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I have been unsuccessfully searching for a list of high-performance* commercial DACs that allow user to bypass digital filtering (NOS), leaving that task to a software music player such as HQ Player. It would be interesting if we could compile such a list in this thread. * - no TDA1543-based DACs please, only equipment that can take 24bit and sampling rates above 176.4/192kHz.

View Classified T+A DAC8 DSD Wonderful sounding DAC. I upgraded the firmware for the DAC and Amanero USB board so it now works flawlessly with Linux-based sources (native DSD512) over USB. https://www.usaudiomart.com/details/650023808-ta-dac8-dsd/ Only selling due to upgrade to a Holo May KTE DAC. Seller ericuco Date 09/22/23 Price 2,000.00 USD Category Digital to Analog Converters  

Why are there debates if "bits are bits"? Can you hear a difference in streaming audio software? Bits are Bits! Foobar2000 was lighter on its feet, more accurate tone/timbre, quieter, and had better timing of decays. There are a delicacy and precision about its sound. JRiver had a “fatter” sound with more bleeding edges and smeared textures. It sounded flatter (by a good margin) and more veiled in a thicker, unnatural warmth.

Help me design a new system? (Disclaimers: This is about a “desktop” system, by which I mean a system I listen to while sitting at my desk, usually staring at a computer screen. I understand the inherent limitations. Let's skip the question about whether or not this is “audiophile” if that bothers anyone!) My Challenge: This is an emergency. I've relocated offices and have spent last few weeks in an empty space, alone, with no music. It is lonely and depressing. Background: I unboxed remnants on a previous system and patched it together…. Desktop PC, USB Out > ELAC DDP-2 > Genelec 6010A (powered speakers) + Genelec 5040A Immediate Problems: The ELAC DDP-2 struggles to lock onto the USB signal. It worked on day, then didn't. I can’t get Bluetooth to pair and find no documentation about how to do it online. In a former system, I had persistent issues with it locking onto Roon and requiring a power cycle anytime I wanted to switch inputs. I am in contact with ELAC, but I really don’t think this unit is for me. (I’ll take this opportunity to say that my pair of ELAC Navis powered speakers are some of the favorites I’ve ever owned. I’ve also been very happy with a pair of Adante AS-61). My Genelec 6010A’s and 5040 are old and have a finnicky RCA jack. I've loved these little powered monitors in previous offices. Building a New System: The only thing that is lifting my spirits is the idea of building a new system! My new career is related/adjacent to the music business and I am in a position to benefit from a much more capable system. I want to optimize sound quality. Obviously. Sources: Desktop PC (12th Gen i9-12900K 3.19GHz w/ 64GB RAM running Windows 10 Pro). I have a huge, hires digital collection, but have honestly done much more streaming these past few years. New situation will enable me to re-discover my local collection and I am interested in learning how to make it sounds as good as possible. Endemic computer sounds (alerts, etc.) Audio from the web Streaming services (Tidal, Qobuz, iTunes) JRiver Turntable (Technics SL-1200 > Parasound JC 3 Jr.) It's fine. CD (Oppo BDP-105D) Speakers/Amp: Two mains will live on my desk; perhaps on short stands to elevate above my reflective desk surface. Sub beneath my desk. This is near-field listening at 36". I'd like to do another 2.1 system and lean toward active, but I am open to other options. Looking at Genelec 8030C(2) + 7050C (balanced inputs) Wilson Tunetots are another option that's been floated (if I went that route, I may pair them with my Luxman L-590AXmkII 30W class-A integrated.) Pre-Amp:TBD DAC:TBD Setup: I plan for all of this to live in a short, studio equipment rack that sits next to my desk. Room: I am finally in a situation where I can really treat my office correctly. There will be plenty of absorption and diffusion. Questions: Scenario: sitting at your desk, listening to source other than your PC (e.g. - CD or turntable), but I still what to hear computer System Sounds (e.g. - alerts, beeps, boops), web videos, Zoom calls? What is the best way to handle? I know the preamp can't mix 2 sources (e.g. - turntable + PC), so it depends in routing these computer sounds to a secondary speaker? Is there a way to avoid having to do that manually,...continuously? For instance, can I configure PC to always route all System Sounds and Zoom audio to a computer speaker connected directly to the PC audio-out,...but route all sounds from JRiver, TIDAL app, iTunes, etc to the outboard DAC via USB? A high-quality, "dumb" DAC? My hope is to find a great DAC, separate or integrated into a pre-amp, which requires zero attention. I do not want to think about the settingsor filters on an ongoing basis. What I really do not want to do is power cycle it and futz with the inputs everyday when I sit down at my computer. (Maybe they are all like that and my experience with the DDP-2 sort of soured me?) DAC/Pre & Other Recommendations? My dream is to walk in, power up my PC, flip on a pre-amp, and go. I will use vinyl/CD weekly, but not daily. It feels like the big questions here are around the DAC and Preamp,...but I welcome any input. Thanks in advance....

