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Dacs Dacs and More Dacs

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Posted on May 27, 2020 at 18:13:27
Dawnrazor
Audiophile

Posts: 12586
Location: N. California
Joined: April 9, 2004
I have 5 dacs in the house and one in storage. Yet I find myself looking at another dac. It makes no sense as my last dac is pretty good. But there are R2r dacs out there I haven't tried and the Chord mojo is supposed to be somewhat unique.

Anyone else keep buying dacs?

Cut to razor sounding violins

 

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RE: Dacs Dacs and More Dacs, posted on May 27, 2020 at 19:06:52
knewton
Audiophile

Posts: 563
Location: Mid-Atlantic/Northeast
Joined: May 18, 2010
What is the specific reason why you keep purchasing DACs?
_
Ken Newton

 

Sounds like DAC oversampling :) (nt), posted on May 27, 2020 at 20:34:19
Posts: 2760
Location: Orange Co., Ca
Joined: September 19, 2001
nt

 

RE: Dacs Dacs and More Dacs, posted on May 28, 2020 at 05:16:47
I would but I've set my limit at $500 to see what I can do. Spending more to get more makes sense but I was never one who could sense soundstage from my dac or who needed micro detail to enjoy music.

 

RE: Dacs Dacs and More Dacs, posted on May 28, 2020 at 06:46:09
Dawnrazor
Audiophile

Posts: 12586
Location: N. California
Joined: April 9, 2004
That is a good question.

Change of format mostly.

I bought the first one to improve my cd player sound. Then I went to computerbased audio and there werent any good pc to spdif converters then, so I bought a highend soundcard.

I moved to Florida and that PC put out too much heat. So I went another route and went ethernet audio. I bought a dac that supported that. Then there was a deal on a similar dac that also had mic inputs so hey why not. The deal was a misprint but they honored it. (thanks Markertek for being stand up).

Then I go some more cash and went to a more audiophile dac using the same ethernet protocol.

That dac is solid and I like it. Looking at an r2r or something like the Chord dacs that are just different.

The other dac is just a cheap behringer $20 dac just for my non audiophile pc but the new dac has usb so that is now used for the non audio computer.

Cut to razor sounding violins

 

RE: Dacs Dacs and More Dacs, posted on May 28, 2020 at 06:47:46
Dawnrazor
Audiophile

Posts: 12586
Location: N. California
Joined: April 9, 2004
both dacs I am thinking about are $500 :)

Soundstage is important to me...

Cut to razor sounding violins

 

Good one :) NT, posted on May 28, 2020 at 06:48:18
Dawnrazor
Audiophile

Posts: 12586
Location: N. California
Joined: April 9, 2004
c

Cut to razor sounding violins

 

RE: Dacs Dacs and More Dacs, posted on May 28, 2020 at 08:36:06
Mortsnets
Audiophile

Posts: 309
Location: SF East Bay
Joined: September 27, 2006
I've got a $500 limit too which hasn't slowed me down too much.

Accumulated the following DACs:

Original Modi
Original AQ Dragonfly
Signstek Mini USB DAC (also USB to SPDIF)
ifi idsd nano le
Allo Boss HAT DAC for Raspberry Pi
Khadas Tone Board
Starting Point Systems DAC3
Modi Multibit
Halide HD

 

RE: Dacs Dacs and More Dacs, posted on May 28, 2020 at 08:39:45
Posts: 1617
Location: South Central Coast, California
Joined: October 12, 2003
Which of the the DACs you listed do you like the best and why?

 

RE: Dacs Dacs and More Dacs, posted on May 28, 2020 at 13:13:00
Wow that's quite a collection. I should say my limit is 3 for now otherwise I sense divorce in my future.

 

RE: Dacs Dacs and More Dacs, posted on May 28, 2020 at 13:21:13
Mortsnets
Audiophile

Posts: 309
Location: SF East Bay
Joined: September 27, 2006
I really like the Halide HD (usb only) since I got an Uptone Regen and their USPCB adapter. The Halide sounds good with lossy streaming like Spotify and Soundcloud. The Starting Point Systems and Modi MB are tied for second using SPDIF. The Modi is more exciting but the SPS DAC3 disappears better. Next is my newest addition the $100 Khadas Tone Board which is less laid back more like the Modi MB - I prefer it using SPDIF too.

