2. digital
  3. 179424-1665

Warming up digital in my setup

Here's my setup:

Hint6 (using embedded DAC)

Kef LS 50

PSA Subwoofer (x2)

DIY Mogami 4 wire speaker wire

Source:  iPhone + Amazon Music HD + USB cable

 

 

I can't quite dial in the my digital setup with the above gear - hoping you can help.  Bright glassy is what I get, but what I want is warm, organic, depth of sound.  I'm able to achieve the latter using analog.  Is it possible with the Hint6 DAC? 

 

Here's some info on the DAC:

  • ESS Sabre32 Reference DAC (ES9018K2M)
  • Asynchronous USB 2.0 supports PCM up to 384kHz/32-bit
  • USB input decodes Native DSD64, DSD128, DSD256 and DoP DSD

 

   

 

martinman

Showing 1 response by desktopguy

desktopguy
397 posts
 

I can immediately think of 3 tactics to get rid of the glare:

  1. Get pretty much any competently designed R2R DAC--or better yet, a NOS (non-oversampling DAC). This will make a huge difference
  2. Get a tube buffer to put in line after the DAC. My NOS DAC (MHDT Labs Orchid) has a built-in tube buffer circuit, which is extremely convenient. After rolling a few recommended tubes in that circuit, I kept the best new old stock tube and am very happy with the sound
  3. And unless you're a big fan of MQA or DSD, invest in a good SPDIF converter + coax cable, enabling you to use coax, not USB straight into the new DAC. An upgrade to that is a DDC (digital-to-digital converter), which can also run a coax cable into the DAC.

I'm leaving out confusing details like I2S connections found on some DACs and DDCs.

Regardless--do at least 2 of those things and your entire relationship with digital will change for the better.

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