My Favourite High-End Audiophile DAC for HALF The Price. DIY KIT Using Insane Quality Parts!
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- Опубликовано: 6 окт 2024
- This might be the best affordable DAC. I believe Audio Note DACs to be one of the best R2R/tube DAC when it comes to musicality. But what if I told you that you can build one similar for half the price?
Related Links:
ANK 2.1 DAC KIT: ankaudiokits.c...
Pre-built ANK 2.1 DAC: ankaudiokits.c...
Want your kit built my a professional? Try contacting Todd@fawkescorporation.com (he built the unit I reviewed.)
have a question for the ANK? email ankaudiokits@gmail.com
Related Videos:
Audio Note 0.1x Dac Review: • Anti-Audiophile MUSIC ...
Audio Note Tonmeister Review: • End Game Audiophile Tu...
Audio Note M2 + Vindicator Review: • BEST SOUND for SENSITI...
Tracks Used:
AGE of the BEAR - Rainy Days
Beauregard - Paper Planes feat Thomas Ng
Rex Banner - Human
Get Burn by Tom Walker and over 1M + mainstream tracks here go.lickd.co/Music
License ID: dnKXValYPvY
Support on Patreon: / jayiyagi
follow on Instagram: / jays_iyagi
follow on Facebook: / jayiyagiofficial
Follow soundstage take 2 reviews: • Jay's Soundstage! reviews
Speaker stands: amzn.to/3ssRhI3
Better speaker stands: solidsteel.it/...
acoustic panels I use: ua-acoustics.com/
acoustic curtain: amzn.to/31d1zAM
BDI Cabinet I use: bit.ly/2OJRwQQ
amzn.to/3chBuFZ
other BDI Cabinets: bit.ly/3ctxXV1
amzn.to/30bsUCH
my fav hifi tweaks: (Isoacoustics devices) amzn.to/3j5FGvM
#hifi #audiophile #homeaudio
*thanks for stopping by! Remember to click that like button ;)*
Related Links:
ANK 2.1 DAC KIT: ankaudiokits.com/product/dac-2-1/
Pre-built ANK 2.1 DAC: ankaudiokits.com/product/dac-2-1-signature-professional-edition/
Want your kit built my a professional? Try contacting Todd@fawkescorporation.com (he built the unit I reviewed.)
have a question for the ANK? email ankaudiokits@gmail.com
Related Videos:
Audio Note 0.1x Dac Review: ruclips.net/video/o2r6Vrlb-CE/видео.htmlsi=tCCLkg_-0u-YNN-2
Audio Note Tonmeister Review:ruclips.net/video/lHk8yjtt-mo/видео.htmlsi=7vBoER8UT9szGzh0
Audio Note M2 + Vindicator Review: ruclips.net/video/F22lggYxObA/видео.htmlsi=v8mW_zaYOlKYW5d9
Tracks Used:
AGE of the BEAR - Rainy Days
Beauregard - Paper Planes feat Thomas Ng
Rex Banner - Human
Get Burn by Tom Walker and over 1M + mainstream tracks here go.lickd.co/Music
License ID: dnKXValYPvY
Support on Patreon: www.patreon.com/jayiyagi
follow on Instagram: instagram.com/jays_iyagi/
follow on Facebook: facebook.com/jayiyagiofficial
Follow soundstage take 2 reviews: ruclips.net/p/PLPOzvlhtSqn5xdc__ftuSt4Rxy_wm5Af0
Speaker stands: amzn.to/3ssRhI3
Better speaker stands: solidsteel.it/my-product/ss-7-vintage-hi-fi-speaker-stands/
acoustic panels I use: ua-acoustics.com/
acoustic curtain: amzn.to/31d1zAM
BDI Cabinet I use: bit.ly/2OJRwQQ
amzn.to/3chBuFZ
other BDI Cabinets: bit.ly/3ctxXV1
amzn.to/30bsUCH
my fav hifi tweaks: (Isoacoustics devices) amzn.to/3j5FGvM
Is that a Denafrips Athena preamplifier I saw floating about in this video and up for review soon?
