K and K Audio RAKK dac

Thanks for all of the questions and comments about the RAKK dac. This thread is old and some things have changed that are worth comment. First of all, we now have a "Home Audition" program in place to allow interested audiophiles to hear before they buy. See the webpage for more info. We also have new version of the RAKK dac in the works to be released in Q1 2013. It's a big improvement over the already excellent Mk III and we think it will bear comparison with the best.

Cheers,

Kevin Carter
K&K Audio

Mingles, the "The Big" DIY DAC is now four years old and is quite out of date. Surely there is a more recent reference list.

Alex, I didn't mean to dismiss Kevin or K&K. All I'm saying is that he should be doing more to market his products. There's so much competition out there right now that it's easy to overlook great gear. I scoured the K&K forums a year ago when I was hunting for a new dac. There was virtually no info about the Mk III which is why I passed on it. Here we are a year later and there still isn't much. Do a Google search and see for yourself.

The Extreme RAKK DAC Kit costs $2000. In the absence of positive buzz, it's hard to convince someone to shell out that kind of money. It makes me wonder why Kevin doesn't put his gear in the hands of reviewers. Is that selling out? Are reviews dismissed on principle? I think most seasoned audiophiles take them with a grain of salt, but at least it gives us something to go on.

The success of the W4S DAC1 and DAC2 seemed to be fueled by last year's 6 Moons review. That might be an over-simplification, but I don't think it's too far from the truth. I realize it's not fair to compare a kit with a finished product, but Kevin usually offers an assembled version for an extra fee. Then again, maybe he doesn't want to change his operation into a larger scale production. Maybe he likes it small and intimate.

Mingles,

Unfortunately for K&K, the DAC market has exploded.

While this is true, Kevin of K&K is extremely knowledgeable, and I am absolutely certain his designs are top-notch, especially considering the price-point. IMO, his designs are an amazing value for the audiophile community!

BTW, when was the last time you have auditioned the latest RAKK DAC in your own audio system?

Best,
Alex Peychev

I'm sure the RAKK DAC sounds great, but there aren't any reviews I'm aware of. Like Bottlehead and other small kit manufacturers, K&K seems to exist by word of mouth only. The best information you'll probably find is in their forums.

Unfortunately for K&K, the DAC market has exploded. There's a lot of competition right now with new products being announced every few months.

If you're mainly interested in DIY, check this out: "The Big" DIY DAC Websites.

WOW, this is unbelievable. I was myself looking to start a thread on RAKK DAC.
I am also trying to read feedbacks about their latest incarnations but not much info is available about them. I was thinking of trying their best configuration DAC. I am upgrading from a Reimyo DAP777 dac so my benchmark is already high. Please share any info this DAC, it will be really helpful

I recently bought the RAKK DAC Mk III with the Lundahl passive outputs. I took a chance because there is almost no feedback on this DAC. After 300 hours of break-in time I am totally blown away by how musical and real it sounds. I will post more detailed feedback on the K&K forum.

Thanks Tony. There's only one comment on the K&K Forum about their new DAC - the Mark III. It was released in December, so it's probably too new to expect a healthy discussion. In general, I find forums owned by the product manufacturer aren't the best place to get unbiased opinions which is why I posted here. I know Kevin and Dave aren't into advertising, and it's unlikely the kit will get reviewed, so they have long hard road to travel if they hope to sell many of these units. I know they're top notch designers, but I'm not willing to build one without more comments from owners.

If you haven't already, try over on Audio Asylum where Kevin hosts the K&K Audio forum. Lots of people over there have bought and built this DAC.