 

RE: Dacs Dacs and More Dacs, posted on May 28, 2020 at 14:28:01
Cut-Throat
Audiophile

Posts: 18251
Location: Minneapolis - St.Paul Area
Joined: September 2, 2000
Contributor
  Since:
May 16, 2021
I've tried a lot of DACs in my System, and I have to say that they are more alike than different. If I wanted a substantial upgrade in Sound quality, The DAC would be the 2nd to the last place I would look, right behind Cables (Power, Interconnect, or Speaker).

But, I guess part of this Hobby, is that you are never done upgrading. I'm not changing my Speakers, Amplifiers or Pre-amp... So, that leaves the Source to Fiddle with.



 

As a 'DAC of the Month Club' member in good standing..., posted on May 28, 2020 at 14:34:16
Ivan303
Audiophile

Posts: 48887
Location: Cadiere d'azur FRANCE - Santa Fe, NM
Joined: February 26, 2001
For R2R DACs, I'd recommend something by either Audio-GD (direct from China) or DENAFRIPS (they are in Singapore).

I had a Audio-GD Master 7 balanced DAC (their top of the line a few years ago) and replaced it with a DENAFRIPS Terminator at twice the price.

Terminator is a great DAC but it beats the Audio-GD by only a very small bit.




First they came for the dumb-asses
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a dumb-ass

 

RE: Dacs Dacs and More Dacs, posted on May 28, 2020 at 18:08:57
Todd Krieger
Audiophile

Posts: 37308
Location: SW United States
Joined: November 2, 2000
DACs are a "listen before you buy" type of item....... Buying blind will be a disappointment if you're finicky about the sound they put out.

Most DACs, to me, don't sound particularly good..... Even the well-regarded ones.....

The ones that I do like, I'll probably stick with for the rest of my life.... Because I don't want to ride on that money pit "merry-go-round" again.....

There is an inexpensive DAC out there that I do like for PC-based playback, the "SMSL Sanskrit 10th MKII USB DAC"..... It caught my ear at THE Show 2019, and it displaced a Schiit Bifrost Uber DAC I was using.....

I will be holding my breath on a new digital audio player (DAP), because I won't know if its internal DAC will be to my liking..... The current DAP, which has a so-so DAC, I ended up using a Chord Mojo outboard DAC, which I thought was and improvement, but otherwise nothing special......

DACs can be a frustrating endeavor..... I generally find almost no correlation to what I think sounds good and what general consensus claims to be good.....

My favorite DACs? The hideously expensive Prism DA-2, the hideously expensive Wadia 9, and the DAC inside the Philips CDC935 CD changer..... (All were from the 1990s.... ) But the stock output stage on the third item needs to be replaced with a good high-end (tube) design, and you still need to play CDs, in order to experience the magic of the DAC......

 

RE: Dacs Dacs and More Dacs, posted on May 28, 2020 at 18:30:49
zacster
Audiophile

Posts: 2175
Location: NYC
Joined: November 22, 2003
Interesting that I have 3 of those myself, the Boss, the Dragonfly Black and the iDSD Nano BL. I also have a Hifiberry DAC+Pro. Of those the boss is the boss but I also like the Hifiberry. I don't care for the iDSD at all and the DF is convenient for portable use. When I put my Boss up against a Mytek I really couldn't hear a difference but it wasn't with my gear where I might be more attuned to the sound.

 

RE: Dacs Dacs and More Dacs, posted on May 28, 2020 at 19:09:35
triodesteve
Audiophile

Posts: 802
Location: Walla Walla Washington
Joined: September 4, 2001
I've had the same dac (TwinDac +) for more than 13 years. Thinking that death could be around any corner I decided to finally hear a Totaldac. I bought the cheapest one (not cheap)and it didn't get returned. I've never heard another r2r dac so, I can't offer any comparisons but I'd say its pretty awesome. I'm now thinking about selling some organs to get the Totaldac server.

Why? Read on...
Honestly I thought my Digione Sig sounded pretty good...and then I found a used Poly for my Mojo...just to play around...because you know, I could be dead next week.

What an amazingly cool device. Roon at home, streaming from Tidal and Qobuz on the road, and then there is that little sd card. Music off of that card sounds crazy good. Way better than coming off wifi or from music stored on my phone. I'm really surprised at how much I like the Poly. It really makes the Mojo better.

