HiFimeDIY Sabre USB DAC. 96khz/24bit - ES9023+TE7022 + USB to optical converter

[theironhorse]

I am struggling to understand the difference between
UAE23 HiFimeDIY Sabre USB DAC. Digital to Audio Converter 96khz/24bit (incl USB to optical converter feature)
and
U2 HiFimeDIY Sabre U2 Asynchronous USB DAC



Sorry got it. U2 is asynchronus.
So this should be better right?

1st one is adaptive U2 is ASYNC and will be better with less jitter. go for U2.

 

[sound and music]

Thad and others

How did you place order?

What about the chances of getting stuck with customs when they are shipping by HKpost / USPS.
I am also keen to order; to reduce the clutter further in my secondary system.

Total cost incl. shipping?

I ordered through HiFIMeDIY website.

In total I paid $65 for Async version U2 (including shipping from HK Post).

Yes, I may have to pay some custom duty at the time of delivery. India Post handles shipment sent by HK Post. I don't mind paying it if it is around Rs.500.

What if I don't like the product? I will immediately sell it at this/other forums at a discounted price. If you wish, you could wait till I get mine.

 

[sound and music]

Most of us would be surprised if the HiFiMeDIY beats the Dragonfly. It is haaard to put the price differences, etc, out of one's mind and, in practical terms, even harder for one person to do any sort of blind comparison.

But I've heard a modded HiFiMeDIY stand up very well against my own ODAC and other much more expensive DACs. Not tried, but I doubt that the headphone-out of a laptop could beat it.

The price is almost give-away: less than a fairly ordinary but half decent pair of ear buds. This puts the price/performance ratio at almost infinite! For portable use, it looks like a no-brainer. For non-portable use it is a gift to those with minimal budgets.

I agree with you on price and other points regarding DF vs. U2. One issue could be the synergy of these Dacs with my existing set up.

Some users say U2 is musical with smooth top-end - more suitable for vocal jazz and classical music. On the other hand, DF has a powerful amp.

 

[Thad E Ginathom]

Pure speculation on my part, of course --- as, unlike you I don't have either yet.

BTW, if I had more money just to try stuff, I'd go for the DAC/HP-amp, with external power supply, and see how that is. I wonder if that is another winner on the value front, or perhaps the modders could make it so?

Sorry got it. U2 is asynchronus.
So this should be better right?

Not necessarily better, just more audiophile acceptable. It should (or might) reduce the jitter that you might not have had in the first place.

i have got my HFMeDIY dac? took about 3 weeks to arrive by post

3 weeks? Oh dear, might have to get that laptop repaired, then.

What if I don't like the product? I will immediately sell it at this/other forums at a discounted price. If you wish, you could wait till I get mine.

I'll probably just add mine to the pile of "stuff" --- but passing them on at a discount could be a service to others, especially if those others are interested in the DIY modding tweaks.

They have one DAC specific to ANDROID PHONES!!
Any one used that? Planning to buy??

It's the cheapest too!

its the same dac with a micro USB input instead so the USB OTG cable can be skipped.

I thought the OTG cable was more than just an adapter, but did some magic stuff to enable the USB host mode in the hardware.

People should check out what is possible with their Android devices before spending money on DACs for them. If it is a bit old, it is quite possibly a not possible (eg my Defy+) and even if it is recent, still worth checking.

.

 

[sound and music]

The shipment timings vary. I have got a packet sent by HK registered Post within 5 days - it was shipped on Monday afternoon and I got it on Friday evening, and without any custom duty.

 

[sound and music]

Just got an email from HiFimeDIY - mine will be shipped tomorrow. Let us see in how many days it will reach me.

 

[theironhorse]

.....I thought the OTG cable was more than just an adapter, but did some magic stuff to enable the USB host mode in the hardware.

People should check out what is possible with their Android devices before spending money on DACs for them. If it is a bit old, it is quite possibly a not possible (eg my Defy+) and even if it is recent, still worth checking.
.

OTG its just an adaptor.. small usb to standard usb to read HDD/ flash drives..

all the magic stuff is in the OS..

Update Motorola Defy and Defy+ with CM11 Android 4.4 KitKat Custom ROM

All custom roms for motorola defy plus (JELLYBEAN/KITKAT/ICS) - xda-developers

defy+ has 1 Ghz processor and will be supported by jb and above..
try custom roms and it will natively support audio bitstream..

check this out...

http://www.head-fi.org/t/595071/android-phones-and-usb-dacs/2835

you can try custom rom with defy+ and see if it works. if not you will still have newer and faster OS.

 

[Thad E Ginathom]

Thanks. I'm already using CM jellybean on my Defy+ --- it is a great improvement on the stock rom. I hadn't thought to update to KitKat, because I'm not sure I like it (various reasons) but I'm glad that the roms are still being updated for that phone, it has a lot of life in it, and some of us don't buy phones just to last a year or two!

I really had thought that there was a hardware limitation on the USB. I did look into it in some time back. I might have got it wrong then, or software support might have unlocked something now. I'd better check it out again.

Many thanks for the links and digging the information

 

[theironhorse]

Thanks. I'm already using CM jellybean on my Defy+ --- it is a great improvement on the stock rom. I hadn't thought to update to KitKat, because I'm not sure I like it (various reasons) but I'm glad that the roms are still being updated for that phone, it has a lot of life in it, and some of us don't buy phones just to last a year or two!

I really had thought that there was a hardware limitation on the USB. I did look into it in some time back. I might have got it wrong then, or software support might have unlocked something now. I'd better check it out again.

Many thanks for the links and digging the information

ideally it was never locked but motorola and sony intentionally locked the OTG support in the kernel when they launched the phone in the stock OS. Same wasnt done by samsung or other manufacturers. not sure how it was with GB but from JB onwards most of the phones were able to do it without even rooting the phone.


4.4 is still far from stable but trying new stuff is always an itch. my phone counter now sits in 2 digits..

 

[Santy]

What if I don't like the product? I will immediately sell it at this/other forums at a discounted price. If you wish, you could wait till I get mine.

If you don't like it, I might too...
If you like it, then I have lost time.
What am I supposed to do? :lol:

I thought the OTG cable was more than just an adapter, but did some magic stuff to enable the USB host mode in the hardware.

Android 4.1 onwards supports USB Audio. The manufacturer of the android device has to ensure their hardware allows it.

Jelly Bean | Android Developers

USB audio output support allows hardware vendors to build hardware such as audio docks that interface with Android devices. This functionality is also exposed with the Android Open Accessory Development Kit (ADK) to give all developers the chance to create their own hardware.

 

[sound and music]

Ha-Ha! Please go ahead and place your order.

My best wishes.

 

[ujjwaana]

Thad and others

How did you place order?

What about the chances of getting stuck with customs when they are shipping by HKpost / USPS.
I am also keen to order; to reduce the clutter further in my secondary system.

Total cost incl. shipping?

In the past 4 years, I have ordered RC plane, car accessories, DIY electronics, camera stuff from HK, SG, US, EU etc. with over 150 orders of sizes right from small envelope to 4'x1'x2' boxes and ended up paying custom only 6-7 times!!
So don't worry. Order it to high profile address like Govt office, SEZ etc and postman would refrain from slipping items addressed to such business address. And if you are lucky, you should get you pacakge in 2-3 weeks time. I am telling from my own experience and other RC Plane enthusiast who heavily depend on imports, but YMMV.

I myself plan to import a Saber ES9801 DAC kit from a DIY audio forum member in GB.

-Ujjwal

 

[manniraj]

I myself plan to import a Saber ES9801 DAC kit from a DIY audio forum member in GB.

-Ujjwal

Hi Ujjwaana

Any links to this DAC kit.

Thanks

 

[shibashis]

This thread has come to life all of a sudden! I am just waiting to get my hands on the device, and sincerely hoping that I would be able to notice perceivable improvement. Of course expecting the quality of a high end CD player does not make sense, but for my need where the laptop is at the heart of the entire setup, the whole idea is to improve its output up a couple of notch.

 

[Santy]

Any clues on whether the USB isolator with a limitation of 12 Mbps supports

1. DSD
2. 24/96
3. 24/192
?

Last one is fine but if it does not handle first two, it might become a deal breaker for me. Do these formats need 480 Mbps usb interface?


EDIT:
Got a very quick response from Eastern Audio:

HI, it will support 24/96, but not 24/192 as "high speed" is required for 24/192.
DSD we are not sure, it depends if it needs "high speed" or not.

Kind regards,

Sales and Support department
HiFimeDIY
[email protected]

So does DSD require high speed USB ?

 

[Santy]

I assumed that the isolator (which was planned for my main system) is more ideal for usb powered DACs, skipped it and placed order for U2 only. Lets see how soon I can receive it. Hope we can track the parcel till the last mile?

 

[Thad E Ginathom]

Mine is now "Despatched."

If it is coming by India Speedpost, we might be able to track it all the way. Comments from previous purchasers on this?

 

[manniraj]

Mine is now "Despatched."

If it is coming by India Speedpost, we might be able to track it all the way. Comments from previous purchasers on this?

I got my speaker drivers last week thru Singpost speedpost air parcel but once it landed in India there was no way to track either on Singpost or the PO. It all depends on the PO/Singpost updating the tracker regularly. The tracking number changes once it lands in India I suppose as I got some other number from the foreign PO section based on the Singpost number.

 

[Thad E Ginathom]

I assumed that the isolator (which was planned for my main system) is more ideal for usb powered DACs, skipped it and placed order for U2 only.

Yes, I'm sure that is what it is for. It may be solving a problem, or it may be one of those things that audiophiles like to think is a problem --- but it's a small price to find out.

I was going to try it on my ODAC, but, daft as ever, I'd forgotten that I power it from a hub anyway! :lol:

 

[Santy]

Yes, I'm sure that is what it is for. It may be solving a problem, or it may be one of those things that audiophiles like to think is a problem --- but it's a small price to find out.

I was going to try it on my ODAC, but, daft as ever, I'd forgotten that I power it from a hub anyway! :lol:

Yup, its very cheap and the incremental shipping cost is less than $2 (along with the HiFime DAC). But it appears that it cannot handle DSD. Not that I am a hi-res fan or I have lot of DSD music but the idea that DSD will not work on my DSD DAC sets a mind-block. Who does not suffer from one

BTW powering ODAC from hub means? The DAC still uses the power from the USB I suppose.