Hard time choosing USB interface!

[hubsand]

As far as I understand it, the Halide Bridge is shipping now (I've got one), but the interesting-looking Audiophileo products are not: anyone heard one?

 

[dointhefish]

My Hiface is connected to my AR DAC via BNC Audioquest cable that costs about as much as the Hiface itself, $175, and it sounds OUTSTANDING. So just a plain ol' GOOD cable should serve you well.

 

[DavidS]

I purchased one from http://www.mutine.com/ last week. Quick response and on its way from Quebec to me on the West Coast.

 

David

 

[astaroth]

I know about mutine, but 2 times i have been trying to contact them without any answer. The guy doesn't respond his email. So it's kind of frustating, I can't buy it anymore from tweekgeek because of the new canadian suplier and that canadian suplier doesn't have any way of purchasing the thing beside contacting him by email. No online shopping, and not even a physical adress. Talk about a great way to promote a product!

 

[DavidS]

weird re mutine - was a couple of days before Pascal at Mutine replied to me the first time but after that he was an over-communicator. Excellent confirmations, emailed receipt, and all the mail / tracking information. So far my experience has been first class - Hiface should get here Tuesday or Wednesday.

 

[ferenc]

You can connect the HiFace to the SPDIF in of the DAC directly with a converter plug, using only an USB cable and not using a coax at all. I have few friend preferring to connect the HiFace this way even after they try several expensive coaxes.

 

[jeroen020]

Dear Ferenc,

 

Which brand converter plugs do your friends use, or where did they buy them ?

 

And is it RCA or BNC ?

 

 

 

[Matias]

It would be interesting if the HiFace had an option to have male plugs itself, so we could plug it directly into our DACs.

 

Meanwhile, one can use a cheap USB extension and a BNC male/male adapter such as this one below.

 

 

Or even a cross-adapter with BNC male and RCA male.

 

 

[ferenc]

I am always using BNC for SPDIF coax when I can, and as a broadcast television system designer I always use precision 75 ohm connectors from Telegartner, Amphenol, Trompeter, Canare, Kings, ADC, etc designed to work for HD SDI video. You need to get somebody to properly crimp the connectors on the cable. For BNC-BNC M-M adaptor I have very good experience with a simple and affordable connectors sold by Canford in UK. Anything which is designed for broadcast television will work properly.

 

[jeroen020]

Thanks Ferenc and Matias for your quick reply, I will give it a try.

 

Using a Wireworld digital cable right now, but just wondering what will happen with a "direct connection"

 

Did anyone compare the HiFace to a RME or Lynx sound card already ?

 

[jglacken]

Has anybody compared these and what were your impressions?

 

[sq225917]

I think you are all forgetting the new Musical Fidelity V-Link Async USb to spdif convertor was measured in HiFi News (by one of the guys who designed the J/Test) to have effectively zero jitter.

 

You can't get better than perfect.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So is anyone actually buying that bullshit piece of measurement or not?

 

[MarkS]

I have the dCS Debussy and am using locus' best usb cable right now with good results. I also happen to have an unopened HiFace EVO that I was thinking abotu putting on Audiogon.

 

Are you actually saying that mac mini to Evo via usb to dac via s/pidf is better than mac mini to dac via usb?