So there is room for improvement in my streamer at home...now I know. Anyone need a kidney...its fairly healthy.

 

RE: Dacs Dacs and More Dacs, posted on May 28, 2020 at 22:50:54
agattu
Audiophile

Posts: 606
Location: NW Washington & Southcentral Alaska
Joined: March 27, 2005
Same here.

 

RE: Dacs Dacs and More Dacs, posted on May 29, 2020 at 06:47:32
Story
Audiophile

Posts: 10293
Location: NJ
Joined: December 11, 2000
I replaced the 2 Electrolytic output caps on my Starting Point Mini TDA1543 with Black Gate hi-q non polars and it made a (here we go) big difference. I don't say this lightly. I was impressed with the relatively simple circuit inside and didn't understand why they put those crappy caps in.

It made a big difference, otherwise I wouldn't offer this mod suggestion if they are still using the crappy E's.



 

RE: As a 'DAC of the Month Club' member in good standing..., posted on May 29, 2020 at 14:22:15
Dawnrazor
Audiophile

Posts: 12586
Location: N. California
Joined: April 9, 2004
More like the dac of the decade club.

Cut to razor sounding violins

 

RE: As a 'DAC of the Month Club' member in good standing..., posted on May 29, 2020 at 14:55:05
double28
Audiophile

Posts: 3220
Location: Greensboro, NC
Joined: February 20, 2008
That is great to know and will save me a bunch of cash and hand wringing. :0)

Will

 

RE: Dacs Dacs and More Dacs, posted on May 29, 2020 at 16:05:35
Dawnrazor
Audiophile

Posts: 12586
Location: N. California
Joined: April 9, 2004
Thats a common view though if the dac is missing info or glossing over things you never ever will get it back no matter the amp and speakers. FWIW I am using headphones and they tend to be more revealing because there is no room to really deal with.

And I for one notice a difference with cables and power and recently with footers.

Though I kind of agree given my system I would probably be better off getting new cans but the ones I have are modded pretty extensively with mods no one else has done afaik and they rock.

Also the dac can make a big difference or at least the clocking can. I added an Apogee Big Ben right before the dac and man its a different system!

Cut to razor sounding violins

 

Or buy used before listening ;-), posted on May 29, 2020 at 16:14:35
AbeCollins
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February 2, 2002
You can always put it back up for sale w/o losing much money.

I think most modern DACs that are not cost cut to the extreme sound pretty good, and not hugely different from one another. There are fewer not so great sounding DACs out there IMHO.

As an aside, I thought the Chord Mojo was excellent but not quite up there with my W4S DAC2 DSD, PS Audio NuWave DSD, or the Ayre QB9-DSD. And I'm not a big fan of battery powered audiophile devices.

To my ears these all sound very slightly different but all are excellent. The PS Audio hits the sweet spot for me. The W4S is more weighty or robust. I use it in my office setup. The Ayre is highly resolving like the PS Audio NuWave DSD but ever so slightly less warm. I sold the Ayre and kept the PS Audio.

There are some pricey DACs out there that sound not so great IMHO including the Luxman DA-06 and the vacuum tube Wavelength Audio Brick USB DAC v3. Both of these were smooth but rolled off and veiled IMHO. The Meridian Explorer II MQA DAC was pretty bad but it does light up a pretty blue LED if it's decoding MQA. The similarly priced Apogee Groove DAC was better but neither are up there with the W4S, Ayre, PS Audio, or even the Chord Mojo.



 

RE: Dacs Dacs and More Dacs, posted on May 29, 2020 at 18:51:21
Dawnrazor
Audiophile

Posts: 12586
Location: N. California
Joined: April 9, 2004
Lol. I wish I could try before I buy but really I reasearch and then just buy. I haven't been disappointed for the most part. I skip usb and that seems to help.

Almost bought a Wadia years ago but never did. And yes I would jump on a prism too if I had the dough.

Were any of these dacs that you didnt like run with the Big Ben? Based on your posts over the years I think I know the kind of sound you object to. FWIW I think the Big Ben at least in my system went a long way to getting rid of that "digital" sound.

Cut to razor sounding violins

 

RE: Dacs Dacs and More Dacs, posted on May 30, 2020 at 07:44:09
fredtr
Audiophile

Posts: 1973
Location: Phoenix
Joined: January 4, 2005
I tried some DAC's every few years, didn't find anything I really liked until a few years ago. Now I'm using a PS Audio NuWave and Schiit Grungnir, I like them both. The Grungnir I was allowed to try, (thank-you Vinyl Valet), which was a big help.

