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Valab DAC-X Dual WM8741


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Hi All,

 

I looked through the forums here and on the net but couldn't find much on this, on paper it seems to be promising particularly considering the US$330 price (so I ordered it!)

Has anyone had experience with this DAC? I can find lots on the older NOS models, and they seem to have a decent reputation, particularly with those who are into modifying them (Im not!). However this newer model doesn't seem to have so much exposure.

Seems its built in Taiwan where I live

 

On paper...

Features:

1. Two WM8741 dac chips -- mono configuration (one chip for one channel)

2. Two sealed high grade transformer deployed, one for digital, another for analog circuit.

3. Dedicate voltage regulation circuit, 2 stage for digital circuit, each wm8741 chips have independent second stage regulated power supply.

4. CS8416 SPDIF receiver for 24bit 192k SPSID signal compatibility.

This is most stable and high compatible SPDIF receiving chip on market.

This dac can receive and decode real 24bit 192k SPDIF signal!

Most 24bit/192k dac actually can not deal with 24bit 192k SPDIF signal.

They just use a 24/192 dac chip but fail to perform 24bit 192k capability.

5. TENOR TE7022L usb receiver chip, supporting native 24bit 96K digital output capability.

6. 4x OPA627au

for analog balanced XLR output.

7. 2x AD797 OPAMP for analog RCA output.

8. All high grade parts usage, carefully chosen parts for best sound performance.

9. Professional circuit layout to get best circuit stability and great performance.

10. Aluminum housing, hair skin surface procession.

11. Digital Input: balanced Spdif AES/EBU port, RCA, Toslink Optical input and USB

12. Analog Output: balanced analog output via XLR port, single ended output via RCA port

13. Dimension: 190 x 70 x 330 mm (W x H x D)

14. Both 110/120v and 220/240v version supported.

of course you need to seperate the useless commercial rubbish from the interesting stuff...

Here's what it looks like, I think it could be a steal for the price!

$(KGrHqV,!nkE8VSKi6H(BPUQt!Rkww~~60_3.JPG

 

$(KGrHqFHJCsE9!Z5RTz-BPUQtKZE3!~~60_3.JPG

$(KGrHqR,!rcE88g9dqpTBPUQtTGBew~~60_3.JPG

Of course the real test will be the listening to it once it arrives (I'll let you know if your'e interested), but I'm curious if anyone here has done this before me and to know what they think. Its got to be better than my current use the headphone jack setup anyway no?

 

My current basic setup (pending the arrival of the above)

Windows based PC running Jriver media centre 17

Cary CAI1 amp

Linn Katan speakers (currently not bi-wired but will be in the future)

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Look promising, we'll be waiting for your review

Hackintosh I7 16GB Ram, Roon, HQPlayer, Drobo 8 TB NAS, Raspberry Pi 3 NAA, Gustard X20 ES 9018 Xmos, Audio GD C39 Preamp, The First ONE DIY Amp, Monitor Audio GS20 Speakers, Monitor Audio RSW12 Subwoofer, PI Audio MagikBuss filter.

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Ok so here it is... my first review guys so be kind!

 

Valab DAC-X Dual WM8741 Review

 

Received the Valab DAC, carefully packed and just a few days after buying it.

Initial reaction is it looks well built and actually looks satisfyingly better than in the photos on e-bay. It doesn’t come with a power cable, USB cable or the balanced output cables I am going to use, but I don’t think this is a downside, on the contrary I would have systematically switched them out for higher quality ones anyway (as would nearly any audiophile I think) so that saves having three more useless cables in the already full “not good enough” cable drawer. So anyway when I ordered this DAC I also ordered a decent “High End” USB cable and an Ortophon AC2000 XLR interconnect pair, I already had a power cable although this one is nothing special.

