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

[ted_b]

Roon sees a dac driver, so make sure the proprietary (and great) Windows ASIO driver is loaded on your CAPS pc.  Roon should see it.

[John G]

Okay, now I get it:  the ASIO driver Roon sees is not exaSound-specific, and perhaps doesn't include volume-control features.

[exa]

40 minutes ago, John G said:

Okay, now I get it:  the ASIO driver Roon sees is not exaSound-specific, and perhaps doesn't include volume-control features.

 

Hi John, the ASIO standard doesn't support volume control. We have a JRiver volume integration Plugin. Unfortunately we don't have this level of integration with Roon on Windows. We support Roon Volume synchronization on Mac and with the PlayPoint.

[John G]

Thanks, Ted_B and George.

[bmoura]

On 2/21/2018 at 11:58 AM, exa said:

A new firmware update available for the exaSound PlayPoint. We are introducing the long-awaited support for third-party USB Audio 2.0 DACs. This is a first beta release, please give it a try with any DACs that you own.  Send us an email if you notice any glitches. 

 

Does the new firmware also add third-party USB Audio 2.0 DAC support for the new PlayPoint Mk.II model? 

 

[exa]

1 hour ago, bmoura said:

 

Does the new firmware also add third-party USB Audio 2.0 DAC support for the new PlayPoint Mk.II model? 

 

Yes, it does. All PlayPoints - old and new Mark II devices can now be used with USB Audio 2.0 DACs.  Support and availability of features will depend on the DAC model and make.  At this time we have access to a limited number of third-party DACs for testing. We are asking PlayPoint owners to contact us if they notice any glitches. We will be resolving issues via remote support and we will be issuing software updates. 

[johndoe21ro]

Did anyone try to power an exaSound e22 with an UpTone LPS1.2? 

 

@exa: The LPS1.2 is rated at 12V 1.1A. Can it power an e22 DAC (used as a DAC with volume but not as a headphone amp)? Thanks!

P.S. ... Because I see that e20 needs 0.8A! Does e22 ask for more amps only for its headphone amplifier?

[exa]

The current requirement is printed on the back of the e22 DAC, it is 1.5A. 

You can try it with a smaller PS, at your own risk...  The Power supply may become hot, eventually it will burn a fuse or catch fire

[Kal Rubinson]

D'accord.  I blew out an iPower 12V/1.1A running it with my e28.  It lasted several hours.

[johndoe21ro]

On 6/6/2018 at 6:37 PM, exa said:

The current requirement is printed on the back of the e22 DAC, it is 1.5A. 

You can try it with a smaller PS, at your own risk...  The Power supply may become hot, eventually it will burn a fuse or catch fire

Let me rephrase then: why does the e20mk3 need only 0.8A? Why does e22 need more (2A)?

[exa]

1 hour ago, johndoe21ro said:

Let me rephrase then: why does the e20mk3 need only 0.8A? Why does e22 need more (2A)?

 

Different DAC chips, different output stages, different headphone amplifiers...

[johndoe21ro]

54 minutes ago, exa said:

 

Different DAC chips, different output stages, different headphone amplifiers...

Sorry but e20 and e22 share the same DAC chip. Don't they share the same output stage? If so... not using the headphone amplifier could allow me to use a power supply that gives it just 1.1A? Or the headphone amp is always on, active and needs that current?

[exa]

I am sorry, we can't encourage the use of underrated power supply.

[johndoe21ro]

42 minutes ago, exa said:

I am sorry, we can't encourage the use of underrated power supply.

You could have said that in the first place. That's a satisfying answer! Thanks! 

[exa]

You kept asking for it and finally we did it - the e32 Mark II DAC offers MQA full decoding. https://exasound.com/e32/e32DACOverview.aspx

[Dr Tone]

19 minutes ago, exa said:

You kept asking for it and finally we did it - the e32 Mark II DAC offers MQA full decoding. https://exasound.com/e32/e32DACOverview.aspx

 

Zero configuration filter selection?  MQA filtering on PCM all the time like Mytek?

[Rt66indierock]

56 minutes ago, exa said:

You kept asking for it and finally we did it - the e32 Mark II DAC offers MQA full decoding. https://exasound.com/e32/e32DACOverview.aspx

 

Your timing is excellent. Paul Seydor in his McIntosh C52 review reported they have walked away from MQA. Too lossy and too much distortion. Similar to many others.

[Dr Tone]

3 minutes ago, Rt66indierock said:

 

Your timing is excellent. Paul Seydor in his McIntosh C52 review reported they have walked away from MQA. Too lossy and too much distortion. Similar to many others.

 

I'm obviously no MQA fan but to be fair it's more likely McIntosh doesn't have a clue how to implement it, they can't even get their existing DSD playback stable.  It's easier for them to just come up with excuses.

[Rt66indierock]

Just now, Dr Tone said:

 

I'm obviously no MQA fan but to be fair it's more likely McIntosh doesn't have a clue how to implement it, they can't even get their existing DSD playback stable.  It's easier for them to just come up with excuses.

 

I was sent an MQA NDA Monday. You can't say you aren't going to implement it. You say what McIntosh said. Consistent with many others. And consistent with what other manufacturers have told me. As for McIntosh and DSD well DSD is a non issue in The Valley of the Sun.

 

[exa]

2 hours ago, Dr Tone said:

 

Zero configuration filter selection?  MQA filtering on PCM all the time like Mytek?

For MQA we use MQA filters, for native PCM we do our filter management as before.  If you play non-MQA PCM material, the re is no difference between e32 and e32 Mark II.  Except if you select the option to use the MQA filter for all PCM streams. 

 

DSD of course is processed natively and is not affected in any way by the PCM/MQA settings.

 

The goal of our implementation is to bring the best of every supported format. And in our view the best is the simplest signal processing path.

[mansr]

5 hours ago, Rt66indierock said:

I was sent an MQA NDA Monday. You can't say you aren't going to implement it.

If it's the same one I've seen, I don't see anything to that effect in it. Going into detail about why you're not implementing it might of course violate the agreement, so a cautious person will probably be vague for this reason.

[mansr]

3 hours ago, exa said:

For MQA we use MQA filters, for native PCM we do our filter management as before.  If you play non-MQA PCM material, the re is no difference between e32 and e32 Mark II.  Except if you select the option to use the MQA filter for all PCM streams.

When you say "the MQA filter," which of the many options do you mean?

[exa]

46 minutes ago, mansr said:

When you say "the MQA filter," which of the many options do you mean?

 

I am sorry, won't be able to get in technical detains. The point I am trying to make is that we do DSD the native-DSD way and PCM the bit-perfect PCM way - just like on our previews models. MQA is done the best-MQA-way that we can implement. Our goal is to bring the best of every format and to support all formats.

[bmoura]

10 minutes ago, exa said:

 

I am sorry, won't be able to get in technical detains. The point I am trying to make is that we do DSD the native-DSD way and PCM the bit-perfect PCM way - just like on our previews models. MQA is done the best-MQA-way that we can implement. Our goal is to bring the best of every format and to support all formats.

 

That is the way it should be done.  Keep DSD native and PCM bit perfect - and leave MQA separate.

Thumbs up.

 

[dennis88]

On 6/14/2018 at 5:53 PM, exa said:

You kept asking for it and finally we did it - the e32 Mark II DAC offers MQA full decoding. https://exasound.com/e32/e32DACOverview.aspx

 

How is the MK II different to the MK I (MQA decoding aside)?