exaSound e18 - e20 - e28 - Info and Experiences Post All Here

[Kal Rubinson]

e28 cost more (and you have not tested the Mytek with FW )

Not more than the 3 Myteks needed to be comparable. :-)

[Kal Rubinson]

Got that right, why buy three boxes for over $4,500 US when you can buy one box for less.

That was exactly my point.

[Kal Rubinson]

With a switch on the E28 you could have whole orchestra or singer move in a circle around you. Wouldn't that be fun.

Nope. That's usually a drug side effect.

[Kal Rubinson]

Other than potential future-proofing, what would the e28 give me that the e20 does not? As noted, I have a stereo amp (and obviously, stereo speakers). I do not have a room processor, and in my experience most multichannel setups in non-perfect rooms pretty much require some sort of room correction. I assume the e28 does not do that itself?

I cannot restrain myself. Why do you think that room correction is necessary for multichannel and not for stereo in the same room? Do the acoustics change? Even superficially, decent stereo is more dependent on proper acoustics than is good multichannel.

 

I think this perception is due to traditional (analog) stereo users historically eschewing any additional processing while multichannel is essentially a digital medium wherein DSP is a given.

[Kal Rubinson]

^ OMG.. I *so* agree with the above post by Kal.

 

One of the pleasures I really look forward to with my E28 when it arrives is the totally simplicity of the surround set up. It's just going to be plug it into the MAC, each analog out to a power amp> Speakers > manually trim the channels and I'm done.. No processing, no HDMI, nothing. It's going to be bliss…

Welcome to the club. I insert a high quality analog preamp between the e28 and the power amps for 2 reasons. One, it allows me to switch to other sources easily. Two, it allows me to control the volume with a remote control more easily than with the exaSound pop-up.

 

OTOH, I am not so sure we are in complete agreement. I am advocating the use of room correction for both MCH and stereo since it is needed in the vast majority of listening rooms, regardless of the number of channels or the number of ears in use.

[Kal Rubinson]

..I'm happy to settle for room correction with the sub.. Because I haven't the faintest clue about selecting the correct settings or positioning for a sub.. So what small sub would ya 'll recommend to work with the E28? Musical sub of course.. Would something like one of the Velodyne EQMAX series be OK?

I don't know what the e28 has to do with a choice of subwoofer since all the DAC does is convert any .1 (LFE) signals to analog.

 

You need to select a sub to suit your room and the power levels of the main channel speakers. Not sure how you intend to EQ the sub.

[Kal Rubinson]

Sorry still confused. So how is it best to set up a sub direct to the E28?

 

Which kind of sub and via what connection would be best for music?

 

Several subs (my current one is a REL) have both a hifreq (via speaker connection back to the amp..to be used to add base to a set of stereo speakers) and a low frequency sound (RCA or "LFE" input for movies).

 

What's the best sub setup with the E28? I won't be using a preamp.

 

I"ll obviously have to plug in the sub via RCA to get the sub channel playing, but do I also have to connect up the sub to HiFreq as well?

 

Or should I just swap subs to something that just handles everything via the RCA (LFE) output…

 

If so..what sub? Maybe the Paradigm..say the DSP3200?

 

Thanks again.

This is OT, of course, but what are you trying to accomplish?

1. Using the sub only for LFE

2. Using the sub for bass management (i.e., bass redirected from main channels)

3. Both

[Kal Rubinson]

One question - I am using A+ to play the mc files on the e28.

What is A+?

[Kal Rubinson]

Audirvana +

 

Thanks. As a PC guy, it was not immediately obvious to me.

[Kal Rubinson]

^Yes it would be interesting.. Cool..very cool indeed… I Wonder if this Anker Battery pack you've mentioned could power the entire Exasound DAC range? The e18 and e28 as well as the e20.. ??

The e28 consumes < 15W while the others consume < 8 W.

[Kal Rubinson]

on my HTPC, as I'm using jriver for movies (BR, MKV), would it be possible to send PCM over EX28 coaxial in, and output 7 channel PCM to my halo P7, to get DTS HD for example?

The e28 cannot decode DTS. The only way to do this is to get your HTPC to decode the DTS stream to mch PCM.

[Kal Rubinson]

Gumby-

Right from the beginning, I assumed you were using jRMC and I bet you have it set for "Source Number of Channels." The solution is to set it to "5.1." Make sure you also have it set to "No upmixing or downmixing."

[Kal Rubinson]

Well, I guess I should have said something earlier. I saw that setting and thought there is no way that could be it...but it appears to work. I have tried PCM with and without Lfe, DSD without Lfe and it all seems fine.

As I said, I had the same issue with the e28 and got the same solution from George at exaSound and Matt at JRMC. At first, it bothered me but now it seems to make real sense.

[Kal Rubinson]

The OPPO played both of these correctly through its USB input. It is interesting that it knows what to do without being told.

Agreed but, on the other hand, the Oppo has no way to custom route the channels if you want something different.

