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More on my new Direct Stream Jr.

204.15.62.81
Posted on December 3, 2021 at 08:47:33
Mike K
Audiophile

Posts: 13976
Location: 97701
Joined: September 23, 1999
 A few weeks ago I purchased a new DSJ. I had been running it direct to
my power amps. Seemed fine. Yesterday, I put my PS Audio GCD in the
chain, and now things sound finer! A pain to get set up, though.

Will also be updating firmware on the DSJ soon, when the disc arrives.
Will have a report on that too.

I am, btw, quite pleased with the DSJ.

Lack of skill dictates economy of style. - Joey Ramone

 

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I have mixed reviews on that....., posted on December 3, 2021 at 11:19:12
AbeCollins
Audiophile

Posts: 46302
Location: USA
Joined: June 22, 2001
Contributor
  Since: February 2, 2002
 Not on the DSJ DAC, but on my outboard DACs driving my mono block amps directly or using the PREAMP section of my GainCell DAC/PRE.

The RME ADI-2 DAC FS sounds fantastic driving my amps directly, but it sounds ever so slightly warmer going through the GCD/PRE. However, I do lose a very slight bit of transparency this way. For now, I'm driving my amps direct from the RME DAC.

On the other hand, the Topping D90 DAC that I once owned sounded somewhat 'thin' driving my amps directly so the Topping benefited greatly with the GCD/PRE inline.

Of course YMMV !



 

RE: I have mixed reviews on that....., posted on December 3, 2021 at 19:45:09
Mike K
Audiophile

Posts: 13976
Location: 97701
Joined: September 23, 1999
 The DSJ apparently implements its volume control in the digital domain,
which lops of bits and hence reduces resolution. The GCD uses an analog
volume control.

Lack of skill dictates economy of style. - Joey Ramone

 

No loss of resolution, posted on December 3, 2021 at 20:40:24
Joe Appierto
Audiophile

Posts: 1051
Location: Central NJ
Joined: January 3, 2004
 Just as the DirectStream DAC Senior there is no loss of reolution when using the volume control.

From the DS DAC Junior Owner's Manual:

The internal volume control keeps complete precision: every bit in the input affects the output of the DAC for any volume level. Except for the sigma-delta modulation process itself, there is no rounding, dither, or other trimming - not to 24 bits, not to 32 bits, not to 48 bits, but rather a full 50. The incoming PCM signal is 30 bits from the upsampling filter, and the volume control is 20 bits wide, so all 50 bits of the output are used throughout the sigma-delta conversion, requiring more than 50 bits of precision.



Joe

 

RE: More on my new Direct Stream Jr., posted on December 6, 2021 at 18:10:09
Todd A.
 Congratulations! I've had a Directstream Jr. in my rig for about a year, and am generally very pleased with it. It definitely sounds better as a source into my tube preamp than serving as the preamp itself, however.

Incidentally, updating the firmware is a breeze downloading it from their website, and loading it onto a clean flash drive. I just installed Sunlight, and it's very nice indeed.

 

Do you use it just as a DAC..., posted on December 7, 2021 at 05:31:11
Ivan303
Audiophile

Posts: 48887
Location: Cadiere d'azur FRANCE - Santa Fe, NM
Joined: February 26, 2001
 Or have you tried streaming via Ethernet using the Bridge feature?


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

 

RE: Do you use it just as a DAC..., posted on December 7, 2021 at 07:00:09
Todd A.
 I use the bridge nearly exclusively. My only other digital source is a CD transport, and I can't remember the last time I played a CD. When I first got the DJR, I tried using a wifi extender since the DJR doesn't have wireless capability, but that approach proved unsatisfactory, so I ended up running a CAT8 cable for a wired connection. If I go to the trouble of finding a specific CD, I'll probably just rip it to the cloud drive rather than put it in the transport.

I don't have a computer in the system (as such), but I do have Twonky on my Macbook so I can play any files that happen to be on it. The one thing I haven't figured out is how to stream files from websites such as that for Pipedreams. You can't download those - only stream them from the website - but I can only stream files from the laptop, not stream from a browser. I suppose that I could run another wire to the DJR from the laptop, but doing so is pretty inconvenient. I'll figure it out eventually.

 

RE: Do you use it just as a DAC..., posted on December 13, 2021 at 16:26:23
Flatwound
Audiophile

Posts: 58
Location: Georgia
Joined: January 27, 2011
 Whoa! Thanks for the tip on Pipedreams! Another great website to explore. Earlier this year, I discovered bbc3 Night Tracks via a mention in a Stereophile review. Great times for streaming some great music.
Happy New Year!
Bill in GA

 

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