Dagogo Reviews SW1X DAC III Standard! "The SW1X DAC III is quite simply one of the best DACs I have ever heard, perhaps even the best."

[Joe Cohen]

“The SW1X DAC III is quite simply one of the best DACs I have ever heard, perhaps even the best. If musical engagement factor with digital playback is the metric, then it is far and away the best DAC I have auditioned in my system." Grover Neville Dagogo.com February 2021”

"The SW1X has that captivating, dynamic, raucous, impossible to ignore quality that my vinyl playback system has. It leaps into the room, makes music somehow totally unfatiguing and yet demanding attention, saying ‘listen, must listen to me’, and generally makes a mess of other plans or obligations."

SW1X is going to explode on the audio scene. Every one of their products we have tried to date outperform not just other items in their price range but other items in general at any price. There is a rightness to them that you will recognize on your first listen. Each SW1X product delivers an array of qualities that you likely have not heard previously from any other single piece of gear. Grover Neville of Dagogo.com has skillfully crafted a review that articulately covers this in detail. The following are his descriptions of things he hears in analog playback that are present in the DAC III:

1. "...‘invisible’, ‘organic’, or ‘natural’ sounding bass. Bass that simply takes on the texture and characteristic of the recording."
2. "...even modern vinyl recordings have a dynamic punch and transient definition to them that almost all modern digital recordings lack, primarily because they are heavily limited to be as loud as possible.
3. "...tonal density,... Vinyl possesses an uncanny depth because it fills in all this space in a particularly vivid way. Even the very best DACs struggle to do this well."

Link To Review

"... the SW1X is lightning fast and ultra-resolving. More resolving than most of the DACs I have in my system, maybe even besting in resolution a $14,000 unit I won’t name. ... The detail is orderly and arranged, composed evenly from front to back, left to right, top to bottom and even diagonally according to room dimensions on particularly transparent recordings. One can simply hear more of the spatial cues, the microdynamics, the plankton of the recordings with the SW1X than with most DACs I have ever used and currently own or have in for audition. And I have some top notch competition in house.

Two things aid this spatial orderliness. First is a sense that bass is more impactful, punchier, not bloated but just more dynamic, more epic, of a larger scale around 50Hz than with typical digital. Second is that there is a density to the sound, a kind of filling in of missing spaces, which much digital lacks. It’s as if someone has filled in the spaces that were missing with much digital, seeming to have this effect somehow even on limited digital recordings. The macrodynamic character is enhanced, the transients are given life and jump to life, tangible and tactile, almost real enough to touch."

Grover Neville has captured the underlying qualities that you will hear in every one of SW1X's products. I haven't begun to talk about what I am hearing with the Level I phono stage! Stay tuned.

Call to arrange for an audition, we have a limited number of demo DACs and a growing wait list, or even better, if you are in the market for a DAC that will fulfill the promise that has been missing from your digital listening experience, call and order one today. Production is limited and wait times will only increase as word gets out. This is the best, most solid advice I can give. In the words of a reviewer who raved about one of our other products, "I would stake my reputation on it."​

Many thanks,

Cheers,

Joe Cohen
The Lotus Group
415-897-8884

 

[Lampie519]

This is very interesting. I wonder how much better it will be if the design flaws of the TDA 1541 have been resolved.
One way is to offer Offset Binary to the TDA 1541 or to use 2 of these time corrected.

 

[Joe Cohen]

1. There are no perfects DACs

2. A DAC chip relies on other devices to create sound. What surrounds it is equally if not more important. This includes the power supplies, I/V conversion stage, SPDIF receiver (if there is one) and the output stage. The quality of parts and materials is critical.

3. Any imperfections or inherent design flaws in the TDA1541 DAC itself are harmonically matched with other component parts canceling each other out in relation to the rest of the circuit design.

The resulting sound is due to the artful combination of all these factors.

Further, SW1X has resolved the flaws of the TDA1541 by implementing DEM (Dynamic element Matching) that was not included in the original design. An asynchronous DEM oscillator based on tubes, which randomizes is implemented. This alone has transformed an already amazing DAC design into unparalleled performer.

You can read about Dynamic element Matching here: https://www.dutchaudioclassics.nl/Philips-TDA1541/

Also,

https://sw1xad.co.uk/technology_post/delta-sigma-vs-non-oversampling-r2r-dac-designs/

Thanks.

 

[Lampie519]

I know of DEM modifications (i have used these TDA 1541 chips myself many years ago for many years). I came into contact with Pedja (Audial) and learned about "simultaneous mode".

Back to the roots: 14 bits (of TDA1541A) - Audial (audialonline.com)

This has changed my view on D/A converter designs drastically. Also because the Philips D/A converter chips are for me the best sounding (not only for me).

So then i started "correcting" the time shift between the left and right chanels using still i2s. I was "enlightened" !!!

I do not want to deminish the sound quality of this DAC but only want to share my experience with these chips and what they are actual capable of.

 

[Addicted to hifi]

Great dac.

 

[marty]

This is my first awareness of SW1X DACs. I checked their price list and almost passed out. Their level V signature is about 126K USD. Since it is a DHT DAC, I'd like to know what makes it worth 3-5 times the price of a Lampizator Pacific, Golden Gate 2 or the new Horizon that will be released shortly. In short, has anyone compared the sound of an SW1X to a Lampi?

 

[Joe Cohen]

Here is an example from an A’gon thread:

https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/people-and-place-a-review-of-sw1x-dac

“Seminarian, I owe you an note of gratitude. Was about to update my Lampizator amber to the current version. After reading your comments, decided to pursue another direction. My impression, every expression in your review is spot on accurate. It took about 3 months, but I now have a well seasoned SW1X level II "special" in my system.

This is digital like I have never encountered.

The bloom of large orchestrated crescendos and choir voices is absolutely lovely. There are any number of beautifully gifted but hard to interpret female vocalists that are now reproduced without distraction (recordings from Madredeus, Pink Martini, Dulce Pontes, Hot Sardines to name a few). No more impulsive longings for a return to analog.

I am so incredulously delighted to have found this DAC, I am tempted to go on. This being a public domain, further words would seem as fabricated hyperbole to anyone who has read your review.

I will say, there "was" something about digital I always found unnatural. Like striking a bell and clasping your hand around it. An abrupt fade to a completely silent but lifeless background. Ambient decay is captured and brought to life in an expansive dimensional way. Old time audio enthusiasts who have dipped their toes in digital waters, and winced, may find SW1X a truly satisfying portal to a diverse world of streaming music.”

The SW1X DAC II Special sells for $4850.

The use of DHT tubes, while being the most elegant way to amplify a signal, is not a guarantee of great sound. There are too many other contributing factors to consider. All SW1X DACs are designed to operate without any digital filtering or any kind of digital signal manipulation that is required for over-sampling, all filtering being done in the analogue domain for the best possible signal integrity. The circuit design is simple yet elegant. This means that every part employed has greater influence on the outcome and must be chosen with care and harmonically balanced within the context of the whole design.

The DAC V Signature is a no expense spared design in every aspect of its creation, using the finest and most exotic materials & components available and out of production, difficult to obtain costly parts. The list of employed materials and components in the DAC V Signature includes but is not limited to: fine silver wound Super HiB DC core signal output transformers and power transformers, hard silver wiring on Bakelite & Panzerholz boards, AB & AN 2W resistors, out of production Black Gate capacitors and many more features. The power supply is housed in its own separate chassis.

 

[Joe Cohen]

Here’s another A’gon thread about SW1X from 2018. The designs have evolved since then. https://forum.audiogon.com/discussi...-absolute-top-tier-ref-nos-dac?highlight=SW1X