No affiliation to seller (Apos) or the manufacturer. I am just floored by this product. Running Roon and using it as a wireless streamer and DAC. Replacing an Auralic mini, NAD m51 combo. Excellent build quality; Sounds as good if not better out of the box. Easy setup, excellent functionality and nice solid remote. This feeds a W4S pre and amp and eventually my full range Ottavo speakers designed by the late Rick Craig of Selah Audio. No issues playing any bit rate/DSD/FLACs or MQA files. Have not tried various filters etc. I have not done any critical listening yet but seems like a winner. The Auralic (one of my many) was choppy and as it was aging, not reliable, dropping off constantly. Tried a Bluesound Node which was giving me weird noises and hums and seems to be a known issue. Going back to the store. I love the screen/display - fast wireless connection and flawless interface with Roon. For just about 1K it is replacing 2.5K worth of audiogear and many fewer cables. I am sold. Highly recommend it without reservation.

I have just read a positive review in July number of Italian magazine AudioReview about this new little DAC from Project http://www.box-designs.com/main.php?prod=preboxs2digital&cat=s2-line&lang=en A very reasonable entry level price for experimenting with MQA, but apparently not at all entry level performance. Main specs from Pro-Ject infosheet: • Dual mono construction • High end ESS Sabre ESS9038 dual DAC • Proprietary clock circuity design • Organic polymer capacitors and thin film miniMELF resistors • MQA hardware decoding • DSD64, DSD128, DSD256 & DSD512 (DSD over PCM) • Up to 24bit/192kHz for optical & coax inputs • 7 selectable digital filter characteristics • 1 proprietary optimum transient digital filter • Headphone output on the front (6.3mm) • Synchronization of all internal oscillators • Jitter as low as 100 Femtoseconds! • Gold plated four layer PCB • Full alu/metal sandwich casing in silver or black SRP: € 349,00

https://www.speakershack.co.uk/articleResult.php?subject=2&record=2439

This might be related to my post from 2017. I seem to have lost sound on the right channel from my iDSD Here are the facts: When the headphone jack is fully inserted, I only get sound from left side. When 3D is enabled, I do get slight sound from right side (like 10% of left side). When the headphone jack is partially (around halfway) inserted and 3D is enabled, I get more sound on the right side than left (right side 50% left side 35%). No sound on the right side when 3D is off, whether fully or partially inserted. When I apply pressure on the IEMatch slider when it's on High or Ultra Sensitivity, I get crackling sound on the right side, which at this point I consider good news. This seems like a mechanical problem. Is there anything I can do to fix this? Should I open it up and check inside? Would I be able to put things back where they belong? Are there schematics or teardowns that I can look at? I can also post photos if you'd like. Any help is much appreciated! Thank you.

