USB Bridge

Chromecast Audio, quick internet search and I found the pic and write ups...
480786-chromecast-audio.jpg

Ahhhh! Thanks. IMHO a digital output is the best thing that ever happened to any digital source. If you don’t want better processing than the source already provides, don’t use the digital output. If you want to step it up, go to an external digital processor of your choice.
 
Remember Digital outputs are no longer standardized. Some will do up 192/24 other max 96/24 others 44/24 is max. You need to know this as your output is based on your least common denominator.

Of course and also DSD64, DSD128, DSDxxx etc which requires an I2s output for raw data.

Also realize most any decent external DAC can perform better even on 44/24 and 44/16 signals compared to the internal DACs of average sources.
 
Yes, basically a USB 2.0 or HDMI - that is it. The HDMI is unusual because how many DACS that do DSD have an HDMI input?

There are more and more DACs being built that have I2s inputs. The connections being used are RJ-45 and HDMI. Realize that when HDMI connection is used just for I2s it is not an HDMI signal and it is not compatible with HDMI. They are just using the connector because of its quality and good shielding. I2s should also be a very short and well shielded cable do to the interference and timing sensitivity of the raw data being transmitted.

The Breeze uses an RJ-45 for I2s output. My Master 7 and DI-U8 used HDMI cable/connectors for the I2s signal.
 
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My Singxer F-1 was plug-n-play. Windows 10 loaded the necessary drivers.

208 xmos made a noticeable improvement. My DAC is a MusicHall 25.3.
 
Does it come with its own drivers for Windows or you can get a generic version from XMOS?

You are on your own for drivers with the Breeze. In my case Windows 10 with the latest update loaded the correct xCore WASAPI drivers automatically.
 
You are on your own for drivers with the Breeze. In my case Windows 10 with the latest update loaded the correct xCore WASAPI drivers automatically.

Ouch, I looked and I don't think you can get drivers from XMOS. What about Windows 7, does it just default to USB class 1? That can't be right.
 

I know these are the evaluation drivers and work fine but unfortunately they have a tone every 10 minutes after 60 minutes of play. You have to buy several hundred licenses to get the unlocked drivers from XMOS. I’m sure this is one of the reasons the Breeze is as cheap as it is? Again, with Windows 10 this is not an issue as it recognizes USB 2.0 devices and will automatically load the correct xCore drivers (at least for WASAPI).
 
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Now we have a dilemma, but a new laptop with Win10 or a slightly more expensive DDC with legit drivers, hmm. I think I'll choose the latter. Glad I asked :)

Edit: Installing Linux might be another option, need to think about it.
 
My Singxer F-1 was plug-n-play. Windows 10 loaded the necessary drivers.

208 xmos made a noticeable improvement. My DAC is a MusicHall 25.3.

I came close to buying the F-1 prior to buying the Breeze XU208. I believe the F-1 uses Crystek CCHD oscillators and I’ve been told these are a little better than the oscillators in the Breeze? I know the oscillators in the Silver Breeze are TCXO and good but not sure what they are exactly? All it says is gold plated ultra high precision .1PPM low phase noise oscillators?

The reason I went with the Breeze is the reasonably high quality internal PS and the price. I also like that the Breeze has output connections for I2s, AES and SPDIF built in. I believe the X-1 only has built in output connection for SPDIF? Also at the listed price the Breeze has a case. Buy the time you get a decent PS, a case and provisions for other connections, the F-1 is quite a bit more expensive.
 
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USB audio is evolving so quickly in the last year that it has become difficult when to decide to jump in and try one of these new products.

These are the popular contenders these days:

https://kitsunehifi.com/product/singxer-f1-digital-interface-board/
uses newer XMOS xCORE-200. Requires USB power or (external PS to get best performance) but is a highly respected device.

http://www.diyinhk.com/shop/audio-k...noise-1uv-regulator-wmanual-power-switch.html
Uses the latest XMOS xCORE-X216. Requires USB power or (external PS to get best performance) but is a highly respected device.

http://matrix-digi-usa.com/x-series/x-spdif_2
Uses the newer XMOS xCORE-X208. Requires USB power or (external PS to get best performance) but is a highly respected device.

But his one came out just a few weeks ago. I choose it as it has a decent internal PS and it is stupid cheap.
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Bre...-cd77-4ee2-9d7a-133a59ff17a2&rmStoreLevelAB=0

Uses the newer XMOS xCORE-X208. It works perfect with the default xCore Wasapi drivers as loaded by Windows 10. My Modwright Elyse DAC has an internal Optoma NuForce USB board which is a pretty darn good performer but about 3 year old technology. The rest of the Elyse DAC is stellar IMHO and I thought one of these new bridges could take it to the next level of USB performance. I was right, the new XMOS chips really adds an additional sense of reality to the musical tracks. More detail, separation of sources with absolutely no edge or brittleness. It clearly adds all this without removing any of the musical quality I enjoy so much with this DAC. Granted the Elyse uses the PCM1794 chip that cannot process I2s so I have to use the SPDIF input from the bridge but I really don't think that is a detriment as I don't use DSD files in any case.


There is nothing new in USB audio in the last 3 years. The only change is wide adoption of DoP, but it was available in some DACs 3 years ago.
 
There is nothing new in USB audio in the last 3 years. The only change is wide adoption of DoP, but it was available in some DACs 3 years ago.

So XU208 is not new? What about XU216? What about the latest Windows 10 native drivers for USB 2.0 audio? What about USB Regen? What about ISO Regen? What about W4S Remedy? What about MQA?
 
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So XU208 is not new? What about XU216? What about the latest Windows 10 native drivers for USB 2.0 audio? What about USB Regen? What about ISO Regen? What about W4S Remedy? What about MQA?

There is nothing new in handling USB audio - the same since USB 2.0 standard adoption over 15 years ago. All important things happen on DAC side, not in USB transport chip.
 
There is nothing new in handling USB audio - the same since USB 2.0 standard adoption over 15 years ago. All important things happen on DAC side, not in USB transport chip.

So XU208 is not new? What about XU216? What about the latest Windows 10 native drivers for USB 2.0 audio? What about USB Regen? What about ISO Regen? What about W4S Remedy?

Agree that DAC processors are improving along with better implementation of older designs but USB continues to mature as a valid method to transport musical files. It was not that long ago it was considered inferior to SPDIF but that is no longer the case.
 
So XU208 is not new? What about XU216? What about the latest Windows 10 native drivers for USB 2.0 audio? What about USB Regen? What about ISO Regen? What about W4S Remedy?

Agree that DAC processors are improving along with better implementation of older designs but USB continues to mature as a valid method to transport musical files. It was not that long ago it was considered inferior to SPDIF but that is no longer the case.

The goal for USB receiver is to get data and reformat it for use by DAC circuit. There is nothing fancy there, All magic happens later in clock recovery, digital filtering and actual D/A conversion. There are new new features still coming out. But this all is WITHIN DAC BOX! It is impossible to keep clock stable with low jitter if it is located further than a couple inches from D/A chip. This means that all this magic should happen within few square inches of a single circuit board. This has nothing to do with USB protocol processing.
 
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