 

However, there was no instruction manual delivered with the DAC which I think is a bit of a nuisance although it’s pretty easy to work most things out and I didn’t have any problems setting it up but what if I did? And what does that DFS (renamed DFSEL on mine) button do? I’m guessing its “Digital Filter Select” and related to the DF:1 to DF:5 display on the LCD anyway we will see what it does later…

 

So now my modest setup is as follows, a Cary CAI1 integrated amp, Linn Katan speakers, Laptop running Jriver media center 17, and now the Valab DAC.

 

The system without the DAC

Without the new DAC the setup did surprisingly well, although the limitations of using the “headphone out” mini jack to RCA cable from the PC are of course evident, the Cary with the Linn Katans provided a forgiving warm rich sound throughout the spectrum. On the down side, where it lacked was in the soundstage and the precision which was somewhat unfocused and muddled, you could just feel that the potential is there to blow your mind but just needed more control over the source. I am hoping the addition of this DAC will bring a better soundstage and the dynamics that I know this system can deliver if provided with the right source (I first heard it linked up to a Chord CDP, it was amazing). I really do have high expectations from this DAC unit even though the price tag is in the lower range, on paper again, this unit is promising. Eager to get it up and running to find out!

 

Set up

So after plugging it all in, the initial setting up included configuring Jriver to use WASAPI-Event Style output and the usual other settings that I found here DAC Settings - JRiverWiki. I will be only using the USB input at this stage, although other inputs are possible such as AES/EBU XLR connector, Coax and optical.

 

As for the output, I will be using the XLR balanced outputs of the DAC to the balanced input of the Cary through the Ortofon interconnects, RCA unbalanced outputs are also available from the Valab. All the connectors on the rear of the unit seem to be of decent quality with my selected cables fitting firmly and snug to the unit.

 

Powering up for the first time revealed that there seems to be no problem with the DAC receiving the signal from the USB, recognising the input signal and delivering without noticeable errors. I’m very glad about this as I don’t like having to fuss around. JRiver also shows its little graphic equaliser icon in blue to indicate unmodified output. The DAC did not need any additional software drivers to function and was recognised by the PC immediately. So far so good, all systems are go. It is at this point I found that the DFSEL button is effectively switching between what presumably are the selectable digital filters inbuilt into the WM8741 chips (want to know more about these chips? Look here: DACs | WM8741 | Wolfson Microelectronics ). In practice, yes it does change the DF indication on the LCD to 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 but doesn’t seem to really make any notable difference at all through the different settings although 1 sounds a little louder than the others (telling me that DF 1 is probably bypassing any further filtering of the signal).

 

Why this one?

Some thoughts about why I was attracted to this DAC in the first place. My approach was looking for the best unit I could find for my budget, nothing strange there, but certainly this one topped at least on paper what I was looking for with the dual WM8741’s set up in mono-mono configuration, its dual power supplies, Tenor TE7022L USB receiver chip, balanced XLR outputs to match the Balanced inputs of the Cary etc… of course its not the individual components that do it but the unit itself, working as a whole, and how well it goes with the rest of the system. At this price tag of US$330 I was certainly going to give it a go. I also favoured it against the audio-gd mentioned above for a few reasons, the Valab inside looks like much more care has been taken to the layout and is somewhat minimalist inside against the apparently crowded audio-gd innards, and call me biased, but I do prefer a Taiwanese built unit, because I live in Taiwan and it will make the after service if required so much more easier for me, not to mention that from experience the Taiwanese do tend to build electronics to good quality control (although I have not laid my hands on a Chinese built Audio-gd unit to compare this, its just my humble opinion). Moving on, for those soldering iron fanatics out there, there is the possibility of modding some of the components of this DAC to supposedly make it even better from what I have seen on other forums, but personally I don’t expect to do that because 1. I don’t know how, and 2. I expect it to be good right from the box or it will just end up in that “not good enough” drawer.

 

Listening

I listen to a wide range of different types of music, from Jazz to Metal, Progressive to Alternative Rock to Electronic and everything else in between, yes I’m a bit of a schizophrenic when it comes to music, but I do have a number of selected reference tracks that I like to listen to in each genre. This does mean however that I do expect my setup to deliver well whatever I pump into it.

