What I want in a DAC

[jrebman]

Eric,

Why is a 24/88.2 hi-res download made from a DSD master BS?  It's not a rip-off, it is hi-res -- meaning something more than16/48, and in the case of my Ry Cooder and V. M. Bhat's "A meeting by the River", the 24/88.2 HD Tracks download in PCM is better than both my own high quality CD rip and the SACD played on a SACD player.

No, it won't sound as good as a 24/96 or 24/192 pcm made fromoriginal analog masters (I assume), because as far as I know, no such release exists.  But again, so much is in the hands of the remastering bguys and what they are given for masters that it's pretty much impossible to predict exactly what you'll get -- and that goes all the way back to the original performance/recording.

-- Jim

 

[Yoder]

I think earwaxer is going on the assumption that some companies may be grabbing Redbook CDs and up-sampling them and then selling them as hi-res, based on earlier comments about the alleged burning of hi-res from vinyl. One LP/CD/SACD company that I am really impressed with is MoFi, their stuff is of the highest quality and they use the original recording masters. I have downloaded some quality hi-res files from the Web, while at the same time have purchased some "remastered" CDs that were absolute junk--a John Lee Hooker CD comes to mind.

 

[jrebman]

Of course things like that have happened and it sucks, but it is a tiny, tiny minority, and generally somebody figures it out and calls the offender on it.  As I pointed out earlier, there are threads on several of the audio forums that both review new hi-res releases and in a few cases folks like HDTracks have been called on their cheating and have either redone their ddescriptions to be more truthful and some have even been pulled from their catalog.

However, hasn't this always been the case with any medium?  Even some of today's "audiophile" vinyl is poorly done and the sound quality severely lacking.  Again though, hasn't this always been the case with whatever -- R2R/cassette/8 track, vinyl, and certainly CDs?  Anybody remember K-tel?

I think like any purchasing decision, caveat emptor should be the rule -- and these days a quick google search will typically turn up any number of professional and user reviews on new and re-releases from which we should be able to get some idea of whether what is being delivered is what is being advertised.

-- Jim

 

[Noskipallwd]

Jim makes some good points, I've done a little research and while I was not wrong about some of the early files I downloaded, these files were either removed from their respective sites or replaced. I think that some of the problems early on can be due to the fact that the technology to play hi-res was widely available and relatively cheap, while there was little or no media available. There was a scramble to meet the demand and this lent itself to some crap making it to market. K-Tel, you know Jim I have a couple of boxes of 8-Tracks that were my folks, some of which are K-Tel.

Cheers,
Shawn

 

[jdm]

K-Tel is still alive.  Their HQ is two doors away from my old work location. 

jdm

 

[BNAL]

I wanted to know if it would be better to use a computer or Squeezebox Touch with the BH DAC? I'm trying to decide what is the better transport.

Also, is there any update on the DAC?

 

[jrebman]

Brad,

That all depends on how much you want to put into each approach.  Right now, it seems the mac mini approach has more potential, but at somewhat greater cost.  A digital modified sb touch with a decent linear psu and either the soundcheck mods or the relatively new EDO plug-in is a very nice solution -- for coax, usb, or optical.

On the mac mini (or PC) side, the quality of  the power source and the usb->spdif converter will be a major factor, or at least that is the general idea -- buth with John's receiver tricks, that may play less of a role.

I'm also working on a linear PSU that I think can be built for somewhat less than $200 (maybe even slightly over $100) that could really be very nice (and no need for bybee music rails, etc.  Unfortunately, with the pending move and getting resettled, the timeframe for this project is completely unknown, but hopefully before the end of the year.

HTH,

Jim

 

[BNAL]

Jim,

I currently have a SB2 with a linear power supply from Bolder Cable. If I puschased the Touch I would use that PS. I guess the next step, if I went this route would be digital mods.

Also, I was reading on another forum that there are people using both the soundcheck mods and EDO plug-in.

The other thing that has caught my attention is DSD streaming. That looks very interesting and gives me pause to think about doing something that can handle this file format, though the available equipment and source material is very limited at this time.

