For those who may have an interest, here is an blog entry of mine diving fairly deep into how Jussi's DSC DSD DAC works, directly compared to how it is believed the PSAUDIO DirectStream DSD DAC works. It a big long and a bit technical dive, but I found the research and the understanding gained...

I have finished my review of the iFI ZEN V3 DAC. I am posting the written section here so you don't have to click over to my site. If you want to see the full review with test graphs and interpretations its all at https://www.euphonicreview.com/lansdale/ifi-zen-dac-v3-third-time-is-the-charm...

My review of the ZEN DAC V3 is done. It is truly a winner. You can read in full here. https://www.euphonicreview.com/lansdale/ifi-zen-dac-v3-third-time-is-the-charm Full listening impressions and a measurement suite that I am continuing to experiment with and evolve. The full review is...

the unobtanium types were not so bad in price 10 years ago when I started collecting. I sold too early it seems. (Don't we all?) Because supply and pricing now is just crazy stuff for things like Mullard, Telefunken, etc.. and thats just the noval tubes. The 6SN7 and related types have...

Rolling tubes transforms this Amp. Seriously. The stock tubes vs some really good NOS tubes, it just doesn't sound quite like the same amp. I suppose this is true of all tube amps, but I find it to be particularly notable in this kit. Don't go nuts and overdo it like me, and spend enough...

its an interesting question, and I am aware that it goes way deeper than 99.9 percent of the things Jussi deals with. And I am almost positive we are getting into intellectual property here that even if he told us might require an NDA haha. In the end it really isn't too important. There are...

@jlaako I think I refined my own understanding. A pseudo multi-bit dsm according to my research (good or bad), simply has multiple 1 bit quantizers working in parallel. They all receive the same signal, process separately, then the (3, 4, 5 etc) 1 bit streams are accumulated into one...

@jlaako I know their are a couple of 'pseudo multi-bit' modulators as you put it in the instruction manual. I have assumed these are modulators that use multiple 1 bit modulators in parallel with unary coded quantizer and filter loop, Like a 3 level system that we might call 1.5 bit binary...

have or had? the number grew to over 3000 at some point. Yes my addictive compulsive personality led me to own tubes worth many times more the actual equipment. It was an investment, right? Now I have sold most and am down to maybe 100. I kept the best. I have about half a dozen RCA...

i go back to near the beginning. Its around here somewhere still, but it was bricked by a firmware update lol. iDSD Nano. Immediately followed by the iDSD Micro. The huge iDSD Micro thread on Head-Fi was started with my review. Back then, I was already salivating over the rumored to...

Although the PSAUDIO DirectStream is a bit of different animal that tries to put what HQPlayer does into the DAC hardware itself on its FPGA, however on the back-end its basically the same thing although its limited to a set 128x DSD rate. Even the analog output is fairly similar with...

you may be correct. When data goes in my brain, it spits some out... I seem to have a shift-register up there doing the work. It would be limited by the XMOS chipset, if thats the case.

Couldn’t agree more. Getting lost in a 45 minute work by Brahms, Sibelius, Stravinsky and enjoying it so much the time seems to be no factor at all. Life is suspended in bliss. That’s what a great live performance does and it’s a rare thing to duplicate at home. It’s the highest praise I...

Filters really DO make a difference. The issue is the typical filter, in spite of the advancements in processing power (fpga,etc) makes it a real chore to hear the difference. Some DACs more than others. Leveraging the power of a modern x86 CPU and NVidia GPU allows for ‘fine tuning’ with...

I think we’ve had this discussion briefly before but yeah you were right it’s a very analog sound, but without all the negatives that come with say even the best vinyl playback. I still need to do some proper measurements but if I recall correctly. The dynamic range on the DSC2 I have is around...

I had owned an Icon Audio HP8 MKII tube headamp twice before. I regretted selling it each time, so I bought another. Likely an irrational impulse purchase. The 'real reason' haha, I did so was the SMSL SP400 THX headamp I was using. I love it. It sounds amazing. But I have also fallen in...

Yes its a winner. Quite good. The fact you get a headphone amp that is good at this price as well is the kicker. I have DACS up to to about the 400 dollar range that are in the same zone audibly via balanced pre-outs, the fact is none of those also have a very capable headphone amp built in...

yes, getting some clarity on how to define these things would be helpful. So many people seem to be speaking a different language. We need clearly defined terms. for instance, one major hangup in understanding PCM vs DSD is exactly what we mean by bits. Bits can be defined in different ways...

not the ZEN DAC, but I had to also take advantage of the new product updates to remove the ZEN Phono from my heavily modified Rega RP3 setup and try out the iFi ZEN Phono V3... cannot wait....

...the DAC, not end... Way back Before all that, ALL DSD first goes to a specific DSP that converts DSD to a multi-bit intermediate via FIR filter.(* see ESS diagram attached) However many bits comes out of the FIR filter, is multiplied by a 32 binary bit gain control. It would be easy to...

Okay I get it. Holo audio has two 'ladders' for each format.. PCM has two and DSD two. Redundancy. They call the DSD converter a ladder DAC, but that's more just marketing, and yes, while DSD FIR filters can use an array of resistor elements, (or caps) it isn't the same and IMO leads to...

so in most important ways, its is not a 'ladder' as in PCM ladder. It is like the DSC2 I have sitting here with its resistor 'ladder' of equal weighting fed by shift register. An FIR filter to put it simply. Where I am trying to understand the Cyan is the 8 by 8 architecture. I am...

thank you I knew Jussi probably had commented on it somewhere. Obviously he is among the most reliable and knowledgeable sources. Not the only one, but I don't think anyone has the pulse of the 'DSD Industry' quite like Jussi. Much respect.

that would be what I am looking for yes. Does it have that separate menu item allowing the choice. my apologies, S.M.S.L calls it 'FIXED DSD BYPASS' in its software and includes it with the other choices mentioned. So yes, it can be selected here. Good deal! Thanks so much

anyone aware of the DSD conversion path here? I have seen a lot about Holo being one bit, and the use fancy buzzwords that don't mean much when actually telling us what it does or how it works. I am assuming that as a true 1 bit converter, it is a thermometer coded multi-resistor element...