 

After an initial warm up of the system I selected my first jazz track, put on the MacCoy Tyner Quartet New York Reunion, listening to “ask me now” this flac recording just happens to be one of my favourite ones, and an audiophile reference with one hell of a solo from Joe Henderson, where the acoustics are well just breathtaking in my point of view.

 

Initial reaction? To be honest the whole thing sounded really very good, much tighter than before and I’m already thinking even at this first listening stage that this DAC is an absolute steal for the cash. There it was, the warm almost valve like never tiring sound of the Cary and Linns working together but with that added focus and precision which was previously somewhat muddled but is now provided by the Valab remarkably well. Of course there was going to be an improvement on using the DAC against the headphone socket, but this really is surprisingly good right out of the box. To be honest though and as I’m naturally picky (and this really is being picky) the sound did seem a little of what only can be described as a bit too tight or harsh at first (read on), but definitely a great improvement.

 

 

Following through and after a week or so of intensive listening to jazz and other stuff, in fact all sorts of stuff and lots of it! the “over tight” effect had disappeared after about 24 hours of listening (yes 24 hours listening, not just turned on), and with the system burning in nicely now it is definitely starting to seriously render and is noticeably improving the more I listen to it. In fact it now really sounds exceptionally good, and I’m curious as to how far it will eventually go. So if you do decide to get this thing don’t throw it out after the first listen, be a bit forgiving at first (I know its difficult!), give it some time to feel at home, let it make friends with the rest of the system and give them time to get to know eachother, i.e. take your time! It’s worth it!

 

Now there is something I can not really explain although I do have my thoughts on the subject. Theoretically, a USB cable is a USB cable and a digital signal is a digital signal and theoretically, how could the digital signal be modified by that cable? Beats me but when I first plugged it in, I was using a USB cable that I got with an external hard drive, convinced that the cable would have no effect on the sound being on the digital side, I bought a higher quality cable just for the looks really, but because I hadn’t received the higher quality one in the post yet I used the aforementioned. But now, I’m confused!!! I can genuinely hear an improvement when I swap to the higher quality USB cable, I was aware and understand the possible improvements on the analogue side using different cables but certainly not on the digital side, the signal is all 0’s and 1’s right?! But there it is, and it’s not my imagination either (maybe a thread covering this by someone who understands would enlighten us all) all I can think of is, and this is highly technical for me, that as no circuit is truly resistance free, an improvement in resistivity, thus “speed” of the cable is bringing maybe improvements on the rising and falling edge transitions: i.e. the transition from a low voltage to a high voltage, (from 0 to 1) and falling edge transition from a high voltage to a low one (from 1 to 0) but that’s just my theory (Anyone???).

 

The Valab runs relatively cool with no noticeable hotspots over the enclosure although it is slightly warmer at the back of the unit. The front “power” button in the photos above is renamed and labelled more appropriately as a “stand-by” button on the model I received and there is a power switch on the back should you wish to power down the unit completely. Using the Standby button, there is no noticeable audible warm up time when switching on that I can tell, i.e. the unit seems to deliver to its full extent as soon as it’s switched on from the standby mode.

 

The backlit LCD display with white matrix lettering on a blue background on the front of the unit is bright but not too bright for in the dark listening if that’s your thing, but quite frankly it just looks nice, the information it displays is no more than what a couple of cleverly labelled LEDs could display but it does give the information on the input source, the sampling rate and the DF setting. It is readable from most angles.