Your excitement around the Audio Note Tube DAC both the ANK and AN DAC0.1x had me thinking. I have a Marantz Cinema 50 that does home theater duty and also 2 channel duty and I have been looking for ways to introduce a tube sound into the picture. Vinyl through my Cinema 50 and phono pre sings but digital streaming lacks some life. Either of these DACs are not a small investment but the convenience of having partial tube sound coming through a home theatre AV is a very interesting proposition for 2 channel listening/streaming. For reference I'm using Focal Aria 906 bookshelves for my mains with dual Martin Logan Dynamo 800X subs. Definitely interested in your opinion!
would be super cool if you had an opportunity to compare audio note dacs VS SW1X dacs
Hi Jay, I'm building the ANK 2.1 DAC right now. This is my 20th diy build. I would caution first time builders....this probably isn't the project for a first time builder. I completed the power supply and during testing I kept blowing up the zener diode on the power supply board. It took me several weeks to figure out that I had done nothing wrong. The problem was a bad ECL82 tube. Almost all tubes supplied by ANK Kits are NOS. The problem is no one can tell if the tubes are "pulls" from old equipment or truly new old stock. In any event I have constructed all the circuit boards and I just have to wire this thing up. I expect it to sound very good when I'm done.
Got it! Thanks for the heads up!
FINALLY SOMEONES COVERING THIS THANK YOU!
I'd love to start making DIY Kits as an option for Audio. Brilliant idea for learning and quality.
Amps and other component options - I think these DIY kits would give many HiFi hobbyists an appreciation for how products are assembled and priced.
I have some experience there .. and I can 100% say it helped me in my journey.
Jay I must applaud you! You have stepped up my man. Love the way you presented this video. It’s a refreshing take of going into the detail on the dac and then editing in a clip of what you’re saying. This right here is a cut above all audiophile YT vids. You’ve broken your own mold and it’s impressive. Thanks!
Been looking for a DIY DAC for ages, thanks for bringing this to our attention Jay.
It's great to see kits available as I grew up on Hafler kits.
I bought this unit on a lark because I wanted a smooth DAC to play poorly recorded music. I was shocked by how good it was overall. It replaced my Holo May KTE and I have put in an order for their level 5 edition.
Is the level 5 listed on there website?
Where do you find the level 5 edition?
Interesting. I have the Holo Audio May and wondered how it compares. Do you get good full bass extension?
Just get a topping or SMSL, cheaper and sounds the same.
@@r423sdexha ha, surely you jest!
Hi Jay! Thank you so much for a very good review/presentation of the ANK dac kit. I`ve been on the fence for a couple of years regarding ANK dac kits, so this was very helpful.
yea me and my patreons were on the fence too but Mike decided to take a risk and it paid off for him. This is a great sounding unit! Especially considering the price, what a steal.
From my limited experience components which use tube rectification and regulation tend to have a better presentation/soundstage. I like that they use a choke with the transformer in the power supply as well. Website says the digital board comes pre-built with the kit..which i think is nice. I wouldnt normally spend this type of bread on a kit but i find this one interesting and it would go nice with tube Pre's & amps ive already built. I encourage anyone to try a build, but start with something basic that has extensive build notes. Its fun when it all works out.. frustrating when something goes wrong 😆
I loved building this DAC, sounds great. I also built the EL34 power amp, another great sounding ANK kit.
Thanks for pointing out these kind of components at these price ranges. It's important because the hi-fi sector has become out of reach for so many enthusiasts.
Thank you for exposing this hidden gem Jay! A lot of interested people don't know where to start and are afraid to spend too much for something they might not be satisfied with.
At least with this DIY Kit, there will be an option available and at the same time they will be educating themselves to be able to assemble it which will also establish proper expectations when it comes to HiFi/High End.
Nice to see you again Jay! ♥️👊
Cool dac! Would have been nice to hear a bit more about the kit part of this unit. Was it hard to put together? Does it require a lot of soldering skills or is it just plugging boards together? How much time can one expect to spend on building the kit? Would be nice to hear more about this. Love that you include diy stuff on your channel!
I did not build it myself so I can't really comment on that. I will probably build one out in the future though!
some useful information for you here ankaudiokits.com/faqs/
@@Jayiyagi Thanks Jay! Looks interesting.
Man this is so cool. Too bad I already bought my expensive DAC.
I have this DAC,but with Duelund Caps,sounds great,love it.
I would definitely buy the kit version,
Very tempting way to improve the sound for less money .
Plus fun ….all the way , at least for me , love soldering and building something out of zero.
I've done the Audio Note and also ANK dacs. I've now moved onto SW1X which I have zero regrets. They all have the same dna
Never heard of SW1X before but their products look very enticing
I bought SW1X Dac II in 2019 and I never look back.:)
its tuned specifically for daps/ music, really2 good result
It would be very interesting if you reviewed the Musical Paradise MP-DX DAC. It is a tube dac with changable capacitors and master clock!
