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Drop + Grace Design Standard DAC Balanced
01 / 06
Drop + Grace Design Standard DAC Balanced
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Product Description
Following the success of the Massdrop x Grace Design Standard DAC, we’re excited to release the much-requested balanced version. It’s the least-expensive small standalone balanced DAC on the market, designed to complement high-end balanced amplifiers like the Drop + THX AAA™ 789, the Massdrop x Alex Cavalli Liquid Carbon X, and more Read More
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4.8
(234 reviews)
5star(195)
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keyboard_arrow_downFayne
2586
Jul 24, 2019
checkVerified Buyer
Cheap, clean, and simple.
Update 3, three months in (final):
Three Months in and the SDAC-B gets regular use. It still feeds the LCX via the balanced XLR, but now it also feeds a LOXJIE P20 via the single-ended TRS-to-RCA. It is a wonderful little DAC which thankfully does not produce a fatiguing sound. It still keeps its 5 star rating.
In the three months I've had it I've used it on Windows 10, macOS 10.14 & 10.15, Ubuntu Linux 18.04 (with both kernel 4.18 and 5.0 ), and most recently on a Raspberry Pi 4B with the current latest RoPieeeXL image (v374). All using Roon, and I can safely say that it works everywhere with zero problems. 384kHz 24bit? No problem. DSD256 in DoP mode? No problem. Software volume control? Works like a charm everywhere.
This little guy is all you need if you want a basic, yet fully functional, balanced DAC. It fits anywhere, makes no noise, and generates little to no heat. The perfect companion for any amplifier that can take XLR or RCA.
For all my gushing <3 for the unit, if I had to nitpick, I'd say my biggest complaint is the lack of a hardware power switch. It isn't like it is a huge drain, but the only wan to power the unit down is to unplug it (or connect it to a system that powers off USB on shutdown, or through something like a Schitty Wyrd with its dedicated power switch). Call me old fashioned, but I rather like to turn my gear off completely when I'm not using it.
If a version2 was ever to be made, I've three suggestions.
- I'd highly recommend making it use the same physical footprint as the rest of the high end Drop gear (like the Airist), so that it stacks properly. While I do like that it is super tiny, that fact also means that it has to use a 3.5mm TRS for the single ended, and a 3.5mm TS for the SP/DIF, both of which kinda suck.
- Add a power switch that interrupts the 5v from USB (in a safe way). Vampire drain is stupid. Lets be able to turn it off completely.
- Add some visual indicators for the bit depth, sample rate, and input type. Don't need screen, just some simple LED, light pipes, and silk screening. It is done elsewhere, and it'd be a sweet finishing touch on this unit (and the Airist, but that is a different subject). It requires a smidgen more board footprint and some gpio from the XMOS.
(Edited)
Recommends this product? Yes
Fayne
2586
Jul 30, 2019
There are a whole host of single-ended DAC and Interface on the market that are cheaper with generally better SINAD. They're easier to design seeing they have less inherent noise in the design to deal with. For balanced though, this is nearly a steal. It is rather difficult to find good balanced line-level DAC that support DSD for the cheaps. You can easily get PCM only interfaces like the UMC202HD from Behringer which are close to half the price of the SDAC-B and only a point or two off on the SINAD, but that just ain't the same even if they are fairly decent interfaces.
And yes, if you want a better balanced DAC chipset with a good implementation, it'll cost you, even for the cheapish stuff like the Topping D70. As an entry to the balanced game the SDAC-B is pretty awesome, imho.
pslayer1
274
Jul 31, 2019
checkVerified Buyer
Very Good DAC
I own a handful a DAC's... a SMSL VMV D1, SMSL Sanskrit 10th, iFi iDAC2 and this one. The D1 is the cleanest (most transparent) but this little Grace Balanced DAC is right behind it. Not bad for $150. The amp i'm using is the THX AAA 789 and the Focal Elex completes the chain.
robo24
130
Feb 18, 2020
checkVerified Buyer
Excellent for the price
It' s a great deal being a well performing DAC with balanced and single-ended out. This could be all one ever needs and it will actually feed 2 amps at once, making for easy A/B testing.
However, after testing against 3 other DACs (which start at $250) and selling off my other balanced amps, I don't have a need for it.
Tried with my iFi Pro iCAN, which has 3 single-ended and 1 balanced input, which makes it easy to test by switching the input. The other 3, all single-ended were the SMSL-SU8, Airist R-2r, iFI Micro Black, and Chord Hugo 2. Not surprisingly I liked the Hugo the best, but basically all are a step up in terms of creating a more enveloping sound experience, with better detail, leaving the SDAC seeming a little muddy in comparison.
Still, the differences aren't massive (certainly the Hugo doesn't sound $2500 better) and if I didn't have the others I'd be perfectly fine with just this. It's certainly the smallest, which is great, and a great match for other Drop products. I think with the THX 789, it sounds better than with the iCAN. It has a more laid back/warmer sound than the THX 789 does with the SMSL SU8, which makes a nice combination as that amp is so clean and revealing.
