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Coming Soon: Audio-GD Reference 3 USB>SPDIF converter/wonder-box - Page 2

post #16 of 126
8/10/09 at 4:50pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by sandchak View Post

Btw, it uses the same same chip as REF1 but only programmed to convert and upsample, the only problem it cant accept 24/96 from USB, the TAS1020 licence is too steep for him at the moment.
Ouch, deal breaker for most computer-as-source users.

If TAS1020 license is too expensive, maybe Kingwa can try to license the Musiland's XILINX/Cypress implementation which supports up to 24/192 by USB. Or at least mod the Musiland Monitor 01 USD by giving it dedicated power and DSP-1.
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post #17 of 126
8/10/09 at 5:08pm
Why not just bet Bel Canto USB? The price seems to be nearly same..

Edit: Never mind. I see that it's got a lot more inputs and outputs. For those who need this many input/output, it's better than Bel Canto. But then, Bel Canto provides bit perfect 24/96 on top of BNC output. Why not get that for most computer users who wants to use the usb as their main output choice to their DAC?
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post #18 of 126
8/10/09 at 5:38pm
Thread Starter 
Can't help it, Lee is a convincing salesman...and if you look at the pix on Audiocircle of the sorts of circuit boards and workmanship in Sonicweld products and the pedigree of the designer, it's some scary stuff:

One of the "small" boards for the Pulserod active speaker's amp assembly:



Still, this is on my list until I can learn more about it. I trust Kingwa too to make a quality product. Yeah, it's like the Bel Canto, but I don't think it can accept up to 96/24 over USB which may rule it out for me. It costs $25,000USD to license the TAS1020 chip so unless Kingwa can pull a rabbit out of the hat, this thing may not fare so well. I'm curious what the DSP inside is set up to do, it may have some nice features for reclocking, and the upsampling looks fun...being able to switch 3 or 4 inputs into my DAC8 would be nice too.
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post #19 of 126
8/10/09 at 5:53pm
Are you referring to this?

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f149/s...verter-427470/

or?

If it is, this thing costs $1299 with $999 introductory pricing. Hardly a bargain imo.
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post #20 of 126
8/10/09 at 10:47pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by scootermafia View Post
Can't help it, Lee is a convincing salesman...and if you look at the pix on Audiocircle of the sorts of circuit boards and workmanship in Sonicweld products and the pedigree of the designer, it's some scary stuff:
FYI--that is one of his "simpler" PCB's, used inside the Pulserod tower for the HP array. He routinely designs with 8-10 layer PCB's.

Peace,

Lee
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post #21 of 126
8/11/09 at 1:43am
I'm interested in one to see how it compares with my Monarchy DIP classic. I hope it is comparably priced i.e. $300-400.

I emailed Kingwa previously about this and he told me maybe September.
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post #22 of 126
8/11/09 at 1:46pm
Thread Starter 
Yeah, Lee's solution is a cost-no-object system, it doesn't use the standard chips and stuff but another proprietary method to achieve 96/24. And the construction is absolutely sick, the way the circuits and boards are designed. It's just going to degrade the signal less than any other option out there, since it's using silver 6 layer boards and minimal through-hole parts and such. It's not cheap, but neither is this hobby.

We'll see if Kingwa's able to make something like that happen with his, but I'm not too hopeful. It's good for what it is, for now, but it's missing some features.
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post #23 of 126
8/11/09 at 2:00pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by scootermafia View Post
Yeah, Lee's solution is a cost-no-object system, it doesn't use the standard chips and stuff but another proprietary method to achieve 96/24. And the construction is absolutely sick, the way the circuits and boards are designed. It's just going to degrade the signal less than any other option out there, since it's using silver 6 layer boards and minimal through-hole parts and such. It's not cheap, but neither is this hobby.

We'll see if Kingwa's able to make something like that happen with his, but I'm not too hopeful. It's good for what it is, for now, but it's missing some features.
You got that right about not being cheap with this hobby. But, I am not interested in paying $1299 for a simple converter. It might be the best thing in the world, but I do believe that the actual difference between this or any other USB bit perfect solution is minor to none.

Bel Canto USB seems like a very viable solution than this. Since what we need is BNC to RE1 or any other DAC with RCA input, Bel Canto USB would meet our needs more so than this. Also, you can buy the Bel Canto through audiogon for $399. 3 times cheaper, and Bel Canto is just as reputable and high quality as this one I think.
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post #24 of 126
8/13/09 at 4:23am
Audio-gd should really look into working with these guys Musiland USD 24/192 USB-SPDIF. Doubt they have to hand out so much money for license and maybe they could just integrate the board that costs $60 on ebay to their product and mod it with their ultra stable PSU.
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post #25 of 126
8/13/09 at 7:38am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Olev View Post
Audio-gd should really look into working with these guys Musiland USD 24/192 USB-SPDIF. Doubt they have to hand out so much money for license and maybe they could just integrate the board that costs $60 on ebay to their product and mod it with their ultra stable PSU.
That only has Windows drivers, so for us Mac owners, it's useless.
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post #26 of 126
8/13/09 at 8:07am
Well it is a new product only a few months old. I guess at some point there will be more drivers. Downsampling DVD-A/vinyl rips etc to 16/48 just for it to be upsampled to 24/96 is not the way to go.
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post #27 of 126
8/13/09 at 9:53pm
Musiland will have mac drivers very soon.
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post #28 of 126
8/14/09 at 1:35pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by DoYouRight View Post
Musiland will have mac drivers very soon.
I definitely going to buy if they come out with the mac driver. That'll open up a lot of sales opportunity of musiland, so i hope it becomes reality sooner than later.
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post #29 of 126
8/18/09 at 5:09pm
Does Ref3 + DAC-9mk3 translate as Ref1 with additional functionality (Ref1 with two SPDIF/BNC inputs + optical + USB)?

...or are there some shortcomings of such separated setup (f.e. DAC-9mk3 does not take 192KHz/24bit SPDIF/BNC input)?

From what I read on Audio-GD's site DAC-9mk3 is Ref1 without fancy DSP... having the missing functionality in a separated box would make such combination even more appealing. But if this is true, then Ref3 MUST HAVE at least 96KHz/24bit USB implementation to make it most appealing.
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post #30 of 126
8/18/09 at 5:25pm
The Ref3 only supports 16/48 via USB. Maybe in the future Kingwa will be able to pay the license fee for 24/96 which is a lot of money. Or he could design his own proprietary chip.
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