Does the new D-100 have....

[ron-c]

Matt,

You are good to go on the MAC as it has a 2.0 audio driver in the OS.
I am not a Linux expert, Win PCS need win XP service pack 2 or 3 but preferably Win 7 or 8.
All built in audio programs are somewhat a limitation if you are after best sound. I like JRivers Media Engine 18 and the guys in engineering are running Pure Music on their MACs. Both of these will bypass the internal computer stuff and can give you bit perfect playback that is the best with the McIntosh 32/192 digital engines. Great sound.

Thanks again,
Ron-C

 

[eedork]

Great!

Matt,

You are good to go on the MAC as it has a 2.0 audio driver in the OS.
I am not a Linux expert, Win PCS need win XP service pack 2 or 3 but preferably Win 7 or 8.
All built in audio programs are somewhat a limitation if you are after best sound. I like JRivers Media Engine 18 and the guys in engineering are running Pure Music on their MACs. Both of these will bypass the internal computer stuff and can give you bit perfect playback that is the best with the McIntosh 32/192 digital engines. Great sound.

Thanks again,
Ron-C

Thanks Ron! I'll experiment with the USB input this weekend.

-Matt

 

[ron-c]

Matt,

Many get hung up on hi resolution music which is a great thing but plain old 16/44 CDs and lowly MP3s sound very good through the McIntosh digital engines. Especially if you use a top flight music program so the D100 runs the computer in an asynchronous direct mode.

Thanks,
Ron-C

 

[eedork]

Testing things out now

Matt,

Many get hung up on hi resolution music which is a great thing but plain old 16/44 CDs and lowly MP3s sound very good through the McIntosh digital engines. Especially if you use a top flight music program so the D100 runs the computer in an asynchronous direct mode.

Thanks,
Ron-C

Thanks again Ron.

I just connected my Mac to the D100 and am able to play mp3s at 16/24/32 bit depths (2-ch integer mode in OSX audio/midi utility) at sampling frequencies of 44.1 and 88.2 kHz. I have say, even lowly 256 kbps mp3s sound exceptional ... I'm quite pleased with the results so far!

I'm just using OSX's built-in audio player which must be upsampling to the selected bit depth and sampling frequency since the D100 displays whatever I configure within in OSX. Note that 176.4 kHz also plays fine, but there is an occasional pop. I'm using an ancient and craptastic USB cable, so that may be part of the issue. The cable is probably rated for USB 1.1 so I'll have to pick up an official USB 2.0 cable, since I believe there are physical differences in the way the two types of cable terminated.

-Matt

 

[ron-c]

Matt,

Your files will sound best when sent into D100 at their native data rate. In the case of MP3 this will be 16/44.1. Once the signal enters D100 it will be processed by the McIntosh Digital Engine and spun up to high numbers before the DAC in D100 sees it.
Generally computers are not the best place to sample rate convert in the signal chain when the D100 will do the same in a cleaner electrical environment.
USB 2.0 needs to use a 2.0 cable for best performance. USB1.0 cables are designed for up to 24/96 then become problematic. USB 2.0 will cary 60 channels of 24/96 at the same time so it is a big high speed pipe.
You may want to use a Belkin Gold USB High Speed cable as a baseline for USB cable performance. You may use 6 to 16 feet without problems when running high speed.
Thanks,
Ron-C

 

[eedork]

Thanks Ron

Matt,

Your files will sound best when sent into D100 at their native data rate. In the case of MP3 this will be 16/44.1. Once the signal enters D100 it will be processed by the McIntosh Digital Engine and spun up to high numbers before the DAC in D100 sees it.
Generally computers are not the best place to sample rate convert in the signal chain when the D100 will do the same in a cleaner electrical environment.
USB 2.0 needs to use a 2.0 cable for best performance. USB1.0 cables are designed for up to 24/96 then become problematic. USB 2.0 will cart 60 channels of 24/96 at the same time so it is a big high speed pipe.
You may want to use a Belkin Gold USB High Speed cable as a baseline for USB cable performance. You may use 6 to 16 feet without problems when running high speed.
Thanks,
Ron-C

I don't have much hi-res music at the moment, so I was upsampling in OSX just to test out the D100. I'll pick up a better USB cable at some point too .. the ones I've been using were pulled from my cable pile and are no doubt ancient. As it is, the USB input sounds wonderful on the D100.

-Matt

 

[eedork]

After striking out at Radio Shack, Lowe's, and Target (and not willing to pay the almost $30 required at Best Buy) I ordered a Belkin pro gold high-speed USB 2.0 cable on Amazon last night for a hair over $8. Gotta love that free 2-day shipping with a Prime membership .. the cable should be here Monday. I'll report back once the cable arrives.

-Matt

 

[mcintoshmagic]

I don't have much hi-res music at the moment, so I was upsampling in OSX just to test out the D100. I'll pick up a better USB cable at some point too .. the ones I've been using were pulled from my cable pile and are no doubt ancient. As it is, the USB input sounds wonderful on the D100.

-Matt

HDtracks

 

[theppd]

Thanks again Ron.

