|
Audio Asylum Thread Printer Get a view of an entire thread on one page |
For Sale Ads |
206.251.71.16
In Reply to: DAC or Soundcard?? posted by Frank25 on December 13, 2006 at 14:05:13:
The consensus of opinion on this board and others is to avoid a sound card any way you can.This leaves you with two approaches in the under $500 category. One is a USB DAC. USB is a good way to get the data out of the computer and into a much cleaner and quieter electronic environment. Beyond the Nixon which is a classic, check out Hagerman. Also the Chinese are coming with a million variations on the theme - check out Dared and others.
The other very viable choice is the SLIM Devices Squeezebox (SB). This uses WiFi (802.11g) and/or Ethernet to get the signal from the computer to the SB. The SB comes stock with both a SPDIF output you can take to a DAC, and analog RCA outs which use the onboard DAC and sounds very decent. Go to Wellborne Labs or Bolder Audio and pickup an improved power supply and you will most likely be very happy. When you've got a few more bux, have Wayne at Bolder do his mod magic. I have three of them - really great.
Follow Ups:
"The consensus of opinion on this board and others is to avoid a sound card any way you can"My opinion doesn't fall into the consensus. I prefer the DACs in my Lynx 2B to any external DAC I've heard, including my Audio Aero Prima SE. The Lynx is more transparent and doesn't share the harshness I've heard from other PC sound card DACs.
There is always an exception to the rule and $1K+ sound cards fall in that category. Your card works well because it has the engineering and componentry to work in that environment.The alternatives are all considerably less expensive - and some offer increased flexibility like the ability to network a library throughout the house.
As for your Aero - sounds as though you will be going down the upgrade path. Out of curiousity have you A/Bed it with a CD transport source versus a hard drive source?
Xmas,THis is definately your time of year.
I have to agree with AJ. While there definately are a lot of people who advise against a sound card, they probably haven't heard one of those Lynx cards. And you definately are right in that it is engineered to hang out in that harsh pc environment and still sound good.
BUt, they aren't 1k+. I have seen a Lynx 22 for at least $600, and that has the same Dacs that AJ is praising versus his Audio Aero. Not quote the $500 budget, but well worth the $100 or so difference IMHO.
Hi,The Audio Aero has multiple digital inputs, so I have compared a couple of different transports together and against the computer. For transports I have used an older California Audio Labs Icon Mk II with upgraded power supply, Sony SCD-XA777 ES, and a Marantz SA-8260. While there are aspects I like regarding the different players, I pretty much universally prefer the sound of the PC as a transport when driving an external DAC. The Audio Aero sounds absolutely wonderful, but being an upsampling DAC with a tubed output stage, it colors what drives it to a certain degree. Unlike the Audio Aero, The Lynx is very transparent, but it is still smooth and free of glare like the Audio Aero.
The Squeezebox looks great; particularly its wireless capabilities. I have been considering the purchase of one of these for the living room system.
ya know - I had a fully modded TriVista and decided that I just don't dig the whole upsampling thing....very interesting to read you say that you prefer the PC as a transport...
am running a Bolder modded SB direct into my Cary - at 44.1 obviously - and the level of detail, the timbres and the dynamics make it pretty hard to believe there isn't a pre in the circuit. sweet - especially for less then a grand
This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors: