Holy Schiit! An US made DSD DAC for under $150.00

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Danny Tse
Danny Tse Posts: 5,206
edited May 2014 in Going Digital
Here you go....get your DSD downloads now!

http://schiit.com/products/loki

loki%20front%20prelim(1).jpg
Post edited by Danny Tse on
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  • strider
    strider Posts: 2,568
    edited September 2013
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    Good way to sample DSD on the cheap. I like the philosophies the guys at Schiit subscribe to, especially liked this regarding the new DSD craze:

    "The Right Path to an Uncertain Future
    DSD is the buzzword right now. Some of us also remember when SACD, HDCD, DAT, reel-to-reel, ELcassette, and quadraphonic were the “next big thing” on the audiophile scene. There’s a very real possibility DSD will go the way of the dodo. Loki allows you to try DSD at a very low price, and decide if it’s for you—without throwing away your current DAC. If DSD succeeds, cool! If it doesn’t, you’re not out big bucks."
    Wristwatch--->Crisco
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  • strider
    strider Posts: 2,568
    edited September 2013
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    I've never heard anything of theirs myself, but I haven't seen anyone on this forum profess much love for any Schiit DAC products. Odd, because the guys at Audiocircle seem to think highly of them and John Darko rates a couple of them pretty well.
    Wristwatch--->Crisco
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  • tonyb
    tonyb Posts: 32,906
    edited September 2013
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    Eh, it's not than we don't have any love for their products, it's just that there's nothing special about them in their price class. There's a hundred other dacs out there that sound just as good if not better for around the same price. Not knocking them, but as the previous poster noted, you have to spend a tad bit more to better what you already have built into your source component like a cdp or good avr.
    HT SYSTEM-
    Sony 850c 4k
    Pioneer elite vhx 21
    Sony 4k BRP
    SVS SB-2000
    Polk Sig. 20's
    Polk FX500 surrounds

    Cables-
    Acoustic zen Satori speaker cables
    Acoustic zen Matrix 2 IC's
    Wireworld eclipse 7 ic's
    Audio metallurgy ga-o digital cable

    Kitchen

    Sonos zp90
    Grant Fidelity tube dac
    B&k 1420
    lsi 9's
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  • AsSiMiLaTeD
    AsSiMiLaTeD Posts: 11,722
    edited September 2013
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    Well, NOBODY makes a $100 DAC that's superb, Schiit included. I love the Schiit gear for what it is, reasonably good sounding at reasonable prices and made here in the US. I especially like their headphone amps. I find their DACs a little 'lean' sounding, they don't qite have the impact or PRaT that I prefer my music to have.
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  • tonyb
    tonyb Posts: 32,906
    edited September 2013
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    Yes Sir, I'll agree to that. Those cheap dacs are good for some computer rigs, that's about it. If you think a 150 buck dac will sound better than what your already using in the main rig though, best think again.
    HT SYSTEM-
    Sony 850c 4k
    Pioneer elite vhx 21
    Sony 4k BRP
    SVS SB-2000
    Polk Sig. 20's
    Polk FX500 surrounds

    Cables-
    Acoustic zen Satori speaker cables
    Acoustic zen Matrix 2 IC's
    Wireworld eclipse 7 ic's
    Audio metallurgy ga-o digital cable

    Kitchen

    Sonos zp90
    Grant Fidelity tube dac
    B&k 1420
    lsi 9's
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  • heiney9
    heiney9 Posts: 25,079
    edited September 2013
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    USB power? Any DAC worth it's salt will have a nice linear power supply. You get what you pay for. For this type of DAC I'm sure it does a good job, but at this price and application it's made to use with a computer rig probably running i-Tunes, etc. Certainly not all out best sound, but a nice step up from a sound card or the I-Pod dac.

    H9
    "Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Pangea AC14SE MKII | Legend L600 | BlueSound Node 3 - Tubes add soul!
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  • strider
    strider Posts: 2,568
    edited September 2013
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    tonyb wrote: »
    Eh, it's not than we don't have any love for their products, it's just that there's nothing special about them in their price class. There's a hundred other dacs out there that sound just as good if not better for around the same price. Not knocking them, but as the previous poster noted, you have to spend a tad bit more to better what you already have built into your source component like a cdp or good avr.

