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AKM dacs - which products use them ?

I have been pleasently surprised with the sound of my low-cost soundcard EMU 0404 and Behringer DEQ2496 digital EQ/AD/DA. They have a warm and natural sound to them.
I have noticed they both use AKM dacs which if I recall is the tool of choice for APL's Alex Peychev super modded Esoteric players which are supposed to be the "best digital sources on the planet".

I am trying to compile a list of audiophile dacs or cd/dvd players that use them hoping to find an upper scale product which would do the full justice to those dac chips in a full blown implementation.
spraglow
spraglow OP
32 posts
 
Thanks for all the replies. There is no question there is more to a successfull design than just dac chips but I think they can provide a great head start.
It seems to me that AKM really listened to what they were making and the $90 (EMU 0404) and $200 (DEQ2496) product examples of AK4396 and AK4393 implementation I have on hand have some things in common as far as naturalness of sound goes (imo).
I understand the AK4396 is a dsd capable chip. I wonder if there are any universal players (beyond APL designs) that use it.
kenn39
75 posts
 
M-Audio Transit uses AK4584. I think it sounds better than DEQ2496.
dazzdax
599 posts
 
Is this AKM related business not just a hype? I mean, I don't care whether a DAC unit has this "Miracle DAC" or not. I'm only interested in it's sound. Does the Miracle DAC guarantee whatsoever a good sound? It's as if the marketing says: If your DAC unit doesn't have the AKM, it is flawed...

Chris
bar81
754 posts
 
The Esoteric P5 also uses AKM DACs.
shadorne's avatar
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shadorne
7,333 posts
 
The Slim Devices Transporter uses the latest and greatest AKM DAC's.

My Anthem AVM 20 preamp uses an older generation AKM DAC and ADC's too.

That you can get excellent digital sound for much lower cost today than you could in the past is a sign of progress from research at large engineering firms like AKM.
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