Which 4499EQ? Owners appreciated

[MacCali]

I need a dac for my stereo system, really debating between the 3 and measurements out the door, what sounds the best?

SMSL M400..
D90..
Gustard A22..

I dont know which one to choose....

Money no object, so I am not factoring that in.. they're all in nearly the same ballpark

 

[Martin]

All 3 will be indistinguishable in double blind testing. Eeny-meeny-miny-moe, throw a dart or pick one based upon aesthetics.

Martin

 

[Frgirard]

The three. No one have your ears, your room and your speakers.
Take a dice is an other solution.

 

[Grotti]

It really doesn't matter which one you pick....soundwise they should all do perfect in an undistinguishable way.

 

[MacCali]

All 3 will be indistinguishable in double blind testing. Eeny-meeny-miny-moe, throw a dart or pick one based upon aesthetics.

Martin

I was looking at your post which came up between the X26pro and the A22.. I was thinking the A22 but honestly last time I had a ess9038 I wasn't liking the sound..

Unfortunately I have this notion as, not from this forum apparently, that some of these chinese dacs sound lifeless. I guess that means not musical or god only knows.. I got nothing against chinese dacs, as I have the xDuoo TA-10R for headphones and out of all the dacs ive had it's by far my favorite unit and it may strictly be because of the tube. But definitely has changed my perception.

And unfortunately I dont really care about looks, so you guys would definitely say purchase the cheapest one.. I mean there's the A18.. just feel like it's not on par with the rest.. just want what sounds the best is all and you may know they all sound the same. Just dont know what trickery the A22 has with all the extra crap internally..

 

[Koeitje]

If you don't care about looks then buy the cheapest one.

 

[Grotti]

Or take a look at the RME ADI-2.... I know, it only provides the 4493 but it has a lot more to offer than just a DAC-chip...

 

[Jmsent]

I was looking at your post which came up between the X26pro and the A22.. I was thinking the A22 but honestly last time I had a ess9038 I wasn't liking the sound..

Unfortunately I have this notion as, not from this forum apparently, that some of these chinese dacs sound lifeless. I guess that means not musical or god only knows.. I got nothing against chinese dacs, as I have the xDuoo TA-10R for headphones and out of all the dacs ive had it's by far my favorite unit and it may strictly be because of the tube. But definitely has changed my perception.

And unfortunately I dont really care about looks, so you guys would definitely say purchase the cheapest one.. I mean there's the A18.. just feel like it's not on par with the rest.. just want what sounds the best is all and you may know they all sound the same. Just dont know what trickery the A22 has with all the extra crap internally..

I have an A22, which uses a pair of 4499's. It's beautifully built and sonically performs flawlessly in my system, which is quite high end. There's nothing in the design or the specs that would cause it to sound "lifeless" (whatever that means). I bought it because it was an open box unit that I purchased at a very reasonable price.

 

[Martin]

Or a Benchmark 3. I wrote them a while back asking if they were planning a DAC 4 using the latest DAC chip and they replied that there is a lot more to a DAC's sound than SINAD. They have published some interesting technical white papers about how they achieve the results they do. They make excellently measuring DACs.

 

[amper42]

Or take a look at the RME ADI-2.... I know, it only provides the 4493 but it has a lot more to offer than just a DAC-chip...

I have the RME ADI-2 with the 4493 but the new units have the ES9028Q2M chip. With AKM chips out of stock, when you buy a DAC that previously had the AKM chip you may find it's no longer inside. The longer you wait the more chance of a part change. It will be interesting if the revisions measure as well as the initial reviews.

 

[MacCali]

I have an A22, which uses a pair of 4499's. It's beautifully built and sonically performs flawlessly in my system, which is quite high end. There's nothing in the design or the specs that would cause it to sound "lifeless" (whatever that means). I bought it because it was an open box unit that I purchased at a very reasonable price.

I totally realize that something with that price and everything it comes with as a full size dac wouldn't be whatever lifeless means.

I dont doubt it that all of them would be good, as I mentioned that notion has kind of slipped away through experience. It seems to have a lot more in the box going on and even then there's the A18 which is a single 4499 but seems like it definitely falls short of the A22

 

[MacCali]

Or take a look at the RME ADI-2.... I know, it only provides the 4493 but it has a lot more to offer than just a DAC-chip...

I have the Gishelli Labs JNOG and it uses that AKM chip and really like that dac. I just need something with a volume control because I am going to be using this with my stereo system. Also, I am just trying to get something better in general than adding a passive preamp and doing that. To my knowledge these higher up AKM chips are supposed to be better than those lower ones. I am not expecting a night and day difference, but my system just got far better. I have speakers that 5 times the price of my previous speakers, so I want something that will really make them shine.

 

[Grotti]

I have the Gishelli Labs JNOG and it uses that AKM chip and really like that dac. I just need something with a volume control because I am going to be using this with my stereo system. Also, I am just trying to get something better in general than adding a passive preamp and doing that. To my knowledge these higher up AKM chips are supposed to be better than those lower ones. I am not expecting a night and day difference, but my system just got far better. I have speakers that 5 times the price of my previous speakers, so I want something that will really make them shine.

Whatever makes you feel good: buy it! But if it is helpful: I could have purchased almost any DAC tested here (perhaps not the Mola Mola ) but I went for the ADI-2 Pro fs BE and it was the right decision for me. Please note that I am not related to RME and I have no tendency to be a fan boy of anything. But this thing is as good as it gets, death silent, an absolute transparent preamp and HP-amp and I don't want to miss it's PEQ and it's dynamic loudness.

And I really don't care if this level of performance is achieved by an AKM 4493,4499 or an ES9028....

Btw: it was mentioned before that it will be very unlikely to hear differences between the mentioned DAC chips in a double blind test when they are implemented properly. So choose what you like!

 

[MacCali]

Whatever makes you feel good: buy it! But if it is helpful: I could have purchased almost any DAC tested here (perhaps not the Mola Mola ) but I went for the ADI-2 Pro fs BE and it was the right decision for me. Please note that I am not related to RME and I have no tendency to be a fan boy of anything. But this thing is as good as it gets, death silent, an absolute transparent preamp and HP-amp and I don't want to miss it's PEQ and it's dynamic loudness.

And I really don't care if this level of performance is achieved by an AKM 4493,4499 or an ES9028....

Btw: it was mentioned before that it will be very unlikely to hear differences between the mentioned DAC chips in a double blind test when they are implemented properly. So choose what you like!

I’ve really looked into the RME previously as I wanted a dac for my headphones and an amp combo. I got nothing against it.

I just bought the D30 pro and there’s an issue with the unit so I’m returning it. So it’s basically back to the drawing board.

Not that it was an issue with the sound, for some reason after a couple of hours of being on the unit starts to make this static sound. Prior to that it’s pitch black. Some people on the D30 pro review thread gave me advice on resolving it but it wasn’t working. I tried different sources, amps, headphones and the issue seems to just happen when the unit gets hot. But let’s not get into that