 

So, the logic for JRiver's 5.1 channel setting, and the OPPO for that matter, must be "if there is only 5 channels, the missing channel must be the Lfe channel. Therefore route channels 4 and 5 to channels 5 & 6 of the DAC."

It is logical. Also, it is logical that if you use "some channels as source," it will output them as channels 1-5. ;-)

[Kal Rubinson]

So one downside of an exaSound is that the ASIO drivers don't expose a traditional audio device in Windows Sound, which means you can't redirect other computer sound through the DAC even if you want to (such as YouTube, etc.) After some Googling I discovered a free product called "ASIO Bridge" which exposes a virtual sound driver that can redirect audio to any ASIO device:

Interesting. I was thinking about getting that at the suggestion of George Klissarov but, turns out, I don't need it. I use Dirac which does expose itself and works as you describe for ASIO Bridge. It also does EQ.

 

BTW, how does ASIO Bridge do with DSD?

 

(I would humbly suggest that exaSound add the capability to expose a traditional sound device to make the playing of non-hires audio sources easier. You can always run a TOSLINK cable from your existing sound card to the exaSound's digital input, but that requires a physical cable, of course, plus you need to change the exaSound's input selection.)

Changing the input is trivial.

[Kal Rubinson]

If you are using your e28 DAC together with other 5.1 or 7.1 sources, are you using a 7.1 channel switcher to connect to your pre-amp or amp? If so, which switcher are you using?

 

I'm using a Bryston SP3 pre-pro but I have two (an Exasound e-28 would make it three) sources that output 7.1 channel analog information (SACD and Blu-Ray); but the Bryston, like most pre/pro's only has a single 7.1 analog input.

I am using an Audio Research MP1 preamp which has 3 5.1 inputs. I also have a Zektor MAS 7.1 which has 3 7.1 inputs and 3 HDMI inputs but it is only a switch and no volume control.

[Kal Rubinson]

I went to the Dirac Research Website. Are you talking about the full version of Dirac Live (for multichannel systems that we have been talking about)? It looks like it is a bit over $800. Does this replace JRiver for the Exasound E28. Sorry, I'm a bit confused here. Thanks, Larry

DiRacLive is a DSP program for equalization. It does not replace JRiver or any other music management system but works with the output of that system. In my PC and Mac systems, it takes the PCM output from jRiver and, after EQ processing, sends it to the appropriate output.

[Kal Rubinson]

I do realize that Dirac works on PCM data only, up tho 192 KHz, and that this limit is not related to any preceding conversion from DSD. What I was not sure about, and hope that you could clarify, is whether the the DSP is now taking place in Dirac Live at the 192 kHz resolution, or it is simply capable of accepting 192 kHz PCM data but internally downsamples to 96 kHz for processing. This is analogous to your Integra prepro taking in 192 kHz PCM signal without any problem, but downsampling it, in this case for Audyssey DSP, to 48 kHz.

It does not downsample, afaik. When you do the calibration (Dirac's Live Calibration Tool or DLCT), you develop individual filter sets for the sample rates that you need and DiracLive chooses the one to use depending on the source data it receives. The attached screen grab shows what was available prior to the 192 upgrade but I do not have a picture of the current view which adds filters for 176.4 and 192.

 

BTW, the e28 display does indicate the output resolution it receives to be 176.4 or 192 or whatever is appropriate.

[Kal Rubinson]

My E20 Mk3 does not have a galvanic insulation switch on the back.

Nor does my e28, before or after the latest update.

[Kal Rubinson]

Is someone using exasound e28 + Jriver + DSP Studio in Jriver (room correction, parametric equalizer, convolution..)

with 5channel DSD files (no bitsteaming output).

 

Is it possible to get this working wirhout clicks, pops, interuptions?

Dunno but I can do it with JRMC's DSP (for bass management) and Dirac's VST plugins (for room correction) from 5/5.1 DSD and ISO files.

[Kal Rubinson]

Nevertheless, it would be a nuisance to switch back and forth between HQP to play DSD tracks natively and Audirvana when you want to use EQ.

HQP will also play PCM/EQ.

[Kal Rubinson]

Sorry. I was not aware of the other constraints and was responding only to the quoted statement.

[Kal Rubinson]

I've seen some discussion group arguments about whether USB3 is in fact better than USB2. But whatever... the Corning is way, way, way better than even a very short regular USB cable.

Corning states in the instructions that a USB3 port is required. It is even emblazoned on the box.

[Kal Rubinson]

Is "emblazoned" better than "stuck on the outside"?

 

Either way, it should be obvious to most.

[Kal Rubinson]

Hi Kal- did you ever get around to doing this:

"If it could work the same magic with higher-priced DACs such as my exaSound e28, the UpTone USB Regen

Read more at http://www.stereophile.com/content/uptone-audio-usb-regen#8rpLFFfOmquo3BkR.99"

 

Casually. It didn't seem to make a significant difference with the e28.