DCS Delius or Elgar Plus and upsampling

[jeroen020]

Currently I use my Wadia 25 DAC, but it is time for a change. Thinking of DCS some questions rise.

 

1) does anyone have experience with DCS ?

 

2) with the upsampler it sounds better, I did hear that recently, but can upsampling also be done "software-based" ? I saw Weiss had some kind of tool for that.

 

3) which DAC's can be compared to the DCS Delius or Elgar Plus, and are available for around $ 4000 second hand or less ?

 

[The Computer Audiophile]

Hi Jeroen - I've heard the dCS products but not in a real controlled environment. So, I won't comment with 100% certainty. If you want to upsample I highly recommend using hardware to accomplish this. Software is capable of upsampling, but I don't know anyone who is a fan of software upsampling. If possible I recommend looking into the Berkeley Audio Design Alpha DAC. It's about $5000, but worth the extra $1000 over your stated target price. This DAC is going to receive some serious accolades in the near future.

 

[jeroen020]

Hi Chris,

 

Thank you for your quick reply. I will check on the Berkeley also !

 

Kind regards,

 

Jeroen

 

[jeroen020]

Hi Chris,

 

One additional question about the Berkeley, do you use the volume control or do you use a pre-amplifier ?

And how is the sound when using it ?

 

I use the Pass X1 preamp currently.

 

Regards,

 

Jeroen

 

[weiss2496]

2) with the upsampler it sounds better, I did hear that recently, but can upsampling also be done "software-based" ? I saw Weiss had some kind of tool for that.

 

We offer our Saracon sampling rate converter, arguably one of the best audio SRCs. It runs on Windows or OSX and converts files in batch mode, i.e. you can convert your files to a different rate and store them at that rate. So you need to run it just once per file and not every time you play the file. Saracon does all standard rates from 44.1k to 384k. There also is a DSD version. http://www.weiss.ch/p2d/p2d.html

An alternative is the SFC2, which is a hardware box. It has AES in and out and converts between all standard rates from 44.1k to 96k. http://www.weiss.ch/sfc2/sfc2.html

 

Daniel Weiss

 

[The Computer Audiophile]

Hi Jeroen - I've used my Alpha DAC with and without a preamp and I prefer it without a preamp. Since you already have a nice preamp you'll want to consider Daniel's Minerva DAC. http://www.weiss-highend.ch/minerva/index.html

 

[jeroen020]

Thank you Daniel and Chris,

 

Two more questions for Daniel, I couldn't find a pricetag for the software, and what is the price indication for the Weiss Minerva. Location; the Netherlands.

 

Jeroen

 

[weiss2496]

Hello Jeroen

 

I suggest to contact our Benelux distributor for both Minerva and Saracon:

Joystick

Mr. Raf Lenssens

Luchterenstraat 25A

BEL-9031 Drongen

Phone: +32 9 2363718

Fax: +32 9 2363719

[email protected]

http://www.joystick.be

 

As ballpark figures (exclude VAT), the Saracon is 550 Euros, the Minerva 3300 Euros.

Daniel

 

 

[BMCG]

Steve Nugent of Empirical Audio is a fan of software upsampling, which is not a trivial recommendation.

 

Can attest to the performance of the dcs Delius with Lynx feed, challenge is with respect to what?

 

Suffice that am listening to HRx 24/176 Rachmaninov as I type, piped so: PC > Lynx AES 16 > Delius (Dual AES) > Graham Slee > AKG 701...and it is thrilling, goosebump clarity.

 

Worth sampling...whether it is better than the Berkeley, that i can't attest to

 

 

 

[fmak]

I would advise you to look at the dCS pro 974 or an older 972. These are much more flexible and usable than the audiophile boxes. Apart from not having single wire at 176.4 and 192k (dual wire only), these are the best sounding and most 'inclusive' upsamplers I have come across. Have a look at the manuals online. With a dCS 954 dac, the 972 sounds very very good indeed with upsamled CD to 176.4k.

 

I have used a large no of upsamplers, and many of them are not much good. PC software upsamplers are second rate compared to hardware ones, regardless of what is said. I too have tried a handful and Audition reamins my favourite although it is 'off line'. If you upsample to 192k realtime, you need a powerful (and noisier) PC. I can just about do this without too much strain on a Pentium M 760 fanless but it is not ideal.

 

PC audio is not what is is cranked up to be. For high end results one needs to put a a LOT of effort.

 

[The Computer Audiophile]

"PC audio is not what is is cranked up to be. For high end results one needs to put a a LOT of effort."

 

Hi fmak - Thanks for the post and your point of view, but I disagree 100% with your comment above. PC audio surpasses or equals the best traditional transport / DAC combinations available. Playing the Reference Recordings HRx albums that are 24/176.4 with a PC yields the best sound I've ever heard. To achieve this high-end result one simply needs to order a pre-configured PC from someone like Goodwin's High-End and connect it to their DAC.

 

One can put in more money and less effort or less money and more effort. High-End audio is now more inline with many other consumer goods. There was no way I could put together a world class transport 10 years ago. Now I can do it for $1k myself or just purchase one for far less than a traditional transport.

 

[weiss2496]

PC software upsamplers are second rate compared to hardware ones, regardless of what is said.

 

We do both hardware and software sampling rate converters. And our software version (the Saracon) is at least as good as the hardware version (the SFC2). In technical terms it is even better because of the 64bit floating point processing. The SFC2 uses 32 bit floating point processing.Both variants are excellent.

 

Daniel