However, if you have the money and don't have to have balanced, I'd recommend the Airist or SMSL (which also has balanced). Occasionally the SMSL can be found for not much more, including on Drop.
Recommends this product? Yes
AugustSkye
18
Mar 26, 2020
checkVerified Buyer
Great value
This review is of the product, not the Drop.com business model. The Drop.com description will tell you the anticipated ship date. If you are accustomed to buying something on Amazon Prime and opening the box two hours later this might not be your best option. If you like value and quality and can wait, this is a solid platform.
The Grace SDAC Balanced is tremendous. I like that old-school monitor sound -neutral and true. I run this with the THX AAA 789 and they give me the sound I am looking for: powerful, neutral, true. The Grace is excellent because I can tell the difference in balanced, I can use my laptop as a source via the USB, and my FIIOS M11 via the optical. There are no issues running the FIIOS M11 in DSD via digital coax to the Grace SDAC. It is a much cleaner sound than my tired-ass laptop, too.
To reiterate what other reviewers have noted, there is no stand-alone power input. The device is powered off the USB input. So when I am using the coax input, I still have the device USB plugged into my laptop USB as a power source. Not sure if this was mentioned in the instructions but I think the product specs allude to it. Took me a hot minute to figure it out.
Going back to the sound, balanced vs. unbalanced. I have tried a handful of headphones unbalanced, Sony MDR-7506, Monoprice Retros, Fostex TR-70, AKG 7xx, and the Drop Ether CX's. I am probably an oddball in that I prefer closed back headphones. When I move the Ether CX's from normal to balanced, it is a real game changer. It is a cleaner, more dynamic, lively sound.
With the Grace SDAC I can get the sound I want with the closed back headphones, and when I test the gear with the Ether CX's, balanced vs. normal, the Ether CX's plus the Grace SDAC plus the 789, in balanced, gives me the result I want -powerful, neutral, true.
In closing, I will say I prefer my home stereo to headphones most of the time. Well, all of the time. But, my neighbors, local law enforcement, and I were all getting leery of discussing my listening habits. So the closest thing I can get to the sound without breaking the bank is the Grace SDAC Balanced, the 789, and the Ether CX's.
Sound quality per dollar, it is a bargain.
Recommends this product? Yes
Shambles
16
May 13, 2020
AugustSkyeI see you have been busy! Nice work mate and thanks for the extensive write up
Headphonechamp
22
Aug 1, 2020
AugustSkyeWhy not go straight from the fiio into the amp? Does adding the grace dac make the sound that much better?
high1
212
Jul 29, 2019
checkVerified Buyer
Fully Functioning Beautiful Small DAC
(Edited)
Recommends this product? Yes
postwarscars
1367
Sep 8, 2019
checkVerified Buyer
Excellent Budget Balanced DAC
I received the SDAC mid-week, a day ahead of schedule, but didn't have much of a chance to sit with it. I've spent the past few days with it, just listening and making comments to myself about what I think is relevant in the review.
First of all, it's exactly what you'd expect: non-obtrusive, robustly built, and excellent sounding. It's balanced, and it runs $150, so what's there to talk about? There are clearly more feature laden DACs on the market, some of which also measure better, but in fairness you'd be hard-pressed to find a fault here. It's clear and articulate, non-fussy, and easy-to-use. The inputs are everything you'll need, and unless you want to play the highest-res DSD files (or MQA), you shouldn't be left wanting. It's an attractive unit, small and minimal (the LED is minuscule, but in a good way, it never distracts), the feet are decent, and it weighs enough that I'm not worried about it moving around. Also, the USB/Digital button feels good to press and depress, and the switch on the back for USB is solid.
Comparisons: I've had a Modi 2 Multibit for a little over 2 years now. It's a perfectly decent sounding DAC, and cost me about $50 more than the SDAC (the difference is now $100 for the Multibit, though the standard Modi 3 is a good value at $100). I'm hesitant to say that it's worse than the SDAC, at least in the sense of what my ears can hear. I definitely don't think it's as reasonable of a value, because it cost more, had less outputs, and measures notably worse. The build quality of the SDAC feels more substantial, and it has physically attached feet, but it's definitely a utilitarian presentation (which may or may not be your thing, my opinion will likely differ from yours). Probably my biggest gripe with the Modi over the SDAC was the start-up time being kind of long (the SDAC is either on or not, it's just right there). If I were to get into that subjective, probably-not-accurate set of descriptions, I'd probably say that the SDAC is just more clear and present. I think it's unfair to judge based on speculative reasons, so we'll just say that I prefer the SDAC, both in sound and build quality.