    I was just pointing out how people's opinions are so varied on the same product.
    Wristwatch--->Crisco
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  • strider
    strider Posts: 2,568
    edited September 2013
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    tonyb wrote: »
    Yes Sir, I'll agree to that. Those cheap dacs are good for some computer rigs, that's about it. If you think a 150 buck dac will sound better than what your already using in the main rig though, best think again.

    You say computer rig like it can't be anything of any quality.
    Wristwatch--->Crisco
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  • Christo
    Christo Posts: 30
    edited May 2014
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    Agreed. The Bifrost was great in my PC system.
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  • tonyb
    tonyb Posts: 32,906
    edited May 2014
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    strider wrote: »
    You say computer rig like it can't be anything of any quality.

    Absolutely not my friend. Have you read any of my posts ?

    The entry level dacs for office systems, near field listening...cool, but they don't cut the mustard when compared to even a decent cdp in a main system.
    HT SYSTEM-
    Sony 850c 4k
    Pioneer elite vhx 21
    Sony 4k BRP
    SVS SB-2000
    Polk Sig. 20's
    Polk FX500 surrounds

    Cables-
    Acoustic zen Satori speaker cables
    Acoustic zen Matrix 2 IC's
    Wireworld eclipse 7 ic's
    Audio metallurgy ga-o digital cable

    Kitchen

    Sonos zp90
    Grant Fidelity tube dac
    B&k 1420
    lsi 9's
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  • rikm
    rikm Posts: 23
    edited May 2014
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    ...just got one this past weekend. Have to say I was sceptical about the whole DSD streaming thing, and I only have a handfull of files to test with [and only one that I also have an rbcd version to compare it to], but I am telling myself that I think I can hear a difference...

    Have to play with it some more I guess...
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  • tonyb
    tonyb Posts: 32,906
    edited May 2014
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    rikm wrote: »
    ...but I am telling myself that I think I can hear a difference......

    You think ? LOL

    If that's the case then the differences are too small to matter much.
    HT SYSTEM-
    Sony 850c 4k
    Pioneer elite vhx 21
    Sony 4k BRP
    SVS SB-2000
    Polk Sig. 20's
    Polk FX500 surrounds

    Cables-
    Acoustic zen Satori speaker cables
    Acoustic zen Matrix 2 IC's
    Wireworld eclipse 7 ic's
    Audio metallurgy ga-o digital cable

    Kitchen

    Sonos zp90
    Grant Fidelity tube dac
    B&k 1420
    lsi 9's
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  • rikm
    rikm Posts: 23
    edited May 2014
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    Well that was kinda the point for me...with the whole 'Next Big Thing' that external DACs and DSD downloads seem to be I mean.

    I have been using a PC as the main source for years, first with .shn and then with .flac, and the audio card [a venerable old MAudio 24/96] seemed to be doing just fine. My setup is mostly old, the only new addition is the pair of 707's that replaced my old speakers, [now out on the patio, and still sounding plenty good enough out there], and they are definitely the best speakers I have ever had... and so I guess I have been looking at the rest of the system and wondering if I could be feeding them a better signal...
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  • rikm
    rikm Posts: 23
    edited May 2014
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    ...and that's how it starts, just a little tweaking here and maybe some new somethings there...


    In any case, the amps are a bridged pair of NAD 2200PE's with the 1300 pre, and the CDP is also an NAD, the somewhat less old C542. I don't have the FM tuner connected but have an XM receiver wired to an antenna outside [there is pretty much no broadcast reception where I am], and the old tape deck and turntable are also retired.

    The speakers in the big room are as I said, a shiny new pair of LSiM 707's that still make me smile every time I turn them on, and that I think sound quite good in the room. The size and specs of the room are in part what made me start looking for new speakers... the old pair were not I think, up to filling the space and maybe sounded a little harsh as well, so a new pair made all kinds of sense. New room, new house, new speakers...

    And that's how it all started...
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