Iron_Dreamer Posted June 5, 2007 Report Share Posted June 5, 2007 Of the USB DAC's I've tried at length, none showed significant sonic differences between their USB and SPDIF inputs. On those which have had AES/EBU input, I've noticed it to have a small yet positive effect on flow and PRaT. Is it worth using an expensive interface just to get AES/EBU? Probably not. If one is just playing back music, I don't see much need to use a sophisticated pro-audio soundcard if your DAC has USB. If you actually need features like word clock, AES/EBU, low-latency, multi-channel mixing, etc, perhaps such a soundcard would be a worthwhile addition. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
postjack Posted July 19, 2007 Report Share Posted July 19, 2007 Has anyone ever done a shoot out between the apogee mini-dac and the headroom desktop balanced? BTW, still waiting for KenW to tell us what he thinks of his desktop. I read some of his impressions over at h***-f*, but I'm feeling neglected as a head-caser. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PFKMan23 Posted July 19, 2007 Report Share Posted July 19, 2007 Didn't he say he sent the Desktop back? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
humanflyz Posted July 19, 2007 Report Share Posted July 19, 2007 Well now there's HeadAmp's one-box solution, which I will probably get once it comes out. When does it come out again? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
postjack Posted July 19, 2007 Report Share Posted July 19, 2007 Well now there's HeadAmp's one-box solution, which I will probably get once it comes out. When does it come out again? True, the new headamp sounds interesting. However, small size and transportability are not important to me, and these are some of the selling points of the product. But hey, it could still sound as good or better then an Apogee or Desktop, for all I know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PFKMan23 Posted July 19, 2007 Report Share Posted July 19, 2007 Well now there's HeadAmp's one-box solution, which I will probably get once it comes out. When does it come out again? Given that all that was shown was the prototype who knows, I'd probably think around Christmas time or so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
n_maher Posted July 19, 2007 Report Share Posted July 19, 2007 Maybe you should take a look at this - Headroom Micro Portable Amp/DAC. Just announced today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justin Posted July 19, 2007 Report Share Posted July 19, 2007 Given that all that was shown was the prototype who knows, I'd probably think around Christmas time or so. Probably October/November, some of the parts have a 3 month lead time. The closest competition to it would probably be HeadRoom's upcoming Max Micro DAC (as far as quality of the DAC, with upsampling and a flagship DAC chip) but for USB input mine is probably the only one that avoids the extra conversion to SPDIF Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PFKMan23 Posted July 19, 2007 Report Share Posted July 19, 2007 Probably October/November, some of the parts have a 3 month lead time. The closest competition to it would probably be HeadRoom's upcoming Max Micro DAC (as far as quality of the DAC, with upsampling and a flagship DAC chip) but for USB input mine is probably the only one that avoids the extra conversion to SPDIF Ah ok, well that sounds promising. Care to tell what DAC chip it uses? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justin Posted July 19, 2007 Report Share Posted July 19, 2007 WM8740 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elnero Posted July 20, 2007 Report Share Posted July 20, 2007 WM8740 I don't know all the model numbers and brands but that sounds like a Wolfson? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JBLoudG20 Posted July 20, 2007 Report Share Posted July 20, 2007 http://www.datasheetcatalog.com/datasheets_pdf/W/M/8/7/WM8740.shtml Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philodox Posted July 20, 2007 Report Share Posted July 20, 2007 That is the same DAC used in the TwistedPear Opus, cool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JBLoudG20 Posted July 20, 2007 Report Share Posted July 20, 2007 That is the same DAC used in the TwistedPear Opus, cool. I think I'm going to build one of those when the budget allows. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justin Posted July 20, 2007 Report Share Posted July 20, 2007 I prefer same as in the Arcam CD33 (one of the first and best high-end CDPs I owned, which led me to consider the WM8740), Rega Apollo/Saturn, and many other players. There were only about 3 or 4 DAC chips that were serious options, and of course there are various DIY projects that use all of them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
humanflyz Posted July 20, 2007 Report Share Posted July 20, 2007 What is your system btw Justin? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justin Posted July 20, 2007 Report Share Posted July 20, 2007 Computer/Meridian 500 CD Transport -> Benchmark DAC-1/my new USB DAC+Amp -> Any amp I build -> Stax Omega II/Stax 404/HD650/K701/Grado RS-1/Ety ER-4S Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nanoha Posted July 20, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 20, 2007 All right, I believe I've decided. HeadAmp it is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Gramain Posted July 26, 2007 Report Share Posted July 26, 2007 Audiotra Japan have an improved Dr.DAC out. I've always wondered what that's like, it seems like just the thing for basharound 'point to point' use with a laptop. http://www.audiotrak.jp/product/?audiotrak=DR.DAC%202 In terms of UK pounds it's less than an iPod, but I guess for you Americans it's probably a zillion bucks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nanoha Posted July 27, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 27, 2007 Audiotra Japan have an improved Dr.DAC out. I've always wondered what that's like, it seems like just the thing for basharound 'point to point' use with a laptop. http://www.audiotrak.jp/product/?audiotrak=DR.DAC%202 In terms of UK pounds it's less than an iPod, but I guess for you Americans it's probably a zillion bucks Yeah, I saw that yesterday. Seems rather decent (though I haven't taken the time to look at the amp section in more detail). I was interested by the first version when it came out. Almost got zChan to help me buy one, but decided not to buy it in the end. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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