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At So-cal meet I noticed that AQVOX sounding better with upsamplig off.
To my ears, when upsampling is on it sounds notceably worse than Benchmark or Lavry.
__________________
Source: Sony DVP-NS900V, Benchmark DAC1, PreSonus Central Station, M-audio Transit
Headphones: K1000, K501, SR225, HD595
Head Amps: Cayin HA-1A, DAC1, Central Station
Speakers: Athena S2+P2, Athena S5, Jolida JD301
Speaker Amps: Sophia Baby Clone with EL84, Jolida JD301A, Sonic Imapct T-amp
Work Rig: Tivoli Model 2 Radio->KSC-75, Laptop->PX100
At So-cal meet I noticed that AQVOX sounding better with upsamplig off.
To my ears, when upsampling is on it sounds notceably worse than Benchmark or Lavry.
Either the listeners at your or at my side of the pond are victim of a strange kind of group hypnosis.
All those crazy europeans believe the DAC sounds better with upsampling on, but that might be influenced by the engineer's opinion (also an european).
All the americans at the meet thought the DAC sounds better slaved to whatever with upsampling/reclocking off.Even the damned passive analog filter isn't designed for 44 KHz.But, honestly and without meant to be offensive, to each his own.Many listeners like tube distortion better than solid state precision, and there's nothing wrong with using a DAC in another way as it was suggested by the engineer.
That's soooo funny.
Really.
Either the listeners at your or at my side of the pond are victim of a strange kind of group hypnosis.
All those crazy europeans believe the DAC sounds better with upsampling on, but that might be influenced by the engineer's opinion (also an european).
All the americans at the meet thought the DAC sounds better slaved to whatever with upsampling/reclocking off.Even the damned passive analog filter isn't designed for 44 KHz.But, honestly and without meant to be offensive, to each his own.Many listeners like tube distortion better than solid state precision, and there's nothing wrong with using a DAC in another way as it was suggested by the engineer.
That's soooo funny.
Really.
European version runs on 220V, right?
US version runs on 110V, I assume.
Could it be a version difference?
__________________
Source: Sony DVP-NS900V, Benchmark DAC1, PreSonus Central Station, M-audio Transit
Headphones: K1000, K501, SR225, HD595
Head Amps: Cayin HA-1A, DAC1, Central Station
Speakers: Athena S2+P2, Athena S5, Jolida JD301
Speaker Amps: Sophia Baby Clone with EL84, Jolida JD301A, Sonic Imapct T-amp
Work Rig: Tivoli Model 2 Radio->KSC-75, Laptop->PX100
Either the listeners at your or at my side of the pond are victim of a strange kind of group hypnosis.
All those crazy europeans believe the DAC sounds better with upsampling on, but that might be influenced by the engineer's opinion (also an european).
All the americans at the meet thought the DAC sounds better slaved to whatever with upsampling/reclocking off.Even the damned passive analog filter isn't designed for 44 KHz.But, honestly and without meant to be offensive, to each his own.Many listeners like tube distortion better than solid state precision, and there's nothing wrong with using a DAC in another way as it was suggested by the engineer.
That's soooo funny.
Really.
Maybe you know a little more about AQVox specs than what's on their website? There's precious little info available.
I know it uses Burr Brown PCM2906 chip for USB input, but is the data then converted to spdif before being delivered to the DAC chip (Burr Brown PCM1796)? Or, does PCM2906 deliver pure I2S data to PCM1796, which would be better.
Which spdif receiver chip is used, and what kind of reclocking circuit is used?
Also, which voltages are delivered from AC power to the DAC board? Is it 12V, or are there other voltages necessary (5V, etc).
Peter, congratulations for your review. One of the best I've seen here. After reading it, I think the better option for americans could be Lavry and for europeans Aqvox .
Originally Posted by cosmopragma
Either the listeners at your or at my side of the pond are victim of a strange kind of group hypnosis.
All those crazy europeans believe the DAC sounds better with upsampling on, but that might be influenced by the engineer's opinion (also an european)..
Well, I'm european and yes, I prefer upsampling for certain type of music, but not all. I started using the aqvox mostly without upsampling, but I'm finding myself using it more and more. No problem, you only have to push a button to choose .
About USB, with the ASIO USB driver recommended by Aqvox, you can get very good quality.
Originally Posted by Jon L
I can see playing Emiliana Torrini, Maria Taylor, Feist, Buddy Guy over the AQVox via my tube amp through my speakers and just going, "Ahhhh..."
Excellent Review Peter!!! It definately gives me another nudge towards trying the Lavry as an all-in-one solution, I just don't know if I can give up the great sound and versatility of the GS-1 though.
"in case your mobo USB chip is decent (Intel chipsets are generally, others vary) you might find that the USB input option is quite decent."
What sort of sonic deterioration do you hear with less than optimal USB ports?
I currently own a Biostar M7NCG rev. 7.2 (Nvidia Nforce2 chipset) in my audio server computer and I eventually want to upgrade to an Nvidia 6150 microATX mobo (probably an asus A8N-VM CSM).
"in case your mobo USB chip is decent (Intel chipsets are generally, others vary) you might find that the USB input option is quite decent."
What sort of sonic deterioration do you hear with less than optimal USB ports?
I currently own a Biostar M7NCG rev. 7.2 (Nvidia Nforce2 chipset) in my audio server computer and I eventually want to upgrade to an Nvidia 6150 microATX mobo (probably an asus A8N-VM CSM).
The days when AMD/(typically) VIA chipsets were noticeably inferior to Intel chipsets are over for the most part. Nforce chipsets should be first-tier quality and not recognisably different from Intel chipsets -- especially in the implimentation of USB and firewire (note: I understand that the performance capabilities of USB2 devices are substantially better than those of legacy USB sound cards). If you suffer any doubts or encounter problems, one solution would be to get a pci add-on USB2/Firewire card from a first-tier manufacturer like Adaptec. The Adaptec cards will add 2-4 USB2 ports and FW, are of very high quality and are supported by regular driver updates and good service.
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Luddite Rig: Sony SACD 555ES>Cardas Lightning Digital Coax>Lake-People C76 24/96 Dac>DNM Reson XLR>[RCA adapters]>Croft Mega Micro Preamp>Grover UR1 RCAs>Exposure IV Amplifier>DNM Reson Speaker Cable>Aereial 7 Two-way Floorstanders (WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN ALL MY LIFE, MY BEAUTIES!)
Phones: AKG-K501s, Beyerdynamic 250/80s
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