the same ESS Sabre DAC technology found in higher end/higher priced audio gear. The closest (in terms of sound signature) would be the Objective DAC (sold by JDS-Labs for roughly 2.5x the price), the uDAC-2 (at 2x the price note that this DAC also features an integrated headphone drive stage. The uDAC-2 may be a good buy for someone who doesn't have a separated headphone amp, though some reviewers have pointed to the fact that its headphone amp, which is based on a Maxim op-amp, it's rather lackluster,) the AudioQuest Dragonfly (at 4x the price the Dragonfly features asynchronous USB transfer and it also includes a headphone driver stage) and perhaps the Peachtree DAC-iT (at about 8x the price). For me the evaluation of the HiFiMeDIY Sabre DAC started as a low-expectations, guilt free indulgence of curiosity for the price of a tank of gas. Nevertheless this little USB DAC is now a permanent staple in my desktop setup. Without reservations 5 star.
UPDATE 03/19/2013: Did a bit of digging on the net and found the drivers for Windows 32/64bit on the HiFiMeDIY website (just type HiFiMeDIY in Google search and it is the first thing it pops up). Search for the HiFiMeDIY Sabre USB DaC and on that page you will find links for the driver download. The driver is called TeraDAK TeraLink-X2 (something like that). The 32bit driver works on my XP machine but either version of this driver should be good for Vista and Windows 7 as well. In fact there is an express recommendation there to use this driver for Windows 7 due to some noise issues with the default windows driver. The Windows installer will complain about the authenticity of the software when you try to install (not a Microsoft approved program, all that... but I did it anyway and it seems to work quite well). In the new USB Audio Control Center that pops up you can select the sampling rate, bit depth, etc. It also seems to have ASIO support. Also, there is a controller for the similar HiFiMeDIY Sabre DAC with optical to USB recording capability (this device looks identical to the USB DAC reviewed here, except that the S/PDIF is an input not an output). Note that you'll need the device connected to the computer when installing the driver. As an added bonus (aside from being able to play high resolution files) with the new driver, selecting 24bit processing allows for use of computer/digital volume control without loss of signal resolution. I've tested it with Audacity, VLC and Windows Media Player and they all work just fine.Make no mistake, this is not your fancypants DAC from Fiio, Schiit, or elsewhere. It's designed to get maximum performance for the least buck. This means a simple enclosure which consists of nothing more than a USB connector and an SPDIF/3.5mm jack. Plug in your headphones if they are efficient, or get an interconnect cable to interface with your amplifier. It gets the job done for only $50. As is well known it contains the same components found in the monumentally more expensive ODAC. Only issue that some people raise is that the signal is not isolated from the USB port which is supposed to introduce some noise. I did not notice much of a problem at all, so I can't really support that notion.
You will be hard pressed to find a better DAC for $50 and there are probably marginal differences in performance between it and most DACs under $200. When you pay more you really are only paying for something that looks nicer and perhaps has more ports or settings, not necessarily more functional. There is one other DAC at this price point that is comparable and that is the UD100 but that doesn't even come with an enclosure, you have to DIY (do it yourself). So at least this thing has some sort of plastic shell. Plus, it weighs almost nothing and would be very suitable for some sort of portable setup.This DAC is a great upgrade over the built-in audio of my laptop and even the Asus Xonar DX in my desktop. It's a night and day improvement over built-in soundcards in my opinion. I currently use it at work with my laptop and Grado SR-80i's as a DAC/Headphone amp, using the ASIO drivers supplied by the manufacturer and Foobar. I'll probably buy another one for my desktop at home. I'm also considering buying the version with optical in and coax in to use with my main stereo.
UPDATE 3/31/13
I've been using this dac for a couple months now and I'm continually impressed with it. Bass and treble extension is much improved over the built in soundcards of my computers, and the separation of instruments is very noticeable. I always look forward to re-listening to my music with this dac.As I've accumulated more and more music as strictly digital files over the last few years, it became increasingly apparent to my ears that, despite a modestly good desktop sound system, the output from the soundcards in my various PC's was lacking the fidelity and definition I would have liked. Eventually I began sending the PC audio output to my home stereo and, at that point, it was even more evident a better solution was needed. I conferred with a few friends who inhabit the audiophile world about a resolution to the sound issues and all of them unequivocally recommended an outboard DAC. Of course, there was no consensus as to manufacturer and cost but the best advice suggested that above a certain price-point, the rule of diminishing return for every dollar spent took hold.
So, before spending beaucoups $$$ on any of the more esoteric or renowned DAC units that had gotten good recommendations, the cheapskate in me took a chance with the HiFiMeDIY Sabre DAC. Being so inexpensive, even if it didn't offer any great improvement, I wasn't tossing out a lot of cash. Well, I definitely have no remorse about purchasing this HiFiMeDIY DAC. This unit is not only a great bargain, but it truly delivers the goods. Its sound quality now brings my digital music to a level that comes a lot closer to rivaling my other music sources (note: I said closer to, but not equal).
Yes, it's cheaply made, but it plugged in and it worked right out the box with both Windows XP and 7. It has a few quirks which are probably related more to one of the computers I use than the DAC. Anyway, I immediately noticed a distinguishable enhancement over the standard output, although not a huge 'night and day' difference in sound, but a pleasantly noticeable improvement. It took some of the "murky goo" out of the middle frequencies, tamed some of the sibilance on high stuff and vocals, tightened up and better defined the low frequencies and presented a little broader soundstage all around. And after about 30-40 hours of break-in time it got even better. For this price, who'd have thought? It won't overcome the limitations of low bit-rate MP3's but with good-to-better quality digital files in any format, it clearly has advantages. The HiFiMeDIY Sabre DAC = Great little gizmo!
I was initially using on board sound (headphone out) on the Raspberry Pi to drive my tube preamplifier and tube mono block amps. The sound quality was lacking. Having installed the HiFiMeDIY Sabre USB DAC the sound quality rivals any music source in my home, and I have many as i have been chasing the audiophile dream for years.
Raspberry Pi + Squeezeplug + HIFiMeDIY DAC = High Quality Sound at budget price. The DAC is EASILY the equivalent or better than many other high priced audiophile DAC's.
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