Lavaudio DS601 HiFi DAC Bluetooth 5.0 Audio Receiver

I was impressed by the specifications of the LA audio DS610 for the price compared to other DACs and decided to try it. It has now been a couple of months and I am still very happy with the purchase. The unit is solidly built and the sound quality is excellent in my opinion. Would recommend this product to anyone wanting to stream high quality audio to their stereo.

Easy to set up/install and is working great thus far!

This is a desktop audio decoder for home music systems. It is a DAC device, a digital to analog converter. The device measures approximately 5.25”x5.25”x1.25”. It accepts input from coaxial cables (TV), optical cables (DVD), USB A to USB B (computer), and Bluetooth (phones). It outputs to RCA (red/white for speakers). It gets power from a proprietary power cable that terminates in a USB A plug; a USB A transistor brick is included. There are controls on the top for mute, menu navigation, and volume. Windows users need to download the driver from the 1Mii website.I got this device as an upgrade to my old home theater DAC, which was quite basic. The old DAC was functional in that it enabled me to plug my DVD sound into my analog speaker system. This DAC, on the other hand, is much more capable since it also works with my phone and my computer. I am very impressed with the quality of sound through the DAC. It is noticeably better than what I got from my old system. I found the installation quite straightforward. Overall, this DAC is easy to install, easy to use, and produces great sound.

This is a really good Dac that sounds hyper clear. A bunch of other reviews remarked on the brightness, I found it was not too bright but was almost too revealing. In my case I paired it with a pair Q-Acoustic 2020is and a noob sound tda 3116 amplifier and the sound is spectacular. Other than it feels like it built out of a solid metal block and the controls feel fantastic. About the only knock I have is that it doesn't have a headphone amp, which would be ideal considering it will often be used in a desktop setup.

Super product. Used to enable digital play on analogue Dennon system. Easy to install and great sound quality.

First of all, this thing weighs a ton. If you're accustomed to flimsy, cheap, light plastic devices this sure ain't it. It feels overbuilt, and therefore built to last. I purchased this specifically to stream via LDAC to my home theater from my phone. For this purpose, it is awesome. You just have the initial pairing. After that, I turn it on and it connects automatically to my phone. Turn it off, it disconnects. Can't get any easier, and the sound is... well, it's LDAC. It's great.Highly recommended.

The DS601 is a the latest update to the venerated DS600. It comes with the same chipset (minus the headphone amplifier), and includes a touchscreen interface unlike its predecessor.This is a high-quality desktop DAC with a variety of input options, along with the ability to serve as a pre-amp in your sound chain. The sound, while bright, is highly engaging, exceptionally clear, layered and generally dynamic.DS601 FEATURES:* USB & Bluetooth decoder = XMOS XU208 (same as DS600)* Bluetooth 5.0 w/ aptX HD and LDAC support for lossless streaming* Supports (native) DSD64-DSD512 and PCM of 16Bit/44.1KHz-32Bit/768kHz* DAC = 2x ESS9038Q2M chips (same as DS600)* output signal @ 2 VrmsWHAT'S INCLUDED:* DAC* Power adapter + cable (manual says its optional)* USB cable (really cheap, I wouldn't recommend using it for audio)* Instruction manual.* Bluetooth antennaSOUND SIGNATURE:* Balanced sound signature overall, with a slight emphasis towards upper-mids and highs (think cymbal hits and snares)* Bass is punchy, with quite a bit rumble. Its tight, and snappy.* Mids are accurate to the source.* Highs are clear, and depending on your gear, bright and a little fatiguing.* Soundstage is very wide and open, with a ton of air to it.* Instrument separation is excellent, especially the lower and higher ends.* Layering is exceptional, as are the details.INPUTS:The DS601 comes with optical, coaxial and USB inputs. If you're using a computer as your source, you have to use the USB port (or Bluetooth) since the optical/coaxial inputs won't work properly because they're designed to be used with a CD player.BLUETOOTH:I rarely use Bluetooth as an input source for my speakers, so I can't comment on the performance here either. But I was happy to see that Bluetooth can be completely disabled within the menu. Since Bluetooth degrades audio quality, this is an excellent feature to have available if you're not always using Bluetooth.OUTPUTS:The RCA outs on the rear of the device provide the output to downstream equipment, like an amp.INTERFACE:The DS601 features a touch interface that is both intuitive and responsive. Select input source, adjust volume, or choose a DAC filter from the six that are available. Personally I use either linear, slow roll off or the brick wall. These seem to have the most natural and accurate presentation.PRE-AMP:The manual states that the DS601 can also serve as a pre-amp since it has volume control. And indeed, with my normal setup I always use a pre-amp in order to get proper headroom and dynamics. But the DS601 fulfilled the roles of both the DAC and Pre-amp in my previous configuration. Pretty impressive actually. Volume adjustments are fairly consistent, with a scale from 0-100 providing granular volume adjustment.SOUND EXPERIENCE:With a sound that leans toward the bright side, depending on your amp, speakers, and their location, it may become a little sibilant at times, and perhaps also fatiguing with certain musical genres and styles.While I enjoy everything from death metal and grindcore to reggae and dubstep stuff and rarely find audio gear too bright, listening to some Cannibal Corpse became fatiguing quickly. Details in busy mids, and upper-mids disappeared in a jumbled mess of bright, fatiguing sound.Genres such as reggae or slower tempo metal put the goods on display all nice and pretty. Here the DS601 delivers such a spacious sound, with mountains of texture and unbelievable clarity.Electronic and hiphop genres are even less susceptible to the brightness, and the DAC really shines here with a really fun and dynamic sound that draws you into the music. LIstening to drum and bass or hardstyle is especially rewarding thanks to the incredibly full sound and beautifully textured mids and bass. The instrument imaging simply phenomenal.That said, with my speakers so close, listening to Atmosphere's Godlovesugly produced a cymbal hit with quite a bit of 'pop' to it, forcing me to both lean away and turn the volume down. But when I walk back just three feet, this effect becomes negligible.Its worth mentioning that this DAC won't do you any favors when playing low-quality or poorly recorded audio sources. Other DACs I've used are more forgiving when it comes to source quality, but the DS601 can sound pretty harsh in this case. But if you feed it well recorded audio, you'll be rewarded.NOISE FLOOR:While I have no measurements other than my ears, the noise floor on this DAC is significantly lower than previous devices I've used. While the background isn't completely silent, its pretty close to it, which is amazing given how much it costs. You really have to try and listen for the noise because otherwise you simply won't hear it.SETUP I USED WITH THE DS601:I'm using the DS601 with an Aiyma A04 amp hooked up to a pair of Fluance Signature Series bookshelf speakers (200w). The speakers are located on my desktop, within two feet of me. In other words, its a very near-field setup which is less than ideal for a bright sounding DAC like the DS601.For my source I'm using Windows 10, connected with a high-quality USB cable designed for audio applications. Sources used in testing included FLAC audio files played via VLC and Foobar, as well as stuff streamed for YouTube.FINAL VERDICT:Excellent choice for a desktop DAC, the sound is full of detail and dimension, with excellent separation and layering. As an upgrade to the very, very well-regarded DS600 (audiosciencereview dot com) , the DS601 brings the goods for Hi-Fi sound in a compact, attractive package that doesn't bleed your wallet dry.

