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Xiang Sheng DAC-01A (AKA Grant Fidelity DAC-09)

bonaccmj

bonaccmj

New Member
Just got this cool little DAC as a Christmas gift, and man, is it awesome! Only been listening to it for a short period of time but I'm already loving it. For the unfamiliar, this is a digital to analog converter which features 5 different inputs (optical, coaxial, usb, and two different RCA inputs) along with the option for either tube or solid state output. It also functions as a headphone amplifier or even a preamp for some, although the headphone output is solid state only. This is my first ever tube component. The tube side seems to take away some of the digital harshness of CDs, whereas the solid state output retains more detail. I have found its real strength is as a headphone amp, even though it's solid state. Everything is so crisp and accurate and musical. I've found that the limit now to my high fidelity CD sound is my speakers rather than the CDP.

What is especially cool is that now I get the functionality of a 7 disc changer with the boutique sound quality of a very high-end tube powered CD player. Does it sound as good as, say, that Jolida tube CDP everyone made a huge fuss about when it came out about 10 years ago? Couldn't say, as I've never heard one.

That's because the Jolida retailed for about $900 new, and other similar examples are still being sold for a price like that.

This little DAC will set you back only $130 usd plus shipping from China on eBay. (Sorry if this just started to sound like an advertisement -- it's not, I swear, it just blows my mind that you could get such an incredible sounding CD system for under $200 -- my CD changer, erm, *ahem* transport, cost $40 used, and the DAC was $160 shipped.)

Anyway, I would love to hear if anyone here has any experience with this particular DAC (also sold as the Grant Fidelity DAC-09) or any other tube DAC or tube CD players, and what y'all think of them. Comparisons welcome!
 

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If you replace the Chinese 6N3 tube with an NOS 5670 tube you will be amazed! I swapped it out for a GE 5 Star 5670. These tubes are out there. As for losing some of the detail on the tube side, that will not happen. The stock 6N3 is the weakest link. The DAC is feeding both sides. The 5 Star series were hyped in their day for military, medical and broadcast uses as being an extremely linear tube which could endure many on-off cycles as well as 24/7 usage. You can also upgrade the capacitors and the opamps. A very hackable toy.

I have also found that leaving it on 24/7 helps. It's a bit harsh for a time after turn on as it takes some time for everything to warm up.
 
mhardyman said:
If you replace the Chinese 6N3 tube with an NOS 5670 tube you will be amazed! I swapped it out for a GE 5 Star 5670. These tubes are out there. As for losing some of the detail on the tube side, that will not happen. The stock 6N3 is the weakest link. The DAC is feeding both sides. The 5 Star series were hyped in their day for military, medical and broadcast uses as being an extremely linear tube which could endure many on-off cycles as well as 24/7 usage. You can also upgrade the capacitors and the opamps. A very hackable toy.

I have also found that leaving it on 24/7 helps. It's a bit harsh for a time after turn on as it takes some time for everything to warm up.
Click to expand...

mhardyman: I have heard that these tubes make for a great upgrade, and the mod is supposed to be pretty easy. I'm just split over one thing -- do I buy the GE 5670, or do I opt for a Sylvania 5670 with gold pins? :scratch2:

Hmm, both are available on a certain auction site; the difference is the price. Maybe I'll spring for both next payday? :scratch2: :yes:

For now though, I'm still enjoying the stock 6N3 tube, which is still "breaking in" if you believe in such things (heh.) Anyway, I'll have to do a comparison and would love to hear your thoughts (:
 
bonaccmj said:
mhardyman: I have heard that these tubes make for a great upgrade, and the mod is supposed to be pretty easy. I'm just split over one thing -- do I buy the GE 5670, or do I opt for a Sylvania 5670 with gold pins?
Click to expand...

Now you're entering into the tube rolling circus! Welcome, you are amongst friends!

Either/or in my book. The 5670 anything is a very linear tube and should not color anything!

The 5670 was one of the later tubes being made. The JAN series (Joint Army Navy) were GE sourced from the same production line as the 5 Star. The key features of the line were consistency and an amazingly low reject rate. Many were made hence their availability and price.

