REVIEW (in progress) - Nuforce HDP 24/96 USB-Optical 24/192 Coax DAC Preamp and Headphone Amp - Page 104

Interesting find, glad you got it working though 

Quote:

Originally Posted by radiojam 

 

Funny you should mention this.  I have three USB 2.0 ports, and I actually did try switching to another port and got the same problem.  So I (hastily) eliminated that as a possibility.  But just for the hell of it I tried the third port, and so far so good!... fingers crossed.

 

One interesting thing I noticed: with the first two ports, the DAC was recognized instantly as "Nuforce Icon HD" which is what showed in my sound properties.  On the third port it actually didn't recognize the DAC at first and eventually showed up as "USB Audio Device"/"Default Device".  So I'm not sure if it's a USB problem or perhaps a Windows driver problem.  In any event I hope it stays fixed.

Not all the usb ports on a computer will necessarily run off the same internal bus, hence there may be differences between them. Sometimes splitting devices across different usb busses will also help reduce noise, such as clicking/pops heard from mice and especially external portable hard drives.

Where can I get some info/skematics of this Sigma 11 power supply ?? : I am familiar with building power supplies, so maybe I will build one.

Thanks

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nounours 

 

Where can I get some info/skematics of this Sigma 11 power supply ?? : I am familiar with building power supplies, so maybe I will build one.

 

Thanks

Here is the site with the info you need.

http://www.amb.org/audio/sigma11/

FWIW, the Nuforce LPS-1 is on sale right now: http://estore.nuforce.com/15v-linear-power-supply/
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by gPope 

FWIW, the Nuforce LPS-1 is on sale right now: http://estore.nuforce.com/15v-linear-power-supply/
 

On the other hand, it says that this product is not currently available. :(

I have the LPS-2U-192k and pair it with my HDP and Icon2. Excellent piece of kit there. 

Nice that they are putting on sale, but seeing as how one can build a Sigma 11 for half the cost, they are still asking too much IMO.

But that requires DIY skill, time, casework, etc. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Armaegis 

But that requires DIY skill, time, casework, etc. 

There are a few people who build them and sell them prebuilt, and they are still about $100 less than the LPS-1.

*shrug* and you can find them even cheaper used. Or I've seen them go for over $400. Depends who makes them, quality of build, the casework, etc.

I've built several of them myself... but for the aesthetics and casework and time involved, I'm still running my gear off my LPS. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Armaegis 

I have the LPS-2U-192k and pair it with my HDP and Icon2. Excellent piece of kit there. 

For what reason would you need the LPS-2U-96k as opposed to the LPS-1?  I am running my HDP with an S/PDIF input if that helps...

The upgraded unit has two outputs (one at 4A and the other at 1A), so I use the 4A for the speaker amp and the 1A for the HDP.

I also use the usb-spdif bridge to feed my HDP, and when evaluating other dacs I can feed simulteously to two dacs (such as when I was reviewing the DAC-100 vs Bifrost). The bridge also helps isolate from computer/ground noise, as my laptop does not have the best performance there.

Will the LPS make an impact on the HDP if it is only being used as a DAC?  Also will this impact be worth the asking price of the LPS plus the selling price of the HDP?  My current setup has the HDP outputting to a bottlehead Crack and I feel a new DAC is appropriate but I don't want to dump money into an LPS if it is a marginal upgrade, when I could take that money, sell the HDP and get something like the gungir for a little more money.

I think there's a slight improvement, but very very small for the dollar invested. I'd spend some money on a Speedball upgrade instead. The gungnir doesn't really make sense unless you have a balanced amp as well.