"Its something you might be in for." - Jays Iyagi
Beautiful, I have always wanted to hear Audio Note gear especially the tube amp you reviewed that was integrated and low wattage, like 20 watts or something. That piece of gear was 20K. Tons of money but I would bet it was extremely satisfying.
Really tempting! Would be perfect if the caps were quick swappable like with musical paradise for instance.
The Audio Note copper caps strongly color the sound, I think it's the key part to making them sound so similar.
Jay, you mentioned the Audio Note look and how it is basically just a box. I typically like silver colored components but I have to tell you, I really love that Audio Note black look. Very understated but very classy looking!
Hi Jay, it's amazing how many comments I get on my channel poo pooing audio note capacitors, I've used the audio note Kaisei capacitors, to recap my quad 405 & they are amazing capacitors, they are expensive, the Kaisei caps have taken the 405 to a whole new level of sonic quality, they are outstanding, I couldn't recommend them any higher, great video by the way 👍
Jay - great review as usual! Have you heard/reviewed/compared the Soekris 2541 DAC with the 2.1 or any other R2R DACs?
Shame I don’t need a DAC… and not into kit building either. Would enjoy hearing this unit.
10:47 Great descriptors. Fantastic video.
Oh, it looks like the maker of these kits is in my home town of Ottawa. (Gloucester). Might have to check them out when I visit the folks at Christmas. Thanks for the flag on this one. :)
I am not huge on measurements but I still like to see how dac measures thanks Jay ' Yes I owned many products that have measured good and most of the time these units are BORING sounding ' thanks Jay '
im into DIY and built something similar for under $300 with a totally Discrete R2R module using CPLD and Analog Stage being Tubes. I tried R2R on a chip before (pcm58) but Discrete is so much much much better... i could still improve the sound by moding the Power stage by utilizing better capacitors, but what i get from this combination is sublime. all i can say is... if you are into audio, Definitely learn the basics in Electronics engineering and you will save yourself thousands of dollars and make it even better.
i have built my own Dac, Speakers and using a custom Class A/B amp...
Hey, greetings from Germany.
Do you have a part list from your similar diy dac.
Ok Im inspired to build something like this
no pls smth like mass tm7 would be more appreciated
I am still waiting for and looking forward to your review of the Denafrips Athena! :)
Hey friend doing well! Currently rocking 3 dacs: Holo spring KTE, Exogal comet S+, and Aqua La Voce S3. All set on dacs for some time.
I own a baltic 4 engine Eleven DAC and previous I had Denafrips Terminator II, How does this unit go against T-II or the LampizatOr baltic ?, very interesting review
Jay, I noticed several push fit connections that would likely be much improved with a graphene treatment. I treated all my cable connections to amazing coherence improvement
Solder them.
Im well in South Africa ...thanks for beautiful reviews
love your video! how about the sound of ANK 4.1 DAC comparing to AN?
Amir’s army won’t be happy with this. Lol
Cool vid man
My kind of dac but Musical Paradise just released a new Dac so I don’t know. I wonder how they would compare? Somebody also mentioned the border patrol Dac as well.
I just got my allnic zl-8000s, fantastic power cable. How are you liking it?
How would you say the .1 compares to the 5? I’ve always heard that with audio note the house sound is the same but as you go up the ladder you just get more of the same good thing. Since those 2 DACs are at opposite extremes I’d love to hear your take on it
I'm doing.. dandy.. thanks for asking Jay!
Very good Jay ! 👍🎼
I only paid like $15 for a USB C to 1/8" Stereo cable with a built-in high performance DAC for my Note 20 Cell Phone. Works and sounds great when plugged into the AUX input of my 120 Watt Class A amp.
Not the same...thanks for the laugh!!
Excellent vid. I'd love to try it. But, there are so many choices around this price. I run a Tradutto through a Decware Rachel intergrated to Decware DNA , also have Decware Gold Pills between the dac and amp. The sound freaks me out. Can't wait to see your vids from CAF, I assume you're going.
hi Jay, love your video...i am considerring to buy one....when choosing the DAC, this DAC only support 24/96kHz. What's your opinion for this DAC could not support 24/192kHz Hi-Res file from Quboz?