In this DAC getting a tube for looks is a waste of time as it's encased.

https://tubedepot.com/products/5670w-2c51w
 
dac

I have the Grant dac09. I love it. I've thought of trying the 11 but this sounds so good I can't get myself to spend that much more without hearing it first.
The tube that I like best is the GE red 5 star triple mica. I have some extras if you would like to try one out.
 
I'm re-upping this old thread. I bought my Grant dac-09 used from fdejong for a more than fair price as it came with the GE 5 star 5670 and original packaging. So after 2 months I can say this is a super nice bit of kit. It is my first China audio whatever and I was so impressed with it that when a Yagin tubey phono pre popped up on BT I snapped it up. That I think was a mistake but this dac is golden.

As mentioned it has many ins and out so is versatile. More than that tho is the detailed, full sound that it delivers. Top to bottom I can hear no freq. anomalies and the soundstage is wide and deep and I listen to a lot of FREE Spotify!

I run spdif direct from my computer the into the dax-09 < Mitsubishi DA-P20 < DA-A10 < Focals.

Anyway, I dig this little unit as a big improvement from the Integra DTR's dac I was using. Thanks China, Grant Fidelity, and fdejong!
 
I ended up buying an Onkyo P-3000R preamp for my needs which is a lot more money than this DAC but I used to be a rep for the company so I got the major hookup deal otherwise I might have considered something else. But I have many more control capabilities than what this DAC offers, too...at a price. if that would have been $100 more and had remote, I would have really considered it.
 
I run the XS as a frontend to my preamp to switch among the various CD/SACD players.
for example, you can hook up a new/used CDP with the Toslink or thedigital and the
analog RCAs. you can then switch between the two and determine whether the
CDP's DAC is better or not - haven't found one that was.

then I have 3 CDPs and can switch between the three without disturbing the
preamp controls. very few have enough ports to handle three without memorizing
video/other/misc as CD2,3 etc. not without a complete set of inputs per port:
optical, digital, and analog. explodes the backplane.

my three are normal DAC input, analog input for the SACD, and analog input
from CDP with discrete DAC that sounds heavenly.

meanwhile that poor preamp has a head amp for the second TT hooked up.

so, the XS is a godsend not to be replaced by a normal preamp.
 
Wow! I was a huge GF fan back when Ian was still around. I really miss just chatting with him. I loved my Dac 09.
 
I miss Ian and Rachel both, they were a lot of fun and I really had a blast working with them. I spent tons of time there listening to everything and anything audio we could get our hands on. It was a really sad time when I heard about Ian's cancer and we made it back to visit him a number of times before he passed.

Gregb
 
I got a XiangSheng DAC-01A a few years back at a low price as a "make offer" purchase from ebay. I like it a great deal. It is versatile with the two analog inputs in addition to the typical digital inputs. I do have a few gripes. The cover is a pain to remove and reinstall. I also had problems with a channel dropping out that turned out to be due to some wimpy wiring that came undone I think due to cover removal. I had to rewire the thing and now it works great. Also, you can reposition two jumpers that will allow the volume control to work on the analog outputs as well as the headphone jack. Before I rewired the XiangSheng and got it back to full function, I got a Topping D30, which uses the same DAC chip as the DAC-01A. The D30 sounds great too and I can't tell any difference between the two DACs. I believe with its multiple inputs and outputs with volume control, the DAC-01A is a great, budget piece of equipment. A remote would have been real icing on the cake.
 
eickmewg said:
I got a XiangSheng DAC-01A a few years back at a low price as a "make offer" purchase from ebay. I like it a great deal. It is versatile with the two analog inputs in addition to the typical digital inputs. I do have a few gripes. The cover is a pain to remove and reinstall. I also had problems with a channel dropping out that turned out to be due to some wimpy wiring that came undone I think due to cover removal. I had to rewire the thing and now it works great. Also, you can reposition two jumpers that will allow the volume control to work on the analog outputs as well as the headphone jack. Before I rewired the XiangSheng and got it back to full function, I got a Topping D30, which uses the same DAC chip as the DAC-01A. The D30 sounds great too and I can't tell any difference between the two DACs. I believe with its multiple inputs and outputs with volume control, the DAC-01A is a great, budget piece of equipment. A remote would have been real icing on the cake.
Click to expand...
No kidding, the cover is a pita to remove! I traded my -09 for a -11. It’s cover is much easier to remove.
 
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