T+A new flagship streaming dsd1024 dac

[vortecjr]

On 5/18/2020 at 4:53 PM, Miska said:

 

exaSound PlayPoint DM is another one, rest of the devices I can remember are streamers with digital outputs.

 

I would categorize this as a computer and a DAC in the same enclosure. 

[vortecjr]

On 5/18/2020 at 3:29 PM, Miska said:

USB Audio Class just has it's limitations. For example you cannot make a device like exaSound 8-channel DACs or NADAC/Hapi/Horus with USB Audio Class...

 

Jussi, can you expand on this. NADAC/Hapi/Horus side which are based on a specific network protocol what would be the issue with making a multichannel USB DAC with USB Audio Class?   

[vortecjr]

32 minutes ago, jabbr said:

 

Arguably any DAC which accepts firmware is a "computer" and DAC in the same enclosure, or even on the same chip for that matter. Typically the USB interface and conversion to I2S/DSD involves some type of FSM/processing. It turns out that essentially all more than trivial FPGA implementions need some soft of processor called a "soft core". Building a SoC such as the Xilinx zynq places an FPGA and ARM cores in the same die ... the RF SoC even includes a few ADC/DAC modules intended to implement SDR (software defined radio) ... but with the FPGA, implementing the Ethernet interface becomes easy because you can load an Ethernet IP module (ie PHY) and the chip itself can interface directly to an SFP module. I have no idea how T+A specifally does this, and Intel also has its own similar chips but that is a straightforward and flexible approach. 

 

Merging also implements this approach, AFAIK, with their "ZMAN" board "Z" for "Zynq"  

 

Enabling NAA is as simple as loading a deb package onto the custom Linux.

I knew someone would argue this:) This really appears to be a computer mother board inside a DAC. You could load Windows, connect a display, connect a keyboard, etc and play Solitaire on it. I'm not saying you would or that it's a bad thing. However, as a counter point I don't consider the PS Audio network bridge a computer in the same way I just described even though it has a processor and memory. 

 

BTW I had a Merging unit here (forget what it was) that was a Roon server and it also had a standard mother board inside it. I'm not certain where Merging uses the ZMAN card.  

[vortecjr]

I was not referring to the T+A and would categorize it similar to the PS Audio network input. A Rendu is somewhere in between a computer mother board with all the bells and whistles and the PS Audio network input. Just understand the Rendu has a USB output, but no keyboard connection, PCIE, sata, or on board video, etc. As much stuff as we excluded it’s a miracle it still works:) 

 

Im still not clear what is impossible about making a device like exaSound 8-channel with USB Audio Class? I streaming multi channel to my test DAC via USB. Exa has a proprietary multi channel driver for Linux for some unique reason particular to their USB interface. I’m just not following you. 

[vortecjr]

13 minutes ago, Superdad said:

Indeed the lines blur quickly these days. Consider for example Schiit Audio’s recent adoption of Microchip’s PIC32MZ EF microcontroller for their Unison USB input board. Those chips have a lots of built-in I/O (including Ethernet, USB, ADC, and even some graphics) and a good deal of memory. Microchip provides its own development environment (MPLAB), but I read about someone loading Linux into a PIC32.

No blur...if you buy a MB from Newegg and stuff it into a DAC it's a computer and DAC in the same enclosure. Anyway, no worries. 

[vortecjr]

5 minutes ago, Superdad said:

 

That’s because exaSound’s USB input runs in Bulk Mode.

I don't think that is the issue.