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GUTB
238
Mar 17, 2016
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People should understand what products like the DACport Slim are, and what they aren't. They are mobile and semi-mobile solutions for things like smartphones with really bad audio and/or weak output voltage. They are for dropping into a bag with your laptop while out and about. They are for the extreme budget conscious who want an upgrade from cheap integrated audio from budget PCs / phones.
They are NOT a desktop system replacement. They are not for critical listening. They are not a hi-fi component.
Please be aware what you are getting. A DAC has 4 critical parts -- the power supply, the input stage, output stage, and d/a stage. A small portable unit like this may have a good d/a chip, but it won't have a high end clock, because there's not enough room, and the power supply isn't good enough to drive the crystal to its potential. The input stage won't have any isolation, clock recovery, filtering, etc. The output stage simply doesn't have the room for large capacitors, quality op-amps let alone discreet circuits and it simply doesn't have the power or heat dissipation to handle FETs so you're stuck with poor IC amps.
You are getting inherently inferior quality, and that's something that should be considered along with the price.
Mar 17, 2016
userfriendly
27
Mar 18, 2016
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GUTBJust wanted to point out the slim isn't being marketed as a device to work with smartphones due to the power draw. Some phones will not be able to power, so YMMV.
As far as my experience with the slim; I'm quite happy with mine and find it great for work where I can't have a large desktop solution. I've been trying it with the line level out settings feeding my objective 2 and can't decide if I prefer it more with or without the obj 2, which I consider a compliment towards the dacport slim.
Mar 18, 2016
CEntrance
1151
Michael Goodman
Mar 18, 2016
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GUTBHold your horses. Have you looked inside? Picosecond clocks with mil-spec precision (way better than Femto clocks, throw them on the test bench and you'll see), 5 independent power supplies with linear filtering, JitterGuard (tm) jitter reduction technology, fully balanced DAC filtering, bipolar power supplies, and a whole lot of other tech from our award-winning DACmini, which made it to the COVER of Stereophile.
25 years ago I was designing audio equipment with large capacitors and huge toroidal transformers, but those days are gone. Technology moves on and much better and smaller solutions are available now. As a successful design firm serving over 100 clients from McIntosh, to Benchmark, to Lavry, to Playback Designs, to KORG and many others, we certainly cannot be accused of providing inferior products. Our highest goal is to provide excellent quality at affordable prices! And it looks like thousands of customers agree.
Mar 18, 2016
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