Another that I tried and gave to a friend was a Lite DAC, TDA1543 x 8. This was really a surprise, how good it sounds for the money.



 

Here is the reason that you seek replacing your DACs so often..., posted on May 31, 2020 at 07:44:06
Carl G
Audiophile

Posts: 710
Joined: July 4, 2000
I've spent thousands of dollars and spent endless hours on the couch to finally have peace in my life in the knowledge of why I continue to seek different audio equipment..... The male was never meant for monogamy.... yet in our society, polygamy is frowned upon. So, it is man's true nature to sample, enjoy, partake of,and lust after the fairer sex. If a married man is to remain true to his vows, then the only alternative is to unleash his excess testosterone in a socially accepted way....sample , partake of, lust after "different audio equipment"...therefore, the need to rotate your equipment, which you are really happy with, with more and different equipment. NOW, you might say..."I am past my prime (over 65), my testosterone has waned, but, in reality the true nature of the male is to hunt, seek and enjoy the forbidden fruits from a psychological point of view. And, there you have it....this post is the equivalent response to that age old question, "whats the meaning of life"....So, go, partake of a new DAC, sample, enjoy and discard it when you have used it up......
Disclaimer: this response likely belongs in the lunacy of the Inmate Central abyss, but when you cut through the BS , this is why we continue to lust after new/different audio equipment....... : ). by the way, your mileage may vary.

 

Oh, it vary., posted on May 31, 2020 at 09:29:52
oldmkvi
Audiophile

Posts: 10573
Joined: April 12, 2002
Very vary.

 

RE: Dacs Dacs and More Dacs, posted on May 31, 2020 at 14:28:27
Posts: 1617
Location: South Central Coast, California
Joined: October 12, 2003
It's interesting how the same DAC chip such as an ESS 9018 chip can be found in a HIfime 9018 DAC or a Zorloo Zuperdac at around $60 and a $6000 Gryphon Diablo 300 DAC with "implementation and features" creating the significant price differential.

 

RE: Dacs Dacs and More Dacs, posted on June 1, 2020 at 14:42:09
PAR
Audiophile

Posts: 1732
Location: South London, UK
Joined: June 4, 2019
Yes, but that is because the DAC chip, if reasonably competent by current standards, is usually not the most significant element in creating the sound of the DAC (as in complete system component). It plays its part but the major sonic contributor is the analogue output stage where the criteria that apply are similar in nature to that of a fine preamp. This is where it can get costly.

There are a few exceptional processors but even these require excellent output stages without which their superiority would be inaudible.

"We need less, but better" - Dieter Rams

 

What I find largely defines what you hear with a DAC, posted on June 1, 2020 at 14:58:28
E-Stat
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Posts: 37460
Joined: May 12, 2000
Contributor
  Since:
April 5, 2002
is driven more by the A than the D. I don't obsess over getting the latest chipset that supports 768/24 and DSD512 as I will likely never own any of that content.

Once the digital stream has been converted, now you have a line stage. And that's what I find most important. Having said that, My Audio Research DAC8 uses parallel DAC chips for lower noise and separate clocks for 44.1/88.2/176.4 vs. 48/96/192 content.

It begins with EMI filtering at the AC and uses multiple separate and stiff power supplies for analog and digital sections using a low noise R-core unit for analog. The analog stage is a balanced, class A zero feedback JFET design using hand matched devices. And for my needs, it supports driverless support to 192/24 for Linux based streamers like the Sonore ultraRendu I use.

I improved the sound quality of the Music Hall DAC25.3 in the garage in several subtle ways by dumping the TI op amps for socket compatible Burson Audio discrete FETs (three red boxes):

 

Lite Audio, posted on June 1, 2020 at 16:50:54
ppopp
Audiophile

Posts: 2993
Location: OR
Joined: October 10, 2002
I have one their DAC-60s with PCM1740 chips on board. I've had it for 14 years. I have yet to find something else I prefer the sound of.

 

Thanks everyone, posted on June 1, 2020 at 19:46:50
Dawnrazor
Audiophile

Posts: 12586
Location: N. California
Joined: April 9, 2004
It was all pretty helpful. I will hold off buying a dac for the time being. and actually any other expensive audio gear too.