 

I could go into the nitty gritty of the internals and bore you all to death with chip filters component numbers, ratings and such, but to me that’s not what I’m really interested in, to me its all about the music. The whole point is that the whole system put together really delivers. At this moment, I would recommend this DAC to anyone on a budget. However it remains to be seen in time if it proves to be reliable. Initial inspection of the unit inside and out shows no apparent evidence of cost cutting (this was one complaint raised on other forums in regards to the older Valab NOS DACs particularly in regards to the output caps)

 

Conclusion

In conclusion, it’s really one of the best budget DACs I’ve personally heard and I do feel it is far superior to my Cambridge Audio CDP and DacMagic combo I had before, although to be fair to Cambridge Audio, seven years have passed since those components were current stuff and the technology is of course not really comparable anyway. I do not have a reference DAC to compare it to, so my opinion is therefore subjective and the DAC like any DAC or in fact any system component will perform differently depending on the system it is linked to and the listening environment. Opinions will also vary considerably according to the listener’s ear. In my case, I took the risk (not a big one at this price) of buying it and I’m happy to say that the system musicality is complemented very well by the sharpness and obvious precision of this DAC which also seems to melt naturally into the overall performance of the ensemble once its burned in a little. I also appreciate the different inputs available, the build quality and the balanced outputs, that go well with my system. I’m genuinely impressed, probably the best 330$ I’ve ever spent! well worth it!

Link to comment
  • 2 weeks later...
  • 3 weeks later...
Ok so here it is... my first review guys so be kind!

 

Valab DAC-X Dual WM8741 Review

 

Received the Valab DAC, carefully packed and just a few days after buying it.

Initial reaction is it looks well built and actually looks satisfyingly better than in the photos on e-bay. It doesn’t come with a power cable, USB cable or the balanced output cables I am going to use, but I don’t think this is a downside, on the contrary I would have systematically switched them out for higher quality ones anyway (as would nearly any audiophile I think) so that saves having three more useless cables in the already full “not good enough” cable drawer. So anyway when I ordered this DAC I also ordered a decent “High End” USB cable and an Ortophon AC2000 XLR interconnect pair, I already had a power cable although this one is nothing special.

 

However, there was no instruction manual delivered with the DAC which I think is a bit of a nuisance although it’s pretty easy to work most things out and I didn’t have any problems setting it up but what if I did? And what does that DFS (renamed DFSEL on mine) button do? I’m guessing its “Digital Filter Select” and related to the DF:1 to DF:5 display on the LCD anyway we will see what it does later…

 

So now my modest setup is as follows, a Cary CAI1 integrated amp, Linn Katan speakers, Laptop running Jriver media center 17, and now the Valab DAC.

 

The system without the DAC

Without the new DAC the setup did surprisingly well, although the limitations of using the “headphone out” mini jack to RCA cable from the PC are of course evident, the Cary with the Linn Katans provided a forgiving warm rich sound throughout the spectrum. On the down side, where it lacked was in the soundstage and the precision which was somewhat unfocused and muddled, you could just feel that the potential is there to blow your mind but just needed more control over the source. I am hoping the addition of this DAC will bring a better soundstage and the dynamics that I know this system can deliver if provided with the right source (I first heard it linked up to a Chord CDP, it was amazing). I really do have high expectations from this DAC unit even though the price tag is in the lower range, on paper again, this unit is promising. Eager to get it up and running to find out!

 

Set up

So after plugging it all in, the initial setting up included configuring Jriver to use WASAPI-Event Style output and the usual other settings that I found here DAC Settings - JRiverWiki. I will be only using the USB input at this stage, although other inputs are possible such as AES/EBU XLR connector, Coax and optical.

 

As for the output, I will be using the XLR balanced outputs of the DAC to the balanced input of the Cary through the Ortofon interconnects, RCA unbalanced outputs are also available from the Valab. All the connectors on the rear of the unit seem to be of decent quality with my selected cables fitting firmly and snug to the unit.