I just connected my Mac to the D100 and am able to play mp3s at 16/24/32 bit depths (2-ch integer mode in OSX audio/midi utility) at sampling frequencies of 44.1 and 88.2 kHz. I have say, even lowly 256 kbps mp3s sound exceptional ... I'm quite pleased with the results so far!

I'm just using OSX's built-in audio player which must be upsampling to the selected bit depth and sampling frequency since the D100 displays whatever I configure within in OSX. Note that 176.4 kHz also plays fine, but there is an occasional pop. I'm using an ancient and craptastic USB cable, so that may be part of the issue. The cable is probably rated for USB 1.1 so I'll have to pick up an official USB 2.0 cable, since I believe there are physical differences in the way the two types of cable terminated.

-Matt

Hey Matt! Do you have any plans to compare the d100 to mcd1100 or w4s dac2?

 

[eedork]

Unfortunately, no

Hey Matt! Do you have any plans to compare the d100 to mcd1100 or w4s dac2?

Since I do not own either the MCD1100 or W4S. I wish I could do that comparison though .. it would be fun.

-Matt

 

[eedork]

'hi-speed' USB 2.0 cable has arrived

After striking out at Radio Shack, Lowe's, and Target (and not willing to pay the almost $30 required at Best Buy) I ordered a Belkin pro gold high-speed USB 2.0 cable on Amazon last night for a hair over $8. Gotta love that free 2-day shipping with a Prime membership .. the cable should be here Monday. I'll report back once the cable arrives.

-Matt

And it works perfectly. Playing regular 16/44.1 mp3 files via iTunes I am able to tweak the format all the way up to 32 bits / 196 kHz within the OSX audio and midi setup and play them without issue on the D100 USB input. The D100 quickly locks and displays the expected bit depth and sample rate information. It all seems to work as expected with the new cable. Very nice!

-Matt

 

[briweed]

Yes, many will find the headphone amplifier in D100 to be the best sounding SS headphone amplifier for driving hi-end phones. At various shows we have received comments that this headphone amp is very good from headphone fans. Each headphone model is different so you may want to try yours with D100 and let everyone know what you think.

Thanks again,
Ron-C

Ron,

Any recommendations on what impedance headphone you would recommend with the D100? I am looking at Beyerdynamic-770-PRO's and they come in 250, 80 and 32 impedance versions.

thanks,
B

 

[HiFiGuy528]

how does the D100 compares to C50 in sound?

 

['cisco]

D100 is too thin to fit the illumination above the two knobs. Yes, C48 has both input and volume illuminated.

thanks,
Ron-C

but Ron.....what about this pic of a C712...all illuminated?

I'm considering a D100 to hook up to my C50 that has not been updated to the latest FW. Any feedback on going this route?

 

[HiFiGuy528]

The C712 uses standard mini bulbs so that may be the difference.

 

[apachef1]

but Ron.....what about this pic of a C712...all illuminated?

I'm considering a D100 to hook up to my C50 that has not been updated to the latest FW. Any feedback on going this route?

I thought Firewire too. I look at the back view of the D-100 and the connections for digital seem outdated and limited. Firewire 400/800, USB 3 or thunderbolt would be a great step and convince me to buy the D-100.:thmbsp:

 

[stahle]

D100 is too thin to fit the illumination above the two knobs. Yes, C48 has both input and volume illuminated.

thanks,
Ron-C

Then how did the prototype get illuminated?

This is a similar issue I had with the MA2275 that no one seemed to care about but me. The MA2275 used for advertising and the website clearly shows a ph/aux input on the front with a ph/aux switch on the back similar to the MA6900. The problem I discovered when receiving my MA2275 is that the production units were not made with the aux option, that is, the input is phono only. If you don't believe me, take a look at the website, the photos are still there showing it with an aux option even though they do not come that way. I like my source units to be hooked to the appropriate input - CD to CD, tuner to tuner, and so on. I have a dac and I expected to be able to hook it to the aux input but instead I had to hook it to the CD input. Petty I know, but extremely annoying to me.
:nono:

 

[eedork]

Good question!

Then how did the prototype get illuminated?

This is a similar issue I had with the MA2275 that no one seemed to care about but me. The MA2275 used for advertising and the website clearly shows a ph/aux input on the front with a ph/aux switch on the back similar to the MA6900. The problem I discovered when receiving my MA2275 is that the production units were not made with the aux option, that is, the input is phono only. If you don't believe me, take a look at the website, the photos are still there showing it with an aux option even though they do not come that way. I like my source units to be hooked to the appropriate input - CD to CD, tuner to tuner, and so on. I have a dac and I expected to be able to hook it to the aux input but instead I had to hook it to the CD input. Petty I know, but extremely annoying to me.
:nono:

Ron's prototype had illimunation, so it's definitely possible. Although it is unfortunate that the D100 is not illuminated from the factory, I would actually buy an aftermarket or McIntosh accessory illumination kit (hint, hint Ron).

Sorry to hear about you experience with the 2275. That is frustrating to say the least.

-Matt

 

[HiFiGuy528]

the reason behind using this budget headphones at CES to demo the D100?

 

[ron-c]

They sound good, they are comfortable, they are cheap and they were in my computer bag. I am surprised they were not ripped off during the show.

Thanks,
Ron-C