System is sounding pretty damn good lately after some tweaks and mods. also I do have that dac in storage I might dig out to see how it does if I feel like playing. One advantage of the Big Ben is that it has multiple outs so running 2+ dacs at the same time is easy.

Cut to razor sounding violins

 

Thanks for the helpful explanation! nt, posted on June 1, 2020 at 20:46:55
Posts: 1617
Location: South Central Coast, California
Joined: October 12, 2003
nt

 

RE: Dacs Dacs and More Dacs, posted on June 2, 2020 at 13:09:10
beppe61
Audiophile

Posts: 4705
Joined: January 29, 2004
Hi ! do you mean that a high quality clock generator can improve the sound remarkably ? i looked at your system but i cannot find the Big Ben. Have you changed your system lately ?
i own a rosetta 200 that i quite like but i really do not know how good its internal clock is. My source is pc and i was looking for a usb to aes interface with clock in to slave it to the rosetta clock (or viceversa depending on which clock is the better one). But i have always a big ben in my dreams. I read really great things about it.
I would love to know your actual digital set up.
Thanks a lot
Kind regards,
beppe
Kind regards,
bg

 

RE: Dacs Dacs and More Dacs, posted on June 2, 2020 at 13:43:26
beppe61
Audiophile

Posts: 4705
Joined: January 29, 2004
Hi ! maybe you should look at the quality of the digital source upstream the dac. I understand that some dacs are very sensitive to the quality of the incoming spdif signal. Other less. Some reclock with good results. Others dont. It is a little tricky.
I remember that year ago a very cheap dac won the best sound of the show prize when driven by a mighty Krell MD-1 if i am not wrong.
It was the Art DI/O dac (link attached)
My guess is that the little dac when fed with a quality spdif signal could perform at its best.
I have done some tests with different sources using spdif, toslink and aes/ebu inputs on my apogee rosetta 200. The sound was always the same and overall quite nice. I understand the dac has some sort of reclocking. It seems to be quite effective.

Kind regards,
bg

 

Even a Blind Squirrel will find a nut now and then..........nt, posted on June 2, 2020 at 14:14:14
Cut-Throat
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Location: Minneapolis - St.Paul Area
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May 16, 2021
nt



 

RE: Dacs Dacs and More Dacs, posted on June 2, 2020 at 14:47:39
Dawnrazor
Audiophile

Posts: 12586
Location: N. California
Joined: April 9, 2004
Its good advice. Fwiw I don't see how I could really get a better digital source without some stupid money.

Basically its a ethernet to AES digital adapter into a Big Ben clock (to reclock) and then AES out to the dac.

I could tweak the computer a bit more but its pretty dedicated and only audio stuff is running really.

Ethernet to AES adaptor runs off POE so perhaps an injector with a better psu (I think I actually got an injector to try this). However I have another dac that is ethernet using the same protocol and can be PoE powered or run off a supply. I tried the stock and an iFi supply and PoE couldn't hear any differences between them.

The Player is hysolid which I really like. Its simple free and sounds really good.

Cut to razor sounding violins

 

RE: Dacs Dacs and More Dacs, posted on June 2, 2020 at 14:55:12
beppe61
Audiophile

Posts: 4705
Joined: January 29, 2004
Hi ! yes you have a really great set up from what i understand.
May i ask the brand and model of your ethernet to AES digital adapter ?
I looked at your system because you mentioned in another post the big ben but i did not see it.
I guess the big ben should output an excellent digital signal.
I have a rosetta 200 and i am fine with it. But i do not have a high end system.
Personally i would try to listen the Denafrips dac or some vintage multibit dac.
Good luck with your search.
Kind regards,
bg

 

RE: Dacs Dacs and More Dacs, posted on June 2, 2020 at 15:15:16
Dawnrazor
Audiophile

Posts: 12586
Location: N. California
Joined: April 9, 2004
Huh. The rosetta is pretty highend isn't it? Guitar Center had one used and I almost bought it.

Yeah I think the Denefrips is worth looking into. Have to wait a while to get that kind of dough.

I updated my system.

The weak like may be the Ethernet to Aes adaptor. Its cheap but lots of pro gear is. I can't think of another way that would be a ton better unless I spend crazy money. Most dacs don't even have AES inputs which limits things, but the Big Ben will output coax and optical from one AES input.

