A great article that was severely flawed by the absence of Gordon Rankin's Asynchronous USB interface. This is what most of us wanted to hear about, and TAS dropped the ball. Agreed; Rankin's technology should have been included. I wish they'd also included Empirical Audio's Pace Car, which I've heard make a significant improvement in computer>DAC interface. It seemed like a pretty small sampling they decided to include given that it is a pretty strong movement in audio trends. |
The other background fact here is that my PC server is 60 feet away from my audio rig. My server is two floor below my rig in my basement. I use a Modwright Transporter, which is an outstanding wireless server using an AKM DAC. You can also wire it to the network via cat-5 (Ethernet) cable. Unfortunately the specs are up to your standards (I believe it's limited to 24/92), but a network solution would eliminate your USB limitation. The EMU 404 uses a USB 2.0 interface which is capable of higher bandwidth than the standard (original) USB interface that most of the others mentioned here are limited by. This is why it is capable of the higher resolution. As I pointed out, you can also use a Firewire DAC to get higher resolution also via the greater throughput capacity of that bus. |
I think you might be able to buy the issue as a .pdf online. I'll encapsulate what the issue has to say via two reviewers, FWIW: USB is an inferior interface, even using the better USB>SPDIF converters (which in the one reviewers estimation amounted to the Bel Canto Link, per Johnnyb53 above). Reading the issue would probably have most folks here avoiding a USB DAC or converter and seeking out Firewire, or Wireless Network solutions (which were not really addressed in that issue, but IMO also clearly superior to USB). There are quite a large number of options out there to choose from in USB DAC's and accessories. The TAS issue only touched on a very small sampling. I also wonder how the introduction of a good dejitter device in the mix may have changed things. I find it interesting that Rankin refused to include Wavelength gear - didn't he used to write for one of the rags? Has he commented over on AA as to why he declined? Did anyone read Gilbert Yeung's response to Steven Stones article? |
Hey Rene - thanks for the links. I'll check them out when I get home. I'm just getting out of a Cowboy Junkies concert! I can guess what the gist of the content of those threads might be. I won't go any further than that here, but to suggest, as I hinted at before, read some of the responses and get more information before making any knee jerk judgments and rule things out. And as always, ultimately you're the one listening - use your own ears, your own music, your own system and your own room. Take everything you read with a bag of salt, and keep in mind we're all human (and everything that goes with that). I'll ping you off the thread, Rene, and will check out your links soon. |
Good point, Onhwy61. Thanks for adding that, and yes, that is absolutely something that was brought up many times as a point of comparison. The issue baffles me, quite frankly. I've heard too many USB DAC's that do not fit the harsh critical descriptions of those reviewers (MHDT Havana, Wavelength, Empirical, heck, even the Benchmark DAC 1 which I did not like at all would not fit in the realms of their criticism by my ears). I did get to read the threads that Restock points to and I'd recommend others check those out as well. I think that the TAS article does the potential of the interface some injustice. That's not to say that SPDIF and Firewire can sound better, but I don't think the margins necessarily are as dramatic as they are made out to be in that issue and in those reviews. That said, I have not listened to any of those components that they reviewed (again, a very small sampling, with champions of the interface omitted). The one single firewire component that was included was a pro-audio solution. If I were to conduct such a review I would be sure to have the participation of Wavelength, Empirical, Ayre, and Red Wine Audio, among others. Also omitted were the two favorite affordable pro-audio solutions; Benchmark and Apogee. Other affordable USB DAC's from the far east with a great reputation among audiophiles go without mention. MHDT and April Music, among others there. I'd also like to see a comparison to my own favorite front end, the Modwright Transporter, which would add the network interface into the picture. That, in turn, would add a whole other group of worthy competitors into the mix. But I digress, as the intent of the issue is to examine USB. In that regard I find Gordon Rankin's refusal to participate very telling of something not being right. |
