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The Quest For Digital Perfection

post #1 of 22
9/3/08 at 8:54am
Thread Starter 
Backstory
Ever since I received my RSA Predator my mind has been wandering into daydreams of digital perfection. Ive been researching all over the web . Why? Because I want to find some portable sources that may be able to hook up to my predator and strip away the chains of analogue..well kinda.

Am Staying away from Nokia Tablets as I already am aware of these (however unaware of any linux mods for external dac's? But im sure there are some) . Ive been researching all different kinds of:


DAPs


Field Recorders,


PVP's / PMP's,


UMPC's


Portable DVD players,


PDA's


Portable GPS Recievers


And even 1.8" and 2.5" HDD portable media enclosures/players .



What is my version of digital perfection? Well that would be a digital audio player with USB mini-b out (mini-b adapter on the end of a normal mp3 usb cable) into the mini-b in of a portable USB DAC/AMP and headphones.

Oh and.. The smaller the better. So ideally Im looking for something I can fit in my pocket...although probably impossible.


What have I found.

DAPS: Nothing zilch nada
Field Recorders: Lots of optical out no usb out
GPS Recievers: Still in research mode
UPC's: Raon Digital - Everun, Vega & DIGITALCUBE »ç¾÷¿µ¿ª_PMP (both run xp home)
Portable DVD's: Zilch!
Portable Hard Disk Media Players: Still in research mode, have found this .. it has optical out no usb out though...unlikely any of these would. If I could find one with an lcd screen and remote (most of them have these) Id buy it out of principle...possibility of a half terrabite hd portable media center I can hook up to my stereo or take on the move...but as I was saying..still in research mode and have found nothing with usb out here.

I am planning to add to this thread as I continue researching. The purpose of the thread is to inform anyone else who is interested, of any progress...and also ask for your help if you know of any other devices for me to research.
If I find anything of any worth I plan to post up a detailed review. Once I hook it up!

Stay tuned
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post #2 of 22
9/3/08 at 9:13am
Great stuff, I have asked about DAP's that can do this before, but this is a comprehensive look at it. Hope a good solution is found!
(or soon to be introduced, something like a iPod rockbox mod)
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post #3 of 22
9/3/08 at 9:17am
I own a htc touch cruise pda and have not come across a better quility portable output device. It is a phone gps, runs windows mobile, plays movies, has wireless 3.2mpx camera.. the list keeps going and its small.
has a usb audio plug (need adapter for headphones) pluss inbuild sound efects and eq that are very high quality.

music can be stored internaly or on sd cards (currently 8gb but i think you can get 16 now.

what other device do you need?
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post #4 of 22
9/3/08 at 10:11am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by reminence View Post
I own a htc touch cruise pda and have not come across a better quility portable output device. It is a phone gps, runs windows mobile, plays movies, has wireless 3.2mpx camera.. the list keeps going and its small.
has a usb audio plug (need adapter for headphones) pluss inbuild sound efects and eq that are very high quality.

music can be stored internaly or on sd cards (currently 8gb but i think you can get 16 now.

what other device do you need?

Unfortunately the Windows mobile 6 software which runs on the touch cruise does not support external dac's.

The only software I have come accross which does is linux modded (or so Ive heard) and actual xp or vista on mobile devices.
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post #5 of 22
9/3/08 at 10:57am
Thread Starter 
FOUND A PORTABLE HDD WITH LCD DISPLAY AND OPTICAL OUT.



http://www.tradestead.com/wholesale/...er-p-3021.html


no usb out though... it says it has OTG though...
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post #6 of 22
9/3/08 at 12:28pm
Subscribed!

I've always wanted to plug my Predator into some portable device via usb, too... I actually posed the question of going USB out from the Nokia tablets some time ago myself...

N810 + USB Sound ? - Internet Tablet Talk Forums
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post #7 of 22
9/3/08 at 1:59pm

great

Awesome looking forward to what you find. I'm looking for the same, although it doesn't have to be small. It would be my at work rig.
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post #8 of 22
9/4/08 at 4:07am
I wanted to go down the Nokia N810 route, but I've not been able to persuade linux guru's to re-compile the ASIO drivers for the N810, so I think its a bust.

These new notebook laptops look the way to go, cheap, run XP or Linux, good battery life, lite, will run a USB HDD (with the music on it) and a USB DAC - so that seems the best route.

BT
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post #9 of 22
9/4/08 at 4:50am
How about an Asus EEE-PC/Acer Aspire One, etc?

Newegg.com - Intel Atom, Laptops / Notebooks, Laptops & Accessories, PCs & Laptops
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post #10 of 22
9/4/08 at 5:46am
I used to own a Sony UMPC (UX-380) with the intention of using it for the same thing... However I sold it due to the battery life (5 hrs with the extended battery).

Wish I had kept it now as I am finding more and more use for a 'transportable' unit that I can keep plugged in. Oh well.

Paul
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post #11 of 22
9/4/08 at 10:36am
Quote:
Originally Posted by BigTony View Post
I wanted to go down the Nokia N810 route, but I've not been able to persuade linux guru's to re-compile the ASIO drivers for the N810, so I think its a bust.

These new notebook laptops look the way to go, cheap, run XP or Linux, good battery life, lite, will run a USB HDD (with the music on it) and a USB DAC - so that seems the best route.

BT
Its complex for the N810 but mine got stolen, so until i get another one hold tight... the actuall drivers have been recompiled in to a kernel module by some guy (dig deep and y' shall find) im gonna get a few more developers and mod the whole OS geared for audiophilies.

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f15/no...killer-316007/
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post #12 of 22
9/4/08 at 11:41am
Hey, how much for that taser?
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post #13 of 22
9/4/08 at 9:33pm
Thread Starter 
koconder dont the kernal modules need to be individually modified depending on the type of external dac you are using? Or do they just detect a 'usb sound source' based on the pcm stream coming through...like those new sound board in a studio?
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post #14 of 22
9/6/08 at 5:28pm
conceivably the IPhone 3G (jailbroken) has the hardware and software capability just need someone to write a (linux) patch for it. Is the predator Dac powered by the USB like the pico Dac is. because that bit poses a problem for battery life; even if you could pull the power to the USB plug, although some kind of mod could be achieved for that fairly easily I guess. Of course all this may not actually be possible and just a pipe dream of mine.
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post #15 of 22
9/6/08 at 7:34pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr_Junesequa View Post
koconder dont the kernal modules need to be individually modified depending on the type of external dac you are using? Or do they just detect a 'usb sound source' based on the pcm stream coming through...like those new sound board in a studio?
Bingo! one driver serves all, ive allready tested it all works... i recomplied an existing usb-sound driver.... all im trying to do is get my hands on another N810 as my old one got stolen and ill be doing a sh*tload of modifications to make this baby the best portable player to man
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