T+a dac 8 dsd

[juanitox]

am i the only one one earth using HQPlayer reading straight 16/44k PCM files with no oversampling or dithering and find it very good ( ok i have a R2R pcm dac ) . or am i really missing something with all the DSD stuff ?

[juanitox]

I think it's really a personal taste. You should try DSD and see for yourself.

 

Personally, at this moment, I don't use HQPlayer, but Daphile, but I do upsample everything to DSD256 with an ifi nano DSD. If the music sounds sooooo bloody good (at least to my ears and with my mid-fi equipment), I can only imagine what the combo of HQPlayer and a better DSD DAC will do in the future!!!

Food for thought...

 

i am open to evolve , perhaps not with a expensive dac like the T+A at first , what was your PCM dac before the Ifi nano ?

[juanitox]

if it internally oversampling to DSD512 why many of you use HQplayer to do that task ? is there a big benefit ?

[juanitox]

The algorithms near the DAC are resource-constrained and can affect the actual D/A if the DAC is not thoroughly isolated - a hard thing to do as I understand it.

 

On the server computer, you can run much more sophisticated algorithms/filters/modulators, and then isolate the DAC from the computer noise.

 

Hence, the processed stream is then sent to the DAC for just the D/A part.

 

 

the bad thing is that we need a special turbo charged computer to fo that , exit my mac mini ..

[juanitox]

Wrote T+A and asked if there was any possibility of a Linux driver for DSD 256 and 512. Answer: no.

to bad it will not work in native DSD with the microrendu too..

[juanitox]

very tempted by this dac , but i will by one only if a linux driver will come out as i want to keep my mac and the fresh microrendu linux server .. i'm sure i'm not alone in this case

[juanitox]

just hope it"s not just a diplomatic way to say clinical and lean sounding..

[juanitox]

i wish the MQA files will save us of DSD512 and all mess to make it wright

[juanitox]

Who wants to save us from DSD512. Hell, DSD512 saved me!

 

only time will tell if this is the good road, i 'll see that with interest ..

[juanitox]

the SGM is the ultimate weapon , a more reasonable costing machine will be waiting for too

[juanitox]

is there an online shop in EU to buy this dac ? i just found some deutsh website with no english page and no seller in France.

[juanitox]

thanks!

[juanitox]

the only drawback is that to deal with DSD512 you have to use a windows machine , exit OS X with my Mac mini or linux renderer like micro-rendu

and i hate windows too..

[juanitox]

so to resume for the moment with a mac and a microrendu the max DSD rate i can reach using DOp is dsd128 or DSD256 ?

[juanitox]

DSD 128 using DOP is the maximum rate for when Linux USB is being used

 

Windows 10 is DSD 512 native using ASIO USB driver

 

ok , so how the T+A DSD8 sounds with rebook files in Dop DSD128 mode vs PCM ?

[juanitox]

accidentally i wen to Monaco today , and what a surprise doing some shopping a T+A DSD8 / SGMS ( sound galleries music server) was running with audiopax amplifier and Avant garde duo speakers . and what a lucky guy i am the gentle owner of the shop invite me listen his system. 1 hour later my long PCM native listener s' Life just ended. ..

[juanitox]

I wish I could "ACCIDENTALLY" go to Monaco today, or any other day,lol.

 

PS I , and a few others, have been trying to tell you that...glad you had the chance to hear it for yourself.

 

usually i don't like really like Monaco , too much ferrari and expensive chicks everywhere

i principally listened the T+A DSD in 128DSD mode it was the mode i can reach with my Mac mini and Mircrorendu but even like the difference between rebook PCM and DSD128 worth it.

DSD512 was too much for the first time..

[juanitox]

do you think i can keep my 2010mac mini to run Roon linked to this Ultimate fanless silent Quad Core i7 PC, advanced heatpipe cooling, top quality, user configurable to run HQPLAYER on windows 10 and output 512DSD ?

[juanitox]

I doubt the i7-6700T is fast enough for dsd512.

 

breaker of dreams ! any alternative solutions ?

[juanitox]

Find something with a i7 6700K. You could buy or build something. Why not see if that company would build one for you.

 

My plan is to build one, with the help of a fellow CA member.