I have a old 8 TRACK player receiver I refuse to get rid of. My dad bought it years ago when I was just a kid and it means a lot to me.Jump forward to 2021 and I have all of this music on my different devices I wanted to play through it but couldn't. I was almost ready to but a new receiver when I saw this. I am not a big HIFI guy. I just wanted to be able to play my music. I saw other cheap ones out here but after reading reviews I decided on this one and I am happy with it. I don't know all of the technical MUMBO JUMBO I just know it installed easy and my music sounds great. 5 STARS

The glass piece on top was halfway lifted and not completely secured upon arrival. Everything works fine and the sound quality is wonderful. I just worry about the glass circular top piece with the touch buttons having issues or coming apart if carried or moved.

If I'm reviewing a $2500 DAC, I expect a level of performance commensurate to that price. A DAC at $250 - 1/10 the price - should evoke more reasonable expectations of performance. The DACs contained in my Oppo BDP-203 and BDP-205 were the gold standard when they were released and are, by necessity, my sources for comparison. That can't be helped, since I've been listening to music played through those systems for several years and their pristine sound remains my auditory frame of reference. So there are two competing levels of performance expectation and I will attempt to thread the needle and wind up somewhere in the middle in this review.In order to do that, I've opted to avoid using my primary system, to which the Oppos are connected, and use a newly created, jury-rigged system, with a high-end gaming laptop containing a superb sound card and audio output as the source of high-resolution music files, including DSD files. The music files were played using Foobar2000, the laptop's OS is Windows 10, the files were transmitted to four compact speakers via Bluetooth 5.0. Thus the system is new, unique and less likely to be negatively effected by comparisons. Also, the equipment is roughly in the same price range and represents similar performance quality.Standard PCM files with a resolution of 16 bits/44.1 kHz, 24/48k, 24/96k and 24/192k were all utilized for comparison. I don't claim to have "golden ears", but as a musician I can detect variations in audio quality rather well, so the listening was instructive. The largest differences in audio quality should naturally occur between the lowest and highest levels of audio resolution. I should be able to detect some differences in their presentations of the performance's auditory reality: the intrinsic naturalness of their sound stages, the amount of air between instruments indicating decreasing compression, their differing sound qualities. All of these should be distinct. Since my primary music for listening is Classical and Jazz, these criteria are more easily judged. The recorded musical performances are not victims of the loudness wars.Sound quality overall tends towards brightness. Instruments are well presented with substantial clarity and a reasonable amount of reality. Pianos sound like pianos, trumpets like trumpets, with a fairly good realistic presentation. However, because sound quality tends towards brightness, that level of reality is somewhat attenuated. Bass is moderately deep but with a noticeable roll-off at the bottom. Orchestral climaxes have lots of volume but less depth. In Jazz, bass players nudge you rather than smack you. Saxophones growl but don't rumble through you. Drums have bite and cymbals have crackle but not the pulse-pounding assault they have live. Mid-range sounds seem flatter due to the DAC's intrinsic brightness, but not enough to be an issue. The sound stage is moderately wide with fairly good air around the instruments and a decent sense of reality in the musical presentation.This DAC is built robustly, feeling heavy and solid in the hand. It is surprisingly small with well-appointed controls that are easy to see and negotiate. Using this DAC is simple after a brief period of familiarization. The bottom line is that you are more than getting what you pay for if you purchase this DAC. If you want premium sound to match your high-end system, then expect to pay many times the price of this one. If you want solid performance at a reasonable price, this DAC definitely qualifies.