Great review 😊 Perhaps unsurprisingly the ANK 2.1 Signature actually ends up being $200 more than the 0.1x with shipping, tax and vat to Europe. Otherwise I’d totally be up for trying to build something like this (given it does not require soldering), was it not for how hard it seems to be re-sell DIY hifi
DIY stuff is to keep not to sell. Only you know how well it is made. Nobody will ever trust in your work and the truth is there is a lot stuff out there that is terrible.
@@elderinmoi1571 I've sold of kit stuff at the kit price. The bottlehead mainline, the crack headphone amp. I cut my teeth on those and yes, my soldering could have been better. The crack unit went to a technician and he completely re-soldered it and did some upgrades. I don't know if it sounded any better afterwards, but it did look better. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Into the Intro i was excited thinking we can now get half the price high end end amp at Wally world.
This with a nice high end nilai500 class d would likely be a great combo. Not sure what preamp would be best, but the whole diy route is becoming way more interesting to me now. I leave my gear on all day, is this good to leave on all the time with the tubes?
I'd turn it off if I know I'm now going to be home for a while but otherwise, it's fine
@@JayiyagiIt depends what is budget for tubes. Decent tubes are expensive! NOS tubes are very expensive!!
Thanks Jay - and that's not even with tube a rollin'?!?
I wonder how much better it would sound with NOS Philips/Amperex SQ-7308's instead of the Sovtek 6922's... oh my my 😎 Web photos show it equipped with JJ E88CC, meh.
Would be interesting to compare the whole ladder of ANK offerings (1.1 vs 2.1 vs 4.1 vs 5.1)! What more does one get as one climbs that ladder 🤩
Uh, yeah a 5.1x with transformer-coupled output, with the 12au7 and the Aqua II W274B by Sophia Electric. Can a dream get more wet than that?
So, there are three Audio Note branded companies. ANK, Audio Note UK, and Kondo Audio Note (Which is the true original…)
At least one of the circuit boards is Audio Note branded. I would think there's more of a cooperation between the two manufacturers than AN would like you to believe, in order to protect their premium business from the ANK line.
Great review Jay. Do you know if the prices are in Canadian or US Dollars since the company is based in Ottawa?
I believe it’s in USD but you can check with them via email
A few years ago the price was both CAD and USD, e.g. 1,300$ USD or 1,300$ CAD
Fyi, Altitude Audio in wininipeg is an Audionote dealer. You will be surprised about the DAC cost if you prefer guenine DAC.
Thanks Jay, really interesting, but I'd be far too scared to try the self build.
The sound clips sounded really excellent so hopefully you'll be reviewing those speakers sometime.
Keep up the good work.
no worries. I'd recommend contacting Todd (in the descriptions). There are many builders out there that would build it for you
Nice, try and get support from him!!
Great video! What is your thoughts on an audio note dac 4.1x?
great intro .. love it
I'm into diy speakers and looking into diy purfi or hypex amp kits so this is a good idea for someone like me but honestly I am using a smsl su 1 dac and that thing is not bad for $80 😅
Yeah, thats a nice system, huge thumbs up to the Transmission tube amps there. It doesn't look like you're playing through them though?
Have you considered point source full range speakers for everyday listening? I know you have heard ALOT and found what your ears like. Some artists just glow with this older fashioned configuration.
Im keeping my stuff simple with high efficiency full range, and triode class a...
IN THEORY though OTL amps seem to offer more in the functionality-of-design for audio reproduction. With set output transformers, you drive a coil which drives another coil, which drives another coil, the speaker coil. Theres flyback, transformer variation, system matching considerations... I want NOTHING in between honestly, so why not have output transformerless amplifiers as a reference?
It would mean tubes impart most coloration, as well as source which is a big deal with the sound of something,
Have you listened to any OTL amps or specifically Transcendent Sound amplifiers? I am thinking about building the 15wpch version they have designed and perfected, it seems.
Purely DAC.. who would win the battle ANK 2.1 vs DMP8
Very interesting. I don´t know if you mentioned it, but what DAC chip is used in this DAC?
R2R
Actually, the chip is a new old stock R2R Analog Device AN1865N.
Nice little intro! That was pretty smooth
copper foil electrolytic capacitors are they real or is it just painted in copper color? Denon pma1600 transformer looks like copper strips, but it just has a good-colored transparent lacquer layer on it. underneath is just silver colored metal.
