USB to SPDIF Converters


There are many on the market now.I have a Hag USB .I would like to hear your experiences with these devices.I would like to upgrade soon,to include Hi Rez downloads ,which means getting a different DAC and converter .
raytheprinter

Showing 3 responses by dtc

The Computer Audiophile review is a bit of a mystery to many people. It just does not seem to be in line with others' findings. As I remember, there was some question as to whether Chris might have had a bad unit and, if I remember correctly, he never contacted M2Tech to discuss his findings or get another sample. I, and many others, just do not hear what he heard. Its price has now gone up to $200 from the original $150, but it does have a 30 day return policy. The Halide Bridge has gotten very good reviews and its price is down to $400 and has a 60 day return policy.
The Levinson 360s is a great DAC. I am sure it can benefit from the EVO. The John Kenny upgrade to the Hiface is also an improvement for the Hiface. As you move up in price, the Empirical Audio Off Ramp is worth looking at.
Raytheprinter - regarding going above 24/96. Stereophile recently reviewed the Musical Fidelity M1 DAC, which has been designed to take a 24/192 input signal. However, the output from 24/96 and 24/192 looked essentially identical -- dropping at just above 40 KHz. It seems they upped the speed of the front end, but did not change the back end. When you look at the Stereophile reports on some of the higher end DACs (e.g. Bryston, dCS Debussy) the 24/192 input does extend the output range, with some close going close to 90 KHz. I have not listened to any of those high end DACs that extend the output range up to close to half the Nyquist frequency, so cannot say if 24/192 is really better. But the M1 review, made me stop and think if the mid range DACs that take 24/192 inputs are actually taking advantage of 24/192 or not. I am very curious to hear a true 24/192 DAC, but the MF M1 DAC review made me much more cautious.