They have a box that sits on the network that has a word clock out. I could connect that to the Big Ben for clocking which would help other dacs on the network but I pretty much just use one so that might not be the best use of money until I use those other dacs.

Anyhow thanks for the idea.

Cut to razor sounding violins

 

RE: Dacs Dacs and More Dacs, posted on June 2, 2020 at 15:41:10
beppe61
Audiophile

Posts: 4705
Joined: January 29, 2004
Hi i am pretty sure that you Big Ben is outputting a great digital signal. Absolutely.
Ice on the cake could be a dac with a clock-in slaved to the Big Ben.
The Big Ben is a master class clock generator ... a very fine piece of electronics. It is like the director in an orchestra.
The Stello must be a really high quality dac ... i do not understand
You have a killer digital source. Your chain looks perfect to me.
(I have a little power amp from Stello and i find it very good sounding indeed. They are very good.)
Anyway it is often a try and listen issue.
Again good luck !

Kind regards,
bg

 

RE: Dacs Dacs and More Dacs, posted on June 2, 2020 at 16:35:35
Dawnrazor
Audiophile

Posts: 12586
Location: N. California
Joined: April 9, 2004
Yeah I think you may be right. There is better out there for sure but it cost alot.

The stello is great. I narrowed things down between that and the Liberty dac. They had a blow out sell at christmas and I got the $799 stello for $629. I fell for their description of it sounding like music and not measurements and the fact that they do their own thing with the FPGA in a general sense like Chord does.

you know how this hobby is though. Latest and greatest and well R2R is making the rounds etc.

Probably best to put dac dough into retirement savings as you point out things are pretty good as is.

You have a Rosetta and a Stello amp and you don't have a highend system? Really dawg?

Cut to razor sounding violins

 

+1 I tend to agree with you on that...., posted on June 2, 2020 at 20:29:51
AbeCollins
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Posts: 46196
Location: USA
Joined: June 22, 2001
Contributor
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February 2, 2002
CD players have been around for decades and for sonic quality it's more about the analog circuitry and output stage. My favorite sounding CD players have come from companies with a strong history in making excellent audiophile analog products like preamps and amps, not so much by the leading digital upstarts.

Same can be said for DACs. While the the DAC chips and interfaces continue to improve very slowly [USB, SPDIF, I2S, TOSLINK, etc], none of these have as much impact on the overall sound quality vs. well implemented analog electronics in the DAC.

DAC chip of the month club? Who cares! Fuggedaboutit!



 

RE: What I find largely defines what you hear with a DAC, posted on June 3, 2020 at 09:13:56
Dawnrazor
Audiophile

Posts: 12586
Location: N. California
Joined: April 9, 2004
I think I can do that same upgrade with the op amps that you did but it is probably outside my comfort zone.

Cut to razor sounding violins

 

What made mine easy, posted on June 3, 2020 at 09:50:06
E-Stat
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Posts: 37460
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April 5, 2002
is they were already socket mounted. It was like changing tubes. Unfortunately, most designs today use surface mounted chips that are soldered directly to the board. All I had to be concerned with is properly aligning the notch.

 

RE: Dacs Dacs and More Dacs, posted on June 3, 2020 at 12:17:42
beppe61
Audiophile

Posts: 4705
Joined: January 29, 2004
Hi ! i have found an interesting article about clock generators used with dacs.
https://www.soundonsound.com/techniques/does-your-studio-need-digital-master-clock
this article has changed my mind. It seems there is no a big gain slaving the dac to an external clock generator. So this makes unecessary to look for a dac with a clock-in,not a very common feature outside the pro world (the dacs for pro audio often have a clock-in).
If i were you i would stick with what you have and maybe borrow some different cables depending of what kind of flavour you are looking for.
For instance to get a more analog sound (i.e. relaxed and pleasant) i would try some Cardas even the cheapest ones.
A pair of Neutral Ref rca made my Rotel cd player sound like a turntable. I was very impressed. But they are not the cheapest.
I understand that is easier to find good and cheap balanced cables than unbalanced.
Also some pro cables can be good ... Mogami, Vovox ... and similar.
I have been using the pc with usb to aes converters ... gustard, melodious, yellowtec puc2 and other cheaper ones ... the sound with the rosetta does not change substantially. I guess this could be a merit of the reclocking inside the dac getting rid of most of the jitter ?
Kind regards,
bg

 

As long as your op amps are socketed DIPs, posted on June 3, 2020 at 13:20:38
Feanor
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Posts: 9794
Location: London, Ontario
Joined: June 17, 2003
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  Since:
March 12, 2004
... It's usually not difficult to remove and replace them. Problems might be that they are in hard to reach locations or in a case that is to o short to accommodate one of those tall Burson types for instance.