 

[jrebman]

Brad,

If you have a boulder ps, then you're well under way and te digital mods from Wayne should do very nicely.  I know some folks are using EDO and soundcheck, but I've also seen some that think they don't always behave well together, and a few who still prefer soundcheck (but are probably not using usb.)  Fortunately, they're both fairly easy to use and the price is right.

I recently got my fully modified Touch back from Wayne, but won't really be able to do much with it until in the new place where my current plan is to hang a big HD off the Apple airport Extreme and see how that works.  If that doesn't suffice, I'll probably spring for a small Synology NAS.

-- Jim

 

[BNAL]

Jim,

I'm assuming the linear PS is for the Squeesebox?

It sounds like the Touch will make a good transport for the BH DAC, but not sure which will be best with it USB or SP/DIF.

The problem I have is the more I read the more confused I get. I loved when I was a lot younger going to the local audio store and being able to listen different equipment and make my own decision on the sound. Now with the web, for the most part you need to read what others say and try to make a decision. The good old days.

 

[jrebman]

Brad,

I am guessing, based on what John Swenson has said so far about the BH dac, that the spdif input is the one that will, at least at first, have the best performance, and I'm also speculating that given the usb implementation in the Touch was really intended for input, that the coax spdif is going to be the ticket.

And yes, the power supply I'm working on will be for the Touch.  I'd like to use an r-core transformer but am finding appropriate ones is turning out to be more of a challenge than I thought, so I may just go with a more conventional split-bobbin type.  I'm trying hard to pay as much attention as to what goes back on the AC line as what comes out the low voltage output.  I'm also paying a lot of attention to minimizing magnetic coupling, resonance control and eddy current and dielectric losses -- all while keeping parts count to a minimum

--  Jim

 

[earwaxxer]

Hey Brad - It seems to me at this stage of progress with digital audio the fat lady has not sung. I would be willing to put money on USB superseding SPDIF in the near future, not only for convenience but sound quality as well. For now, I'm going to stick with using the PC as a networked transport a-la squeezebox etc. Very exciting time though! 

 

[Grainger49]

  .  .  .  .  It seems to me at this stage of progress with digital audio the fat lady has not sung.

I really don't know the numbers here but how long have we had digital audio?  How long did it take for analog to jell?

 

[BNAL]

Pulse-code modulation was invented by British scientist Alec Reeves in 1937 and was used in telecommunications applications long before its first use in commercial broadcast and recording. Commercial digital recording was pioneered in Japan by NHK, and Nippon Columbia (a.k.a. Denon) in the 1960s. The first commercial digital recordings were released in 1971.

I love Wikipedia.

 

[BNAL]

Eric,

I have a modded SB2 and have been seriously thinking of getting the Touch especially since you can play most of the high res formats. I think it would make a good transport for an external DAC in the future, so I think that is the way I will go.

 

[InfernoSTi]

I very much enjoy my Boulder Cable Co. modified SB Touch.  The digital mod addresses the internal power supply to a great degree, as well as other areas.  You need to use the SPDIF out, however.  I also have the Music Rail power supply and think, with the digital mods, the combination is hard to beat.

Two areas that I think are important to bring up are:

1. USB to SPDIF converters that reduce the jitter to near zero really do work.  If you are using USB out, run it through a current generation V-LINK and you will be shocked at how much better it sounds.

2. DSD seems to be the next generation of digital audio...there are software and hardware solutions available.  Start reading on this format and you will quickly find it, in some ways, is superior to PCM data.

Best,
John

 

[HF9]

Any DAC updates?

 

[Doc B]

John is working to finish writing some needed code by month's end. Hopefully soon after I will have a new prototype to work with.

 

[grufti]

I don't know where you are at with this project and because of that my comment might be completely useless to you, regardless: I really like the esstech ES9023 for a number of reasons.

It sounds good to my ears in a good implementation. It requires a much simpler power supply than most. A single +3.6V supply gets the best performance out of the part. I/V is internal to the DAC. It does not cost a fortune. It sounds way better than its price point. Not much programming required.

 

[denti alligator]

What about two outputs? Is that possible? I can imagine feeding one to a BeePre, which would feed into a Crack and Paramounts, and then I'd have the other output for my SEX in another room, thus providing me with digital for speakers and 'phones in two locations. Just a thought.