audioengr
Responses from audioengr
| spdif/USB converter vs DAC upgrade You can screw around buying cheap converters and DACs until the cows come home, but you probably will not beat the CEC transport until you pay for a decent USB converter.Even most expensive DACs have only mediocre USB interfaces IME. The quality o... | |
| Your Computer Based Transport Setup The Mini really needs a new DC linear supply. Makes a huge difference. You can either mod a new one to remove the SMPS and put a connector on it or just get the 2009. 2009 is easier and actually sounds better. I have compared them, both with linea... | |
| Your Computer Based Transport Setup I recommend Oct. 2009 Mac Mini with SSD and 8 gigs DRAM. Put Amarra on it and rip CD's with XLD. Use the USB port next to the one centered on the box. You can add a Hynes Mac Mini power supply later at $900 to improve dynamics. I have won several ... | |
| what are the Best Direct to amps Digital Players ? Audiolab - you will ultimately make many compromises in sound quality by combining transport and DAC, and you will probably spend the same amount of money.Steve N.Empirical Audio | |
| Digital Cable Choice; how critical is it? "Please remember that a bit stream (0's and 1's) is NOT traveling down the cable, but an analog waveform with peaks and valleys that gets sampled and turned back into 0's and 1's."This is certainly true, however the analog nature alone of ALL sign... | |
| Digital Cable Choice; how critical is it? "As for clocking.....a cable, being a passive device, physically cannot add "jitter". Length and electrical properties will of course modify the absolute timing and shape of the clock signal but a constant shift is NOT of concern, as audible jitte... | |
| The title is:"There's No Such Thing As Digital..." "The whole "gray area" issue(which Hansen eventually admits is not really an issue in a well implemented system), the issue of running multiple processes on the computer, the potential of noise on the grounds, jitter (in all its forms), RFI etc. h... | |
| The title is:"There's No Such Thing As Digital..." Kiwi - usually if its not musically engaging, this is jitter and the USB interface is at fault. Upsampling hardware can also be at fault, both for the clocks and the algorithms.Here are some systems that are musically engaging and not megabux:iPod... | |
| The title is:"There's No Such Thing As Digital..." "I've yet to hear a PC system easily trounce a really good CDP."If you buy the USB DAC du-jour, you will not get there either. It takes a bit of work, including selection of the best computer platform (not a "music server"), the best playback soft... | |
| The title is:"There's No Such Thing As Digital..." "You probably think about oversampling and that is different. Pretty much every CDP contains PLL."This is why I don't use or recommend CD players anymore. There are a few that are computer-based that might be okay, depending on the clock quality e... | |
| The title is:"There's No Such Thing As Digital..." "Steve, you're missing all network DACs including Ethernet, Firewire, Wireless etc."These are usually not called DACs, but music processors or servers etc., but you are correct."You also forgot about asynchronous reclocking DACs.Typical DACs conta... | |
| The title is:"There's No Such Thing As Digital..." "I didn't think there was any such thing as 100% jitter free? I thought all timing sources had jitter?"There is no such thing. Marketing BS and an outright lie."At what point does that become audible? Can our ears really detect say 400 pico second... | |
| The title is:"There's No Such Thing As Digital..." I can see lots of reasons to quibble with it. It leaves out a lot of pertinent info about digital. Digital is of course just an analog waveform as all electricity is, however sometimes digital is just digital and the analog aspect is unimportant. ... | |
| Does Anyone Offer Audio Mods For A Mac Mini? Duomike - I believe the ibook tweaks will still make a difference.Steve N.Empirical Audio | |
| Does Anyone Offer Audio Mods For A Mac Mini? Battery power for the Mini is not as good as a fast responding linear supply. Digital needs this fast response. I have tried LI battery on both Mini, DAC and USB converters. Great for analog, but not digital IME.Steve N.Empirical Audio |