First, of course, you'll need to know whether they are single or dual op amps. Look for the model ID on the existing op amp and Google a data sheet for it; that will make it clear.

If rolled a fair number of op amps and they will make a difference in sound. Usually the difference is subtle -- typically not as much as tubes but usually more than cables. So for example, trying types A, B, c, and D, you might fine almost no difference between A and B or C and D, but the difference between A and D might be quite noticeable.

I have never try any of the "discrete" op amps such as the Bursons.



Dmitri Shostakovich

 

RE: Dacs Dacs and More Dacs, posted on June 5, 2020 at 18:48:48
Dawnrazor
Audiophile

Posts: 12586
Location: N. California
Joined: April 9, 2004
Thanks dude. I had seen that before. I think its mostly studio based in its assessment and the ONLY reason for an external clock is when one is recording. Common engineering principles say that even the Big Ben will not improve the sounde and that I am nuts.

Fwiw I make my own cables with the exception of power cords. I can make them and have but choose store bought ones because with my luck, dawnrazors homebrew cable catches on fire and burns things down and the insurance doesnt pay. Its highly unlikely but I got a great deal on the JPS labs power cords and haven't looked back.

Cut to razor sounding violins

 

RE: What made mine easy, posted on June 6, 2020 at 21:57:01
Dawnrazor
Audiophile

Posts: 12586
Location: N. California
Joined: April 9, 2004
I will have to pop the hood and see. thanks.

Cut to razor sounding violins

 

RE: As long as your op amps are socketed DIPs, posted on June 6, 2020 at 21:58:38
Dawnrazor
Audiophile

Posts: 12586
Location: N. California
Joined: April 9, 2004
Thanks that is helpful. In the future. Good news is right now things are sounding pretty awesome! Been messing with footers and damn that is really making things great.

Cut to razor sounding violins

 

RE: Dacs Dacs and More Dacs, posted on June 7, 2020 at 14:46:54
Dawnrazor
Audiophile

Posts: 12586
Location: N. California
Joined: April 9, 2004
Well well well.

Some recent tweaks have really changed things and I find myself happy with things.

I added some more dampening to my headphones, bought another Satic Pure Power box for the routers and switches in the other room on the other circuit, and the last thing I did was experiment with some diy footers. Brushes brushes and brushes for the win, with a few components getting diy roller balls and brushes!

Everything is so much bigger and blacker and more 3d. There is a delicacy and effortless ness that is awesome. A liquidity that is alluring. It still sounds like headphones but there are moments.

Cut to razor sounding violins

 

RE: Here is the reason that you seek replacing your DACs so often..., posted on June 9, 2020 at 17:22:51
mikem
Audiophile

Posts: 170
Joined: September 23, 1999
Well said... Life is short.. Anything worth doing is worth overdoing..
and it annoys the wife..

 

RE: Even a Blind Squirrel will find a nut now and then..........nt, posted on June 9, 2020 at 20:14:58
Heifetz
Audiophile

Posts: 245
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Joined: April 3, 2013
One of my favourite quotes ... Bagger Vance ... a classic!
"You have to leave something to your imagination"

 

Lite Audio DAC 83, posted on June 14, 2020 at 18:32:13
jusbe
Audiophile

Posts: 5950
Location: North Island
Joined: April 4, 2000
I hear that.

Have been running the Lite Audio DAC 83 for about 6 years. Very satisfying.


Big J

"... only a very few individuals understand as yet that personal salvation is a contradiction in terms."


 

Totally normal.., posted on June 21, 2020 at 17:40:26
mikem
Audiophile

Posts: 170
Joined: September 23, 1999
I currently have 4..
Schiit Modi Multibit
Bel Canto DAC 3.5 VBS MKII
Cary 306 SACD player
Schiiit Yggdrasil currently in the main system.

Would love to try a Chord DAC .. but the Yggdrasil has changed my Life !!
I'm happy at the mo

 

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