 

it will be nice to open a thread for the build of an HQplayer optimized PC , i know peanuts about that

[juanitox]

There is a thread http://www.computeraudiophile.com/f11-software/design-pc-server-roon-and-hq-player-25796/

 

Also I asked that company with the Fanless PC you posted if they could build one with the i7 6700K and they said their case does not have the cooling capacity for that chip, 6700K.

 

Though they feel the 6700T is not a lot less powerful then the 6700K it is my and others understanding that in order to do DSD512 that "small difference" is enough to make or break one being able to do DSD512.

 

i have begin to read the first pages of this thread and it just make me want to quit all this mess ..

please someone make the microrendu working with the T+A DSD so i could stay with Mac

[juanitox]

Maybe some of you should consider a "very quiet" pc - with a large, slow, quiet case fan. These can be made with a fan with a noise level below the ambient noise level in your room. I don't believe you will know the fan is there unless you are right next to it.

 

It would allow you to get the very fastest PC at a much more reasonable price.

 

+1 but this one looks reasonable https://www.quietpc.com/sys-a470s

 

is there a difference in SQ having a regular SSD Drive vs a PCIe SSD ?

[juanitox]

I find this thread interesting to read,but I have some real doubts regarding the conclusions you make regarding DSD 512 via this DAc or any other. To begin with are there even any native DSD 512 recordings at all on the market?

And judging by the reactions by some notable reviewer´s , who base their opinions of SQ on the one and only REAL REFERENCE there is IMO,acoustic music preferably large scale classical,at the much hyped demo you had basically without any such source material , I take most of what is said here with a pinch of salt to say the least.

Why on earth did you not base your much hyped demos on music where SQ actually matters, large scale classical and acoustic music?

If some people's favourite electronica albums sound "better" ie more pleasing to them via DSD 512 upsampling from pcm or lower rate DSD , that says little or nothing about ,any actual increase in SQ in my book. Moreover Rob Watts the Chord DAVE designer has just said that 16/44.1 pcm sounds better than DSD 512 via his DAVE. He reports installing DSD capable drivers a waste of time!

Not yet having heard either the T+A nor DSD 512 , I can still safely say that via PCM DAVE is the best DAC I have heard.

The only probem I encountered with DAVE via headphones HE 1000 planars and my own HD 800 was that hi res pcm sounded clearly better than any of my many DSD albums!

Though also very good, DSD sounded "muddier" softer than real life sound and colored and less resolved via DAVE than hi res pcm.

PCM came clearly closer to how instruments sound live to my ears via DAVE.

On a personal level and via my system I am becoming more and more aware of the problems and limitations of DSD 64. Limited resolution and noise is becoming more irritating since I added very transparent electrostatic speakers to my system.

My current take on DSD 64 is that it can sound very good yes, but clearly not as good as hi res pcm.

The more I compare say 24/96 and DSD 64 the more obvious I find that DSD often sounds both too soft and a bit thick!

Ie too much masking hf noise and lacking in detail and really low level resolution.

Do DSD 256 or 512 really solve those problems?

And solve them with music where it really matters , muisc that actually contains all the little acoustic cues and the dynamic range approaching live acoustic msuic in a real hall?

Electric guitars and synths are IMO utterly unsuitable to judge SQ IMO.

 

i had this position till yesterday 16 P.M ..

[juanitox]

on the T+A usb side , does it need to see the 5V from usb bus ?

[juanitox]

the T+A DSD demo i had yesterday was only based on my usual Tidal listening , some french singer , live performance , one ECM disc ( all in flac 16/44) listened first in native PCM ( no hq player upsampling filter or dither) than to 128 DSD has i will listening like that at first , than the DSD 512 . with native it remember what i 'm used to hear at home with many dacs i had ( berkeley ,weiss, totaldac A1, mosaic TDAc , etc..) DSD 128 was much better , bigger soundstage , more details , less digital

live piano was really good.

DSD512 was the big surprise , i never had this level of listening during my long audiophile life in house or even with big stuff

demo in hifi shops .

i didn't know there was so much informations on my usual redbook files. somehow scary

i' m pretty sure that this SQ comes for a big part from the SGMS server i only hope the T+A will sound as 60% as good with a smaller system before it ..

 

PS : geoff don't forget to order mine monday