This 32 bit DAC is the latest design by Yulong Audio in China. If you don't know about Yulong yet, it specializes in DA converter and headphone amp and is based out of southern China. The designer, Yulong Zhang, is a young audio enthusiast always searching for better sound. His background in telecommunication hardware has given him in-depth knowledge about digital audio. He is a young father in his early 30's and has invested over $100,000 in digital research and test equipment to develop his line of audio products. He also maintain his own forum on China's largest head-fi forum (erji.net) with many followers. His workshop, design studio and production line is in relatively small scale - when I asked him if he would like to expand his factory during my visit to Yulong Audio in Sept 2011, he smiled and answered honestly: "Sound comes first, then business will come. I don't crave for large scale of production of mediocre products."
The Yulong Sabre D18 has been developed during the course of two years. It competes with world's top brand on sound quality and attention to the details goes as much as to stainless steel screws on the front plate.
The DAC solution of this Asychronous SABRE D18 Digital-to-Analog converter we used is the ESS Technology 32-bit audio ES9018S DAC chip which represents the highest performace in the world (With ESS patented 32-bit Hyperstream DAC architecture and Time Domain Jitter Eliminator, the SABRE32 Reference Stereo DAC delivers an unprecedented DNR of up to 135dB and THD+N of -120dB, the industry’s highest performance level that will satisfy the most demanding audio enthusiasts.)
Features:
ESS Technology SABRE32 Reference DAC / Digital Filter (ES9018S) working in 32-bit Hyperstream™ to achieve unprecedented jitter immunity and low-level linearity via a patented Time Domain Jitter Eliminator
High-performance Plitron transformer from Canada with low magnetic flux leakage
Extremly low-noise multi-group power filtering circuit for digital signal path
Ultra-precision servo circuit for analog signal path
High-performance op-amp AD8620 for I/V conversion
High-performance op-amp AD797 for LPF filtering
DALE military grade resistors, WIMA film caps manually selected and matched
TPC film capacitor is used for decoupling and the Panasonic FC electrolytic capacitor for power filtering
Custom order crystals for lowest clock jitter and phase noise
No-Over-Sampling: 16 bit or 24 bit data is processed at original bit depth. The better quality data source you use, the better performance you will have from this DAC - it will handle data resolution all the way to 32bit/500kHz
PCB layout optimized through multiple testing procedures to ensure best digital signal transmission
Fully balanced design - by using XLR output you will get the most benefit of the sound quality of design
Extra thick aluminum chassis with fine polished surface
Overall design to reach the full potential of the Sabre 32bit DAC chip
Dual voltage - 110-115V or 220-240V wide range to use anywhere in the world
(Warning:Please make sure the voltage selector is set to proper position that can match the actual power supply voltage. Otherwise this DAC might be permanently damaged! Under such circumstance, the warranty is void.)
Although the SABRE D18 has an extremely extended high frequency response (30Khz), the sound is no where to be mistaken as harsh and dry. Instead sound is soft and delicate. Combined with it’s rich and vivid mid range, well controlld bass, the Sabre D18 playback is well-balanced, natural and silky, and it can perfectly match to very high end amplification to drive high performance speakers or top quality headphones.
Technical Specifications:
Inputs: Optical, Coaxial,, AES/EBU
Input Digital Signal Format: 32-500KHz, 16/24/32 Bit auto detection
SNR: -130dB.
Dynamic Range: 130dB.
THD+N: <0.0003% li="">
Frequency Response: Unbalanced: 20-30KHz-0.1dB Balance: 20-20KHz -1db
Power Consumption: <20W.
Dimensions: 250*180*55mm (10" W x 7" D x 2 1/2" H)