Computer based music replay

Lee Hi, I haven't heard the Wavelength dac, I have heard the Ayre version, obviously there is more than just the connection protocol, family well?
Very best ,Keith.

 

Async USB is just today's fad, USB3 is almost upon us. The spec allows for full duplex operation and so should function the same as firewire. Support is likely to be built into Win7 SP1, Intel has the controller side done and some manufacturers have already started fitting USB3 ports to their machines. So, the circus continues!

We shall be able to welcome a brand new raft of dac's built to take advantage of the native asynchronous operation and 4.5gb/s bandwidth. Doubtless they will all be 'the new reference in digital audio' and RA will manufacture a £500 USB3 cable! (BTW - the new spec for USB3 has quite stringent requirements for cable specs, the sort of shielding and geometry that will have the cable makers salivating!).

So, a new port to play with, a new computer needed so you can get a port to plug your new dac into, a new, or patched, OS needed to take advantage of it all. New player software for the new OS, new cables............. USB4 anyone?

 

That is, in essence, what puts me off the whole thing. I wouldn't mind spending a few £00s on a squeezy box (if I could live with the interface )but when it comes to dropping several £k on a DAC that may well be tomorrow's Betamax I get cold feet big time.

 

Hi Keith - was the Ayre any good to your ears? Yes, everyone's on top form thanks

 

Lee Hi, yes definitely worth a listen, I would also look out for a Metric Halo it is a DAC/ADC and you can record your vinyl on it at 24/192 ,extremely good, very best ,Keith.

 

Is that strictly true Keith? I thought the difference was that spdif pushes the signal through at the rate the source has it ready at, 'source clock', and that in firewire and async usb the data is 'pulled' through by the DAC at the rate it wants, ie set by its clock not that of the source.

Is there really any 'timing data' per-se in the spdif signal, I thought it was just every 20 blocks of data or whatever the clock ticks over one cycle and sends it. Isn't it the accumulated number of the data blocks that says 'tick', not the data encoded in the blocks? So async and firewire just doesn't look to recover timing data when it sends it, they are both just pure data protocols where the source is slaved to the DAC's clock.

Or have I always had this wrong? I do find it quite confusing..

 

even well known firewire audio manufacturer is now making usb stuff.

rme hammerfall gear.

http://www.rme-audio.de/en_products_fireface_uc_systems.php?page=content/products/en_uc_general

if they are happy with usb i don't see why so many others don't seem to fond of the ubiquitous usb usage.

i have didgidesign focusrite usb pre and it sounds fantastic and i picked it up at a rspca charity shop for a fiver.
its better than my older tascam too.

 

Hey all,

Sorry to revive this old thread, but I'm in a similar situation as the OP.

I currently own a pair of B&W DM-601 S2 speakers driven by Arcam Delta 90.2 amp which is connected to my MacBook.

I'm thinking of buying a DAC to improve the sound of my system.

Are there any recent D/A converters I should consider? I'm on a (very) low budget, so as cheap as possible please!

Thanks!

P.S.: I was thinking of a Fireye II or a Fubar II ? Are these any good?

 

Musical Fidelity V-DAC.

£140, superb sound, loads of inputs, measures as well as dacs costing £1k+

Costs have been slashed by putting the excellent circuit into a very basic, small case.

 

I always found that an excellent on a budget dac which by me and many others on the net rated it being far better than the AE VDAC is the valab dac the luxury nos version u can get them from ebay direct from valab and always ask for the best price before u buy and stress u are on a budget as Kevin from Valab is a great guy and will do his very best to help, Ive got the top of his range platinum dac and as I have had a try of a good few of them he gave me a whopping £100 off the price, I have also recommended others too him who have had a good price reduction to that of the originally posted price, Im sure if u nose the net and ask around u will here good things about them, it is usb too, rrp £150

Dan
P.S The NOS Dac is 16bit but he does do one that is 24 too

 

Thanks for the suggestions, both of you.

I sent an email to Valab and will await their response.

 

I haven't received an answer from Kevin yet, but I did discover this: Pure Piper DAC.

Any ideas how this would compare to the Valab or V-DAC?

Also, is there much of a difference between an USB-DAC or a S/PDIF such as the Piper? I.e. would it be better to buy e.g. a Valab or V-DAC, or is the best option a device such as the Pure Piper with a USB->S/PDIF converter?

Sorry for my possible ignorance

 

USB generally gives poorer measurements unless special interface devices are used.

However, there is a big difference between a device measuring better and actually sounding better beyond a certain point. For example if one dac manages to push noise down to -100db and another manages -110db the benefit surely becomes moot at those extremely low levels.
Audio electronics need to be 'good enough' with a degree of comfort margin.

I would honestly go for the V-Dac.
Widely available, cheap, versatile and with state of the art performance.

 

Wierd I spoke to him yesterday and he said for an extra $80 he has a new 24bit usb chip made by Taradac he can fit in the dac, personally I think its the best choice or u can use a hiface between pc and dac its a usb to coax converter and has extra low jitter output but for half the price the new chip being an usb to spdif converter would take care of it, the dac already has a dir9001 chip which is as good as its coax and plus a usb cable is cheaper than a good coax and probably would transfer data with less errors

 

Thanks again guys.

I'm really torn between the possibilities:

The cheapest I can get the V-DAC for in Belgium seems to be around 225 EUR.
The Pure Piper people offered me a discount: about 140 EUR for the DAC, an USB-to-S/PDIF converter and a coax cable. (shipping excl.)

 

Have u read up much on the piper cos it sounds a good deal

Why dont u check ebay uk for a vddac and message the seller for shipping to where u are, u can always prompt them to check a site like p4d for shipping cost via dhl then they will just collect from the seller no account needed

 

Well guys I went with the Piper (sorry Rob & Dan ).
Partly out of curiousity, partly because I think it looks better than the V-DAC :shame: and (the biggest factor) because I think I got a good deal.
The review over at head-fi sounds promising...

I now pay the same in dollars as I would pay in euros to get either the V-DAC or the Valab, and I get a cable and S/PDIF converter.

XueYong is very nice to deal with: quick replies, very friendly and gave me a discount

I'll let you know what I think of it when it arrives. (somewhere next week I guess)

 

Yeah nice one start a new thread on the piper once u have run it in a bit would be nice to know ur thoughts
Good luck on it all

 

Hey guys,

The Pure Piper DAC arrived! It took 4 days from China to Belgium, which I find very quick

First impressions: very positive. Packaging is very secure and the device looks & feels well-built (apart from a spelling error on the back panel: opitcal instead of optical ). I got a USB -> S/PDIF converter and a very thick and seemingly well-built coax cable too.
Currently I'm listening via an optical connection.
The sound certainly is an improvement from my MacBook's built-in soundcard.

I will write a full review in a few days or weeks when I get to know the device somewhat better.

 

Excellent news mate, I hope the next few weeks are good ones for u!

Look forward to hearing ur thoughts on the piper