T+A DAC 8 DSD - comparisons against Denafrips

[stretchneck]

Plenty of reviews and comparisons of Denafrips R2R ladder DACs, but none of them ever reference the T+A DAC 8 DSD - anyone got any insight / experience?

 

[felixxia]

hello there. i own t+a dac 8, and i borrowed denafrip ares ii last week, for a week!

in short : the t+a has sweeter and warmer tone. everything else they are on par i guess?

the ares has to be on a linux platform to sound its best. so a friend provided an intel nuc. if i used my asus laptop to ares, it sounded bright and harsh. i didnt use specialized driver from denafrips at all, so it may not be a fair comparison to t+a dac 8, which on my system used a manufacturer's driver. using jriver, i cannot even change volume on windows, i have to change volume directly on the dac 8.

the ares is hard to use, the interface on the dac itself is kinda confusing. using intel nuc / linux os, the tonal balance felt neutral, crispy detail, good mid bass punch / attack, good stereo imaging. but i personally prefer a warmer tone. the dac 8 sounded more lush.

compared to food :
dac 8 is like eating a delicious dish just fresh out of the kitchen, with sinful ingredients, you name it, fat, butter, margarine...
ares is like eating healthy food from the fridge. sinful food are always more delicious, ya know. but if you prefer healthy food, i am sure you will like the ares. it is much cheaper as well. to me it sounded clinical.

ares = sounded digital. dac8 sounded analog.

 

[spiritofmusic]

Can vouch for the Dac8
Heard it at least a dozen times in a top system...SGM2016 server/45 tubes amps/AG Duos horns
Absolutely exemplary, fantastic dynamics and fleshed out texture especially into lower mids.
I believe the owner of this system had the Terminator for a while, but the experience didn't work out positively.

 

[heihei]

As per Marc's comments, the Dac8 is incredible but it needs to be fed the highest DSD signal your server can supply, which is why it sounds so good with SGM, LDMS etc. This requires far more being spent on the server than the DAC which is not everyone's idea of balance.

 

[stretchneck]

Thanks - very useful. Sounds like denafrips is a bit on the neutral side for me (I will presume that the Terminator has the same sound signature as the ares).

Also interesting that I have a Yggdrasil (Unison model) in at the moment, and whilst I need to listen to it a bit more, I find it quite a good comparison with the T+A, but with a slightly higher noise floor. Which is not what everyone has said... many preferring the T+A. Will post feedback.

 

[stretchneck]

Can vouch for the Dac8
Heard it at least a dozen times in a top system...SGM2016 server/45 tubes amps/AG Duos horns
Absolutely exemplary, fantastic dynamics and fleshed out texture especially into lower mids.
I believe the owner of this system had the Terminator for a while, but the experience didn't work out positively.

Hi spiritofmusic - have you had the Yggy and Holo audio in your system. I'm finding the Yggy a good listen using just 44.1 PCM, no need to up sample everything to DSD like with the T+A.

Looks like you've been through / going through the same journey as me.

I've listened to the Tambaqui - liked it a lot - but the price premium over the T+A didn't justify it. The T+A sounds very good (I found the main difference for the Tamaqui was that it images better, otherwise very similar to T+A DAC 8 DSD when fed high quality DSD).

So I'm still looking for DAC's that perform well with regular 44.1 PCM...

 

[spiritofmusic]

The Holo is a possibility at some point, I have a local dealer who highly rates it. My comment was purely to pass perspective on the Dac8 shining in a hugely impressive system. With the caveat that there is serious synergy btwn it in DSD upsampling mode and the SGM2015.

 

[matthias]

There is a nice thread on AS about the T+A vs MM Tambaqui:

Mola Mola Tambaqui vs T+A DAC 8 DSD - mini review

Thought I would post this collection of notes as a mini-review. Please see my profile for full details of my system so you understand the basis of comparison - note that the T+A DAC 8 DSD that I own has been modified by Taiko Audio. It includes solid copper upper and lower plates (the upper plate...

audiophilestyle.com

Now the Tambaqui is according to Joel Chevassus from Audiophile-Magazine much superior to the Terminator.

So some sort of indirect comparison.......

The T+A is for sure one of the best DACs for DSD as the Yggy is for 44.1 PCM.

Matt

 

[matthias]

There is a nice thread on AS about the T+A vs MM Tambaqui:

Mola Mola Tambaqui vs T+A DAC 8 DSD - mini review

Thought I would post this collection of notes as a mini-review. Please see my profile for full details of my system so you understand the basis of comparison - note that the T+A DAC 8 DSD that I own has been modified by Taiko Audio. It includes solid copper upper and lower plates (the upper plate...

audiophilestyle.com

Now the Tambaqui is according to Joel Chevassus from Audiophile-Magazine much superior to the Terminator.

So some sort of indirect comparison.......

The T+A is for sure one of the best DACs for DSD as the Yggy is for 44.1 PCM.

Matt

@stretchneck

You know better than me:
It is your thread on AS

Best

Matt

 

[felixxia]

i just received an email from t+a customer support showing me how to upconvert music files into dsd512 using jriver to the dac 8 dsd.

interesting isnt it. i thought the dac can upconvert on the fly, but it cannot. that is why it is not that expensive. but personally i like the way it sounds without dsd... after owning it for a couple of years i have never even tried to listen to a dsd file. too expensive and too obscure and the file size is just too much.

 

[stretchneck]

I still haven't heard a denafrips, but my understanding is that it potentially has less presence and boogie factor compared to the dynamics of thee T+A... it is 'a more pleasant' sounding DAC perhaps. It might be amazing, but I feel hesitant to try and source one out to test based on these impressions from others. I think it's perhaps just not my musical style, a bit like the Chord DAVE where I found vocals to pushed back into the mix.

Still if someone could get me one I'd give it a while, but I won't be actively chasing.