TL;DR: iFi Micro iDSD produces more sound in left ear than right, to the point where at a sufficiently low volume there is no sound at all, and at higher volumes the vocals are produced on the left side. What should I do? After months of thinking I might be going deaf in one ear, I've just found out that my Micro iDSD has a weird fault. I don't really know how to explain it in technical terms, since I regretfully admit that I don't know much about audio, so bear with me. I have a SACD file (Wish You Were Here) that I've been enjoying very much since I bought the DAC, but one thing always bothered me: it felt like the vocals were not fully centered and it was always on the left side of my headphones. Since I've been happy about the quality of this combo (SACD + Micro iDSD + ATH-M50), I've pretty much accepted that my right ear has started giving up. After all, it seemed natural that after six months of rifle shooting in the army without protection, and going to nightclubs and standing in front of the speakers, and the worsening tinnitus, that this would happen. Recently I've purchased Shure SE846 and ten minutes ago, enthusiastically plugged it in the DAC and started playing the same music. The vocals still seemed left-centric. Of course I didn't expect it to change, because it's my ear that's not functioning as it should be... ...or so I thought. I just plugged my headphones directly into my mac, and vocals seemed...centered. Then I played some music on YouTube, before I played some left-right testing videos, and it all seemed centered. This prompted me to try lowering the volume to see if anything changes and it didn't; even at the lowest volume, it seemed centered. At this point, I plugged the earphones back into the DAC, and lowered the volume slowly. Oh my god. In Audirvana (volume control set to DAC only), while listening to the same music, when my DAC volume knob is at 9 o'clock, the right side is completely silent, and ALL of the sound comes from the left ear. While listening to the same song at higher levels (10-11 o'clock), the vocals seem to be at around 11:15 (you know what I mean...) in my head. While I'm happy that I'm not really going to be deaf in the right ear as soon as I thought, this means the DAC is bad. Now, don't ask me why I never tried to wear my headphones the wrong way, to test if it was the headphones; I just didn't think of it, it's that simple. But the DAC is really favoring left. Can anyone who has the same DAC try if it's the same case for them? And if not, what do you think I should do?

I'm currently on the look out for a new DAC with DSD 512, Streaming etc. I had never heard of this DAC before but there's a very impressive review here: https://parttimeaudiophile.com/2019/06/14/cocktail-audio-x45-pro-music-player-dac-review/ I had my eyes set on the latest Denafrips Terminator DSD 1024 but the reviewer thinks Coctail is better! And the price is the same as Terminator with loads of extras like CD Play/Ripping and phono stage too (not that I need it). This looks like another great DAC alternative. Anyone with any thoughts/experiences with Coctail DACs especially with the latest 45Pro? Thanks.

I have been on the look out for a new DAC for sometime, but so far the new COS engineering D10 DAC seems a potential candidate. I only listen to digital sources and prefer all-in-one DACs with proper volume control. I don't have a preamp and prefer to go DAC direct to my active speakers. This DAC also has streaming and phone boards as additional options. I hope to read some reviews and user experiences before making a commitment. Any contributions will be welcomed.

iFi audio's xDSD - The Official Thread iFi's latest portable beauty Yup, this space is devoted to our upcoming xDSD model. Every piece of nfo regarding this one we'll post in this thread. Stay tuned!

If I use good quality equipment, like a good dac, a good amp and speakers (with good measurements) and a good acoustic treatment, do I really need a power conditioner or power regenerator? will I get sonic benefits? Don't good devices already have great filtering for noise or pollution that degrades the sound? Basically I don't know if I plug everything straight into the socket or use some ''filter''. I think this question is valid and I think that many have it too, since spending money testing each product is not at all viable for me. I've been researching recently about power conditioner, power filter and etc, I always think about not very expensive solutions to improve the quality of my setup or at least have stable power without much noise. When reading in other forums and reading reviews, it seems encouraging, but it is very relative and depends on the setup of each one. I see that the question is not as simple as saying whether ''need'' (or not) from the moment you identify ''a problem'' as noise, hum or audible ground loop in the sound, often the noise may not be very noticeable and we think everything is ok (with degraded sound quality), until we test a product like that. Everything gets more confusing when we see that it's not enough just to buy a suitable power conditioner and ok, certain products alter the sound and can compress soundstage, bass or harm the treble, because the power is cut a little, the solution for this they say it's the ones' 'power regenerators'', but which are too expensive.