So what might be relevant criticism: I'm lavishing praise on this DAC, because it's just a great little device, but there are definitely some things worth consideration. The first is that the USB cable is short. Like, insanely short (I think it's 1' but didn't measure), and I had to substitute my Modi's USB cable so that it would reach my desktop properly. Keep in mind that the cable is an older USB Type-B plug, which isn't super common these days, so if you have a distance to travel you may consider purchasing a longer cable. Second because it's solely USB powered, you definitely want to make sure it's plugged into a good USB port. I had some audio fall-out and hard hangs in Win7 when I plugged the DAC into my monitor's USB pass-through (which is why my first point is of note, because the included cable had to be swapped due to length restriction). I suspected the power was the issue, so once I swapped to an on-board port the issues went away. Third this DAC didn't really play well with ASIO4ALL in Foobar2000, which is totally fine, but worth note. It works, but it will hiccup on each new file. WASAPI was perfectly fine, but it required me to set the bit depth specifically to 32. Granted, WASAPI will match the source to bit-perfect resolution, but not everyone wants to be locked in. I didn't have the popping the other user noted at a buffer of 20 in event mode, but it's definitely worth thinking about when you use it. Fourth if you want to use non-balanced output, you need a 1/8" stereo-to-RCA adapter. I had a few, and until I get my THX I needed to run the unit this way. I feel as though Drop should consider including the adapter in the package, since they're already including everything else. That, or in the future perhaps increasing the length of the enclosure to be more like the Airist, so that they could include proper RCA outputs and keep the form factor similar to their other products.
The bottom line: if you want a balanced DAC, without any fuss, that will please your bank account, this is it. There are other DACs that both measure better and have more features, but if you need neither of those things there's really no criticism to be had. The conversation changes a little if you are looking for a non-balanced DAC, since there are a number of excellent units that constitute a more reasonable value. Still, at $150 and free shipping (in the US), it's kind of hard to be too picky about what you're getting. Anyone with a reasonable sense of price-to-performance values will be more than happy with the purchase!
(Edited)
Recommends this product? Yes
postwarscars
1367
Sep 8, 2019
BenGeldreichThanks! I have to also say, I greatly prefer the look of the balanced SDAC to the original. I like that the operational light is smaller, and that there are no screws in the front plate. It's just a better executed design, top to bottom.
(Edited)
Ithiltaen
10
Aug 4, 2020
checkVerified Buyer
Poor Quality Control
(Edited)
Recommends this product? No
johnxy888
35
Keyboard Club Member
Aug 4, 2020
Ithiltaenyikes, looks like the [presumably laser engraved] graphics on the front face plate got applied upside down :-/ Does it still function OK?
(Edited)
FoxtechDH
101
Dec 26, 2019
checkVerified Buyer
(Edited)
FoxtechDH
101
May 12, 2020
Who cares, it sounds fansastic. Get over it, the dac process a clean signal in SE as well, the end. Eventually Ill be able to afford the Reference set up I want.
LordSmashington
91
May 12, 2020
FoxtechDHAll I'm saying is why buy the 789 when you have the SP200? Seems like a waste. Oh well. The DAC is good. Got no issues with that.
romanko
37
May 13, 2020
checkVerified Buyer
Pairs marvelously with THX-AAA 789
I decided to take advantage of the balanced capabilities of the drop produced THX-AAA 789, and gave a chance to the Grace Standard DAC Balanced to replace Chord Mojo in my TIDAL > Mojo > THX-AAA 789 > Mr. Speakers Aeon Flow Closed chain so as to have as fully balanced set-up as possible. As soon as I swapped the Mojo with the Grace Standard DAC balanced, the difference was very obvious, and very welcomed. I did enjoy the Mojo sound a lot previously, but with Grace Standard DAC Balanced the stage opened up, the channel separation become much more clear, and I can hear a lot more nuances and texture in the music. I do not want to oversell the advantage of the balanced vs. single-ended design for the DAC or the amp, but here the improvement was NOT subtle. I was surprised to see such a difference, and do not know if the balanced aspect is responsible for it, or the signal output of the single chip in the Grace Standard DAC Balanced is more compatible with the THX-AAA 789/AFC pairing as I never tried the original Grace Standard DAC. But most happy right now, and the poor Mojo Chord is gathering dust now, alas...
Recommends this product? Yes
benewmusic
13
Apr 22, 2020
checkVerified Buyer
Entry Price DAC, Expensive Sound
I originally bought the SDAC Balanced to feed studio monitors from my desktop since it is from the same "family" of venerable Grace Monitor Controllers used in Pro Audio. But then I tried the 1/8th inch out on my Grado Sr225e's and experienced a world of sound I was not expecting. My interface and the Dragonfly Black I use for mobile listening are clean, as they're quite sterile and possibly too forward sounding. However, the top end can get grating, especially with the upper midrange bump on the Grado's. While I appreciate the exacting nature, the SDAC Balanced brings up details unobtrusively in a lush way. The imaging is cleaner, there's exceptional low end detail, phenomenal transient response, no harsh "push" on the top end, and an excellent natural balance overall. Not only is this converter exacting, but it does so in an enjoyable way. Don't hesitate on this one, especially for the price.
Recommends this product? Yes
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