 

Powering up for the first time revealed that there seems to be no problem with the DAC receiving the signal from the USB, recognising the input signal and delivering without noticeable errors. I’m very glad about this as I don’t like having to fuss around. JRiver also shows its little graphic equaliser icon in blue to indicate unmodified output. The DAC did not need any additional software drivers to function and was recognised by the PC immediately. So far so good, all systems are go. It is at this point I found that the DFSEL button is effectively switching between what presumably are the selectable digital filters inbuilt into the WM8741 chips (want to know more about these chips? Look here: DACs | WM8741 | Wolfson Microelectronics ). In practice, yes it does change the DF indication on the LCD to 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 but doesn’t seem to really make any notable difference at all through the different settings although 1 sounds a little louder than the others (telling me that DF 1 is probably bypassing any further filtering of the signal).

 

Why this one?

Some thoughts about why I was attracted to this DAC in the first place. My approach was looking for the best unit I could find for my budget, nothing strange there, but certainly this one topped at least on paper what I was looking for with the dual WM8741’s set up in mono-mono configuration, its dual power supplies, Tenor TE7022L USB receiver chip, balanced XLR outputs to match the Balanced inputs of the Cary etc… of course its not the individual components that do it but the unit itself, working as a whole, and how well it goes with the rest of the system. At this price tag of US$330 I was certainly going to give it a go. I also favoured it against the audio-gd mentioned above for a few reasons, the Valab inside looks like much more care has been taken to the layout and is somewhat minimalist inside against the apparently crowded audio-gd innards, and call me biased, but I do prefer a Taiwanese built unit, because I live in Taiwan and it will make the after service if required so much more easier for me, not to mention that from experience the Taiwanese do tend to build electronics to good quality control (although I have not laid my hands on a Chinese built Audio-gd unit to compare this, its just my humble opinion). Moving on, for those soldering iron fanatics out there, there is the possibility of modding some of the components of this DAC to supposedly make it even better from what I have seen on other forums, but personally I don’t expect to do that because 1. I don’t know how, and 2. I expect it to be good right from the box or it will just end up in that “not good enough” drawer.

 

Listening

I listen to a wide range of different types of music, from Jazz to Metal, Progressive to Alternative Rock to Electronic and everything else in between, yes I’m a bit of a schizophrenic when it comes to music, but I do have a number of selected reference tracks that I like to listen to in each genre. This does mean however that I do expect my setup to deliver well whatever I pump into it.

 

After an initial warm up of the system I selected my first jazz track, put on the MacCoy Tyner Quartet New York Reunion, listening to “ask me now” this flac recording just happens to be one of my favourite ones, and an audiophile reference with one hell of a solo from Joe Henderson, where the acoustics are well just breathtaking in my point of view.

 

Initial reaction? To be honest the whole thing sounded really very good, much tighter than before and I’m already thinking even at this first listening stage that this DAC is an absolute steal for the cash. There it was, the warm almost valve like never tiring sound of the Cary and Linns working together but with that added focus and precision which was previously somewhat muddled but is now provided by the Valab remarkably well. Of course there was going to be an improvement on using the DAC against the headphone socket, but this really is surprisingly good right out of the box. To be honest though and as I’m naturally picky (and this really is being picky) the sound did seem a little of what only can be described as a bit too tight or harsh at first (read on), but definitely a great improvement.

 

 

Following through and after a week or so of intensive listening to jazz and other stuff, in fact all sorts of stuff and lots of it! the “over tight” effect had disappeared after about 24 hours of listening (yes 24 hours listening, not just turned on), and with the system burning in nicely now it is definitely starting to seriously render and is noticeably improving the more I listen to it. In fact it now really sounds exceptionally good, and I’m curious as to how far it will eventually go. So if you do decide to get this thing don’t throw it out after the first listen, be a bit forgiving at first (I know its difficult!), give it some time to feel at home, let it make friends with the rest of the system and give them time to get to know eachother, i.e. take your time! It’s worth it!