@Jay iyagi : Help please. I had to move & friend tells me after 1/3 loaded up I want your stereo for helping, besides a $3500 guitar, $500 cash, $500 of deer mounts, etc. I am a disabled play at home musician & now without a stereo & a very small home recording system. Can you recommend anything for around $3,000. Should I buy used ? Thank you very much. 😎
With friends like that, who needs enemies?😢
@@clivesutcliffe487 When they say GOD put it on their heart to move you, 4 hours later they turn into the Covetnator, coveting your possessions, #10 Thou shall not covet. My vehicle was struck & knocked over 1/10 of a mile, left me too injured to do most demanding physical tasks I used to. 😎✌️
Jay, the first song that you played, who was that by….???
Thanks and great video.
All songs are in the description and pinned comment.
Would you say the ANK is a big step above the Denafrips Pontus 2?
Nope just different but my personal preference is def ANK
How does the ANK2.1 compare to the Border Patrol DAC which is at a similar price point.
Don’t think your Audio Note ambassador buddy is going to be on the channel again anytime soon
I was thinking the same thing 😂😂
I have to assume that "tin foil" means "aluminum foil"?
Hi Jay, you maniac! Hahaha, I gues we both have something in common, hahaha.
It's really nice video, I feel ok :)
What amplification pairing do you recommend, last year's winner Vincent perhaps?
That would work great. Im using it with the AGD and its wonderful
If you had to go through the remainder of your journey with one DAC, would you choose ANK or Doge?
I wish I paid more attention to science at school.
How does Audio Note compare to SW1X?
Is that a preamp with the red lights in the front ?
I would build it, but my first free $1,000 has to go to upgrade my Yggdrasil. 🙂🙂🙂
Do the tubes do the d to a conversion or are they just a line stage after the conversion?
I wanna reach out and just get that hair out of you eye. Cool stuff man
How come the music examples sound totally compressed and tired?
sound great to me especially when you compare to original recordings. Maybe whatever you are listening through is compressed and your ears are tired 😂
Dig the pillow
Too bad, the tube PSU is a total bone killer. I don’t want to shell out for matched pairs forever.
before no one would buy a DAC(there wasn´t any digital component for your stereo system or component hi-fi equipment) buy a better cd player, mine today costs 36.000€ allthough i paid next to nothing compared and i´m not going to buy a pre anything for any of my components ,i´ve seen young men buying pre-everything to their better frequency response components that now need a pre-something ,even for headphones ,why?do they need a pre, the 400 watts at 4 ohms are not enough for one´s ears, using headphones like my uncle that at 4 in the morning after knocking at their door for 45 minuts with police and all because he forgets to disconect the speakers selector, and he uses a 200watts amplifier with some HPM-1000 speakers,this in the 20thfloor
Not a symmetrical build and no balanced connections not for me. With a shouty speaker this might be your best bet though.
Sadly, from my experience, many/most AN owners spit on ANK.
Audio note for me is “ Audio No!”
i would buy a 70´s BMW first
Purist? With tubes in it...? !
for that price it should have balanced
No. I think there’s an over obsession with balanced. There was great amps before balanced, and there’s great non balanced amps today. Like my Fezz Titania.
Take a look at the Audio Note Ongaku- well over $100K - single ended, and it’s one of the greatest amps in the world.
Whereabouts is the company based?
Canada
@@Jayiyagi wasn't expecting that, so not an English company?
@@Jayiyagi Canada...translate to English?
These DACs resale like absolute shit...So buyer beware that whatever you save will be lost in resale if/when you try to sell it. And they hang on the market forever due to the fact the builds are wildly inconsistent depending on who built them. Personally I wouldn't buy one of these unless I truly needed to experience building something on my own. Otherwise these ANKits aren't a wise investment...Unless of course you're Jay and you get it for free.
Hi. I don’t get it for free lol
@@Jayiyagi You sure don't pay what we pay.
Yes I don’t. I do often get industry accommodation pricing like anyone who works in the industry
#Dandy
Please no more videos in 60fps.
Its in 24fps
It had that 60fps hard telenovella look@@Jayiyagi
No such thing as a audio note kit
You sure about that?
Says the person watching a video about "The ANK" = Audio Note Kit! 🤣
Its a kit, its my unit and my college buddy built it last year
Ank has nothing to do with audio note UK at all. It's many years ago they stopped offering kits and audio note UK.
Ank is not allies to use the name audio note. That's why they call it ank. They might use some of there ideas. But other than that. They have nothing in common
Half the price but no where near AN UK's sound.
Need at least two Toslink inputs so not for me.
This DAC only does up to 96khz? That an issue?
Most of the recording are 96khz Im with qobuz