View Classified Chord MOJO and POLY DAC, AMP, STREAMER Reduced! For sale is a Chord MOJO and Poly with a leather case. MOJO purchased in Jan 2021 and Poly shortly after. Selling because I just don't listen to headphones enough. It's definitely a very cool pair of devices. I used the MOJO as a standalone DAC and together with the Poly as a Roon endpoint. Yes, it can be complicated but absolutely worth it. I can't find the boxes, but if I do I will include. What you see is what you get. Just the Poly, Mojo and case . Please let me know any questions. Shipping included in asking price. PayPal only. Sorry for the duplicate listing. I was using my phone to list the classified. Seller Gonzo1 Date 12/05/21 Price 600.00 USD Category Headphone Amplifiers  

Speakers such as the Audioengine HD6 and Klipsch The Sixes have in built DAC for HiRes music support and Bluetooth 5.0 for HQ streaming. Anymore speakers as such under $1000? Specifically looking for a built in DAC better than the Topping D50s! Thank You 🙏🏼☺️

A new DAC is coming form Rupert Neve. He is one of the best known designers in pro audio, and starting a venture in Hi-Fi now. https://fidelice.com

Hi to all, I'm Andre with Volumio. I wanted to take the time to introduce myself and the PRIMO. As most of you know, Volumio is the leading media player software used by most audiophiles. Recently, the PRIMO , network music player and streamer , has been released. I am here to answer any questions and start a conversation about what you think of it and eventually even see if any of you would be interested in taking a closer look and share your opinions with the rest of the community. In a nutshell, the PRIMO is: not RPI based its actually Tinkerboard based with the software embedded, so no more SD cards and legendary connectivity issues of the RPI. no more DIY its a finished product in a proper box that takes its place amongst your system plug & play unbox, connect, power on, set up in less than 1 min and play. Volumio is well known for its intuitive user interface and experience. 3 in 1 outputs analog/digital/USB and plenty other features that you can check out here https://volumio.org/primo/ have a look and let me know if you have any questions or comments about it, I'm here to assit with this or any other Volumio related question. Regards Andre

Dear experts: Many DACs have volume control function so they could serve as a DAC or as a DAC + Pre-amplifier. Could you please report on the differences in the sound of your systems in both cases? The latter configuration provides shorter signal path, but how does it effect the sound? What variables are in play here? I am planning my setup and would appreciate your expert advice very much indeed. Please chime in!

I have a mid 2012 Macbook Pro, Mackie CR3's, Behringer HPX2000 and I'm just kinda happy. Mackies are connected to 3.5mm headphone output of Macbook Pro to the 1/4 TRS inputs of the Mackies. The Mackies have a 3.5mm aux output I can run the headphones on but when I plug them in the speakers shut off. I read that my laptop has 3.5mm/optical mini toslink output. How can I 100% find that out? I installed a programs called Mactracker and it said I had it but I followed some other instructions to check and it didn't show I do. In any event, without upgrading the Mackies I'd like to improve my all around sound quality and achieve deeper bass expecially when wearing the heaphones which aren't very load from the Mackies. I cloud try going straight to the Macbook with them but I don't want to be moving the cable a lot, the jack already seems loose. Please help, this is what I kinda have in mind, keep in mind I know nothing about all this stuff. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07X238W58/?coliid=I3OM2SNSG0CQXA&colid=CC9E3PYS8XU9&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

I am trying to build a hifi Headphone station for Roon streaming. This is an evolution of an earlier thread I started.... I was seeking too much in an all-in-one box and have decided to get a stand-alone tube headphone amp. I am looking for a Roon-Ready streamer/DAC to feed it. My IDEAL box would do precisely that, do it really well, and do nothing else. My research has turned up many Roon-Ready DACs, but almost all are bloated with many features I do not need (pre-amps, proprietary control software, etc). I don’t mind spending <=$2k, but I’d rather that go into a better DAC than into features I do not need. Suggestions?

@Kal Rubinson and any others — has anyone tried out this new multichannel DAC? https://www.oktoresearch.com/dac8pro.htm At €989, it seems like a bargain. JCR

Hi Guys, I have a ALLO USBRIDGE SIGNATURE which I have been using connected to a NAD D2030 which has a built in DAC. however this has now stopped working, so I'm looking for a stand alone DAC with usb input to pair with the Allo. My budget is a max of $500. Any suggestions much apprecaited. I was considering the Shiit modi 3 or maybe Dragonfly??

My existing system Wadia 270 CD Transport <--- Now I want to get rid all CDs Wadia 27 DAC Krell Preamp and amplifier Totem Speakers I would like to now put all my CDs on a QNAP NAS system in FLAC format. What do I need to connect QNAP to my system to play music. Thanks AR