 

Now there is something I can not really explain although I do have my thoughts on the subject. Theoretically, a USB cable is a USB cable and a digital signal is a digital signal and theoretically, how could the digital signal be modified by that cable? Beats me but when I first plugged it in, I was using a USB cable that I got with an external hard drive, convinced that the cable would have no effect on the sound being on the digital side, I bought a higher quality cable just for the looks really, but because I hadn’t received the higher quality one in the post yet I used the aforementioned. But now, I’m confused!!! I can genuinely hear an improvement when I swap to the higher quality USB cable, I was aware and understand the possible improvements on the analogue side using different cables but certainly not on the digital side, the signal is all 0’s and 1’s right?! But there it is, and it’s not my imagination either (maybe a thread covering this by someone who understands would enlighten us all) all I can think of is, and this is highly technical for me, that as no circuit is truly resistance free, an improvement in resistivity, thus “speed” of the cable is bringing maybe improvements on the rising and falling edge transitions: i.e. the transition from a low voltage to a high voltage, (from 0 to 1) and falling edge transition from a high voltage to a low one (from 1 to 0) but that’s just my theory (Anyone???).

 

The Valab runs relatively cool with no noticeable hotspots over the enclosure although it is slightly warmer at the back of the unit. The front “power” button in the photos above is renamed and labelled more appropriately as a “stand-by” button on the model I received and there is a power switch on the back should you wish to power down the unit completely. Using the Standby button, there is no noticeable audible warm up time when switching on that I can tell, i.e. the unit seems to deliver to its full extent as soon as it’s switched on from the standby mode.

 

The backlit LCD display with white matrix lettering on a blue background on the front of the unit is bright but not too bright for in the dark listening if that’s your thing, but quite frankly it just looks nice, the information it displays is no more than what a couple of cleverly labelled LEDs could display but it does give the information on the input source, the sampling rate and the DF setting. It is readable from most angles.

 

I could go into the nitty gritty of the internals and bore you all to death with chip filters component numbers, ratings and such, but to me that’s not what I’m really interested in, to me its all about the music. The whole point is that the whole system put together really delivers. At this moment, I would recommend this DAC to anyone on a budget. However it remains to be seen in time if it proves to be reliable. Initial inspection of the unit inside and out shows no apparent evidence of cost cutting (this was one complaint raised on other forums in regards to the older Valab NOS DACs particularly in regards to the output caps)

 

Conclusion

In conclusion, it’s really one of the best budget DACs I’ve personally heard and I do feel it is far superior to my Cambridge Audio CDP and DacMagic combo I had before, although to be fair to Cambridge Audio, seven years have passed since those components were current stuff and the technology is of course not really comparable anyway. I do not have a reference DAC to compare it to, so my opinion is therefore subjective and the DAC like any DAC or in fact any system component will perform differently depending on the system it is linked to and the listening environment. Opinions will also vary considerably according to the listener’s ear. In my case, I took the risk (not a big one at this price) of buying it and I’m happy to say that the system musicality is complemented very well by the sharpness and obvious precision of this DAC which also seems to melt naturally into the overall performance of the ensemble once its burned in a little. I also appreciate the different inputs available, the build quality and the balanced outputs, that go well with my system. I’m genuinely impressed, probably the best 330$ I’ve ever spent! well worth it!

 

Taiwantony, now that you have been using this DAC for over a month now, pls lemme know U'r current impressions? Has it got any better than what you have mentioned above? I wanna know a lil' bit more about the 05 DFS that are used in this DAC? Thanx & rgrds.

Link to comment
  • 2 years later...
Ok so here it is... my first review guys so be kind!

Valab DAC-X Dual WM8741 Review ...

 

Hi and thanks a lot for the very interesting review

I have an opportunity on this same dac 2nd hand and i am thinking about it very seriously.

Coud you tell me a little more about the soundstage reproduction ? do you get some depth also ?i am a little obsessed by virtual soundstage that with digital has always been a real challenge.

 

... the sharpness and obvious precision of this DAC ...

well if you want to tame a little any sharpness that is very easy ... try some litz/solid core copper cables and you are done.

Something like Cardas XLR cables for instance. They say that even cheapest ones make wonders.

 

Thanks again, gino

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