A Tale of 3 Dacs - Or, the best way to spend $2000 on a DAC
- Thread starter Bigerik
- Start date
I tried both actually. I had a very slick USB/spdif convertor and tried straight USB also.
MWalt
Super Member
What converter did you use? I may have to get a USB/spdif converter for my own system.
M2tech Hiface Evo. I eventually even tried it with the matching external clock and battery power supply. A very nice piece that got noticeably better with the addition of the add ons. It just seemed a little silly and cumbersome to me to have 3 boxes for doing the conversion. Plus, it wasn't inexpensive either!
MWalt
Super Member
I may try an old mid sized CPU I have and dedicate it to audio. It has a nice Asus hi-fi sound card. I can run normal IC's from there. It just seems like too much for a guy that likes things simple and clutterless. :sigh:
The M2Tech evo stuff was a bit of an epiphany for me. It showed me how much I was willing to suffer for my audio. No, in the greater scheme of things, it wasn't a huge PITA, but it was fully manual, and seemed like way too much clutter for what it was worth. Plus, all three boxes total $2000!
On the other hand, I was very impressed by the sound quality. I was doubtful that it really could make as much of a difference as it did. I learned that good USB/SPDIF conversion is a must to get the best out of a non-USB dac.
Yes.
Which means I have no clue. The thing I learned is that it takes a fair bit of work, or equipment, to get the best out of a USB/SPDIF conversion.
MWalt
Super Member
Erik, this is an interesting read: http://www.computeraudiophile.com/content/561-chord-electronics-qutehd-review/
Billfort
Addicted Member
?? How do you use your Chord now?
Usually the bottleneck is the current to voltage converter department.
Simple opamp circuit that is being implemented as I to V converter in majority product for the sake of "linear" lab tests result might possibly suffer the sound quality just a little little little little bit, which is still being generally acceptable but not for some few.... I'm not against implementing opamp in DAC. correct me if I am wrong.
Last edited:
MWalt
Super Member
Laptop (HQPlayer) > USB > Chord Chordette Qute HD > IC's > ARC SP16 Preamp.
It sounds better through my Squeezebox Touch and Coax cable. I think I need a X-SPDIF converter.
Last edited:
You may try to install unofficial digital output plugin on Touch. It supports USB output to some DACs, and might work with Chordette.
Adda
Super Member
The M2Tech evo stuff was a bit of an epiphany for me. It showed me how much I was willing to suffer for my audio. No, in the greater scheme of things, it wasn't a huge PITA, but it was fully manual, and seemed like way too much clutter for what it was worth. Plus, all three boxes total $2000!
On the other hand, I was very impressed by the sound quality. I was doubtful that it really could make as much of a difference as it did. I learned that good USB/SPDIF conversion is a must to get the best out of a non-USB dac.
A slightly simpler an cheaper solution (but almost certainly not as good) is the M2Tech HiFace Two with a stable USB power supply.
I got an Aqvox Low Noise Linear PSU to use with my HiFace, and it has cleaned up the sound some, not a radical difference, but good enough to be worth while.
Add updated firmware and drivers to that and you got a substantial upgrade over out-of-the-box performance.
MWalt
Super Member
I've tried it, but it (SBT) still doesn't support DSD...:sigh:
If you pre-encode DSD into DoP and compress them in Flac, it will work. SBT just passes what it thinks 24/176 data stream. DAC decodes DoP as DSD stream. I use that kind of setup with Teac UD501 running from software SB emulator Squeezelite via USB. Problem is that SBT plugin supports only a few USB DACs (my Teac is NOT one of them). If your DAC is like Mitec understands DoP via SPDIF it works better.
MWalt
Super Member
O.K. , you got me. I like my Squeezebox Touch and if there is a way to accomplish DSD through it, I am all ears. Please explain this process and I'll give it a try!
1. Install extended output plugin. It is in "unsupported" plugins section. It will also install custom kernel.
2. Configure output to USB mode. It will disable analog and optical outputs.
3. Try play audio in 24/176 or 24/192 PCM to see if it works. If it does not - it means your DAC is not compatible. In some cases having powered USB hub between SBT and DAC helps resolve problem.
4. Use some third party software to convert DSD encoded files to DoP Flac encoded files. I use Foobar2000 with DoP plugin for that. You will use "convert" option there. Now you have DoP encoded files, which you can play like regular PCM Flac files. Your DAC recognizes them and play DSD.
5. If DAC supports DoP via SPDIF, you skip step #2 and thus will avoid issus with USB compatibility.
In my case step #3 failed (SBT hang every time I turned DAC off and on - which was a huge inconvenience), and I decided to use DIY media player with Sqezeelite instead of SBT.
