USB DAC advise please.

[Tedwin1553552753]

Hi. I'm hoping someone here may have had a similar experience to me and can save me some time and money.

 

I have been the very happy owner of the Perreaux SXD2 DAC which has coax and usb inputs. I used the coax input and fed it a signal from a Wadia Dock. Sounded fantastic. I've now swapped the dock for a computer, and using the USB input it all sounds orrible!

 

I bought a Wireworld USB cable thinking it might help, but it hasn't.

 

Next on the list was a USB - spdif converter, I think this might be the answer. But looking at them, a nice one costs as much as the HRT music streamer (which is now asynchronous)

 

I want to get back to the sound quality of the dock/dac combo. And don't know if I should just get a dedicated USB dac, or try to get my current dac back up to speed by adding another component in the mix.

 

What would you do? Very limited budget (roughly $500) so that's a half decent converter, or a cheap (but well reviewed) dedicated USB dac.

 

Thanks in advance for any input.

 

Ted.

[Guest]

I'm very fond of the Music Streamer + (now in mk2 version). You may be able to get a loaner to try it out. Stockists are on the local Music Streamer site.

[stuarth]

The M2Tech HiFace converter has had some positive reviews (see forums on computeraudiophile.com)

 

No NZ dealers I'm aware of, but there is an Aussie vendor:

 

http://www.m2tech-hiface.com.au/

 

$199 for USB to RCA or an extra $20 for the BNC version.

[tkr001]

use a squeezebox connected via coax or optical to your DAC perhaps?

[fatmansings]

 

horn-loaded;136797 wrote:

The M2Tech HiFace converter has had some positive reviews (see forums on computeraudiophile.com)

 

 

 

No NZ dealers I'm aware of, but there is an Aussie vendor:

 

 

 

http://www.m2tech-hiface.com.au/

 

 

 

$199 for USB to RCA or an extra $20 for the BNC version.

 

this guy is about to start bringing them, just waiting on stock i believe

http://www.intoaudio.co.nz/

[Beeman]

I have a USB SPDIF converter I would be willing to sell for not much - it worked well for me in the past - your welcome to give it a try - PM me - cheers

[Tedwin1553552753]

Thanks for the resposes so far. I'm pretty familiar with the products available, but am wondering more if I should go for a USB dac, or a USB - spdif converter.

 

Does anyone know if the Wadia dock just acts as a kind of USB - spdif converter? This would mean that by buying a converter I would get back to the sound I was happy with. If on the other hand it's not that simple, and the 'things' (?) inside the Wadia dock do something else. Then I might be better off starting afresh with a dedicated USB dac.

 

Appreciate that it's a fairly specialist subject, but thought someone else might have found themselves facing the same choice...

[kaka]

The Wadia dock is an ipod to SPDIF device, it doesn't cater for USB

[Tedwin1553552753]

 

kaka;136814 wrote:

The Wadia dock is an ipod to SPDIF device, it doesn't cater for USB

 

Thanks, yes I remember it didn't have a USB socket. But my assumption is that it persuades the iPod to output a digital signal, possibly as USB traffic. I suppose that's partly the basis of my query.

[kaka]

The dock uses the port that you charge an ipod with - it can export an analogue stream (which is what external ipod amps pick up) or a digital stream (which is what the Wadia picks up, it uses some Apple supplied logic to tell the ipod not to use it's own dac on the signal). I would be surprised if it is a USB stream.

[Beeman]

An Async usb Dac is the go but with the exception of the HRT - you are not going to get there on your budget - I recently tried an HRT & it did not come close to my computer/usb Dac - frankly I was not impressed - a bit like the squeezbox/Roku soundbridge servers really convenient - work great good sound but not 'very good' sound.

[Tedwin1553552753]

Thinking out loud. Surely there is a usb spdif converter built into my dac? Is there any reasoning that using another one is going to make any difference?

 

(This is the thing tempting me to really stretch the budget..)

 

http://www.wickeddigital.com.au/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=joomlaplates.tpl&product_id=761&category_id=70&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=53

[Ernie1553552694]

It's probably several generations older than what is currently available. Your experience is telling.

[TheBlueMushroom1553552749]

I'm with horn-loaded: I've found the M2Tech HiFace converter a serious score for the $.

Many, many thanks to Antipodes for recommending this to me

FWIW, I'm playing with an upgraded power supply instead of the generic USB power source and preliminary results are that it makes an additional worthwhile improvement.

Happy to loan you mine (RCA version) if you want to have a go for a few days-PM me if so.

Cheers

[kaka]

 

Tedwin;136815 wrote:

Thanks, yes I remember it didn't have a USB socket. But my assumption is that it persuades the iPod to output a digital signal, possibly as USB traffic. I suppose that's partly the basis of my query.

 

Looks like you are right - the signal out is USB, if you have the chipset to persuade the ipod to send out a digital stream. See this

[aarond1553552714]

sounds to me like the Ipod is a superior source of bits via Wadia dock.

[Tedwin1553552753]

Thanks for the input everyone.

 

Sounds like the built in USB port on my DAC is old tech. Not surprised people didn't like the sound of music from a computer if that's all there was to listen too a few years back. Brittle, thin, edgy, all descriptions I had heard before, but none that described what the Wadia was producing from my iPod.

So nice music should be possible from my computer & my DAC if I can get the bits as clean and well timed as the Wadia puts out.

 

 

Good news.

[stedor]

Tedwin, As you're selling stuff I assume you've found an answer? I'm using the same source arrangement but want to get access to my iMac iTunes library with a quality similar to the iPod/Wadia