Reasonable price, solid build quality

No power switch, not an issue if you have switched outlets on your other equipment.

I have used the DAC 1 with four different CD players, and on three it made a nice improvement in the sound. The most noticable difference to me is the sound of cymbols of a drum set, the DAC brings out a clean sizzle thats wasn't there with the onboard convertors of the CD players. Overall, a more natural and warmer sound. It may not perform miracles for all systems, but a definate improvement over the DAC in most lower priced CD players (under $400). Very solid construction with a hefty power supply that keeps the transformer away from the circuitry to avoid interference. It may not be suitable for high end audiophiles, but it doesn't cost $3000 either. I am happy with it.

cheap nice looking

hard sound cheap stuff used

suggestion: not a good item. unless you have a poor CD-player~ I checked the interor stuff with a professional audio technician, who sells and fixes audio equip., here are some reasons not buying this product: 1. the power it used 12V adapter which is not adequade for a high end DA. A nice DA requires AT LEAST 4 different power supplues. Yet for this one, only have 12V input, and gave all the components 12V and uses a cheap converter to 5V (for ICs). it results: sound is not clean!!! and S/n ratio is VERY low. 2. the main DA IC: SoundStream DAC-1 uses only YAMAHA IC, which is same as a $100 US CD-player. I think I am going to sell it... cheaply... cuz the sound is not recommended for high-end audiophile :(

Similar Products Used:

normal CD-players around $100 US

Appearance and build quality. Low price.

Lack of selector switch for inputs.

I must agree with the previous review that unless you have a lower end CD deck, there is little (if any) improvement in the sound over a medium grade unit. I tried this unit with 3 different CD players with pretty much the same results. It''s not that it sounds bad, I just didn''t hear a real difference. It is a very nice looking unit that appears to be well built. It does improve the sound on my Philips CD recorder, but I only use it for copying records to CD. It has multiple digital inputs (2 coax - 1 optical), but doesn''t have a selector switch. You have to turn off the signal source to change inputs. CD Players used for Evaluation: Harman Kardon - FL8550 - Some Improvement in sound - only on non HDCD. Adcom GCD600 - Slightly different, better? Acurus ACD-11 - No real Change.

probably improves really the peformance of cheap CD players

kind of hard to determine if there is any REAL effect from it (except psychological one)

First off, I''m not sure about the model year. I didn''t pay attention to that. I don''t have DAC-1 anymore. I sold it the other day. For the first a few months after I got this unit, I BELIEVED that it improved the sound. It turned out later, however, that the it actually did nothing: nothing is added to, or subtracted from, the standard output from Rotel RCD 955AX. Realizing this, I decided to sell this unit. I admit one more thing: I needed to get a REALLY good amp (like Nikko Alpha II) and preamp (PS Audio IV) to be able to discern this. Without them, it would be very hard to tell if a DAC does anything.

Similar Products Used:

none

Build quality, fantastic soundstage and definition.

None yet.

Out of the box - plug in the supply and coax digital cable - and WOW.
I have been in audio for a long time but never been so bowled over by a piece of kit that costs pin money.
I know its no longer leading edge, but for <£100 it’s a steal. If you can get one from Capri at hcmaudio.com, get one NOW!
I don’t rate equipment at list price, I rate at the price supplied to me.

Thanks Capri and Harry at HCM Audio !

Equipment used:
2 X Heavily modified A&R Cambridge
A60 amps - bi amped
2 X Separate 500V/A Power supplies
Self made passive preamp
Mission 765I with upgraded x over
Audio Alchemy DDSII
Soundstream DAC 1
Cables are QED, Chord and Wireworld

dead quiet, incredible sound stage, improved bass and mid

Not 20 or 24 bit, but for the price, I’m not complaining.

Let me just say this first…WOW!!!
Ok got that out of my system now on with the review.
First little history, my entire system for play back is a spare computer I have (MP3’s, and DVD)and DSS satellite, and I needed something other than the regular sound card output to get to my pre-amp, this fits the bill great.

I found this DAC on Ebay for $134, which I figured was very reasonable for something that was designed by Krell. Opens up the mid and bass, and gives an incredible sound stage, with much better imaging than before.

Next I will probably do away with the soundcard altogether and use a USB-digital converter (less circuitry). Then add a DTS/Dolby Digital converter, and a multi channel amp for the surrounds and center channel (will also be Magnepan).

My system (for now):
Pre-amp: PS Audio 5.0
Main amp: Adcom GFA 555II
Sub amp: SAE 2400L
X-over: Paradigm X30
Mains: Magnepan MG-IIA
Subs: 4 Swan 305’s
Interconnects: TARA LABS, ICHORD
Speaker cable: homeade cat-5 plenum rated
Computer: AMD Athlon 700, 512 RAM, Creative Soundblaster Live

Similar Products Used:

none

I found this on ebay for $143. It has a heavy steel case, and 3 inputs. Utilizes a dual Burr brown 18/1 converter chip. Hooked up to my AMC CD8a through the coax input. Digital cable straight wire silver link II. Improvements: Better transparency, more "bite" to cymbals. Definitely worth the money.
Disadvantages: only 18 bit. Not cutting edge DAC technology, but it improves the sound of my system, so I am quite pleased with it.

Great improvement for the sound. I use this dac with a yamaha cd player. (connected through the optical input/output). The sound is much warmer. Mid band is sweet and better image. Low freq is well defined as well. Great way to improve cd sound. Highly recommend.
My system:
Amp: Adcom
CD player: Yamaha 505
Speaker: Infinity overture 2, Kef coda7, Kef c45
Dac: Soundstream DAC-1