2. digital
  3. 184778-174518

Okto DAC 8 Stereo (Shout-out)

I know this DAC made a buzz via a Stereophile A+ rating a couple years back, and I can’t say how many times I casually checked if they were back in stock for purchase. A couple of weeks ago I happened to check and they were. 
 

Previously I had read the lead times were up to 8 weeks for a build, but happy to report it arrived in just over a week to the states. Great communication and service from the Okto team. Unfortunately couldn’t get one with streaming on-board due to R-Pi shortages. 
 

Seems well built, nice screen, and overall a smaller chassis than I thought. Hopefully won’t miss lack of single ended outputs. A note you can use this as a preamp and order to custom output voltage to match your power amp.

My initial impressions are as follows: This is the most transparent DAC I have ever heard, previously owning Denafrips Terminator, Holo Spring, Sonnet Morpheus, Aqua La Scala, PS audio PW DSD and others of lesser renown and quality. . The instrument separation is quite good, a wide and deep stage, and an almost eerily clarity that lacks any glassy edginess that sabre DAC based designs seem to be known for. Although I owned a HIFI rose and loved it. 
 

Anyways, kudos to Okto and a heads up they are in stock. Great performance and a very affordable price!

 

, 

 

 

poketacez
poketacez OP
21 posts
 

@gavin1977 going purely off memory the Aqua La Scala has a euphonic quality, but it’s a tube DAC (kind of) so there’s a quality there a lot of people love including myself. Just like the PS audio has a silky smooth presentation because of the upsampling. All of these DAC’s I mentioned are high quality and will have some different strengths.   
 

Aside from the transparency, the Okto has a 3D soundstage and almost creates a circular feeling, kind of like being the mic hanging in the middle of the studio (queue Cowboy Junkies reference). A little depth plus left to right. 
 

Is this the one Dac to rule them all? Not sure. But for $1500 I’m satisfied and thats enough for me. 

gavin1977
30 posts
 

👍

riccitone
214 posts
 

Man…this is timely, as I was looking into the Gustard offerings. Now really excited about this Octo dac! Something to be said about their exploring the full 4 channel possibilities of a Sabre. That, combined with a really nice output stage…man.

 

thanks for posting this. Had no idea 🙏🏼👍🏼

milpai's avatar
milpai
2,318 posts
 

@shooter41 , I would be very eager to hear back from you once you get this DAC. At this point I have not made up my mind about a specific DAC. While the T+A DAC 200 is on top of my list, it is a bit out of budget. There are others too, but the Okto seems very favorable.

R2R needs real high end to come into its own, otherwise it’s somewhat hobbled

@gavin1977 , I am not sure why that case would be. If there is a system that has everything constant and you only switched the DAC, you should be able to make out the difference between 2 DACS - one Delta Sigma based while the other R2R based. What are the components in your system? Care to post? Just curious since you mentioned that R2R needs a high end system. I have seem other posters with a good system use R2R and appreciate it.

shooter41
63 posts
 

@milpai I'm happy to report back my experience once I've had to time to properly evaluate it.

More to discover