Just curious to know. Analog Devices, Cirrus Logic, ESS, AKM? The last x1700 used AKMs as I recall.
Anyone who knows chime in?
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AKM, similar to the players. There’s actually a thread somewhere on the Denon DJ or Prime Facebook pages where someone in-the-know had the exact chips used, but last time I went looking for it I was unable to track it down. If you find it, let me know. My name is Ben, so it’s me asking about it on there.
I would argue the DACs are not a big determinant of the differences in sound quality of the X1800, since the DACs are high-end like on the newest Pioneers and old Denons. Other stuff, like the processing code used for the it, including the resampling techniques, and the clock and power supply are probably going to be bigger factors in the sonic differences over the x1700 and NXS2.
Hi Ben
Thanks for the info. Probably an AKM 4490 “velvet series”, which is the go-to AKM chip for high res sound the last few years for AKM, though now superseded by a newer chip.
Agree with everything you said about the chip being just one factor in a host of a few that ultimately determines sound quality.
I come from an audiophile background and have been listening to my x1800 on USB. Not bad, though I wish there was a direct circuit mode that by-passes the fx and filter circuit path for an even cleaner sound. I know you can turn them off but it’s not a pure bypass.
Since this is digital domain, it is a true bypass.
Did you ever find that thread on FB I was talking about? I’m having trouble finding it again?
Two years later…
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