Nope. Not needed.
 
Quote:

warrenr said:

Cool.
 
I seem to remember that the old HiFace needed to use attenuators to control the output.  Is that still the case?
 
Cheers.

Click to expand...

 

 
Quote:

warrenr said:

I think I'm going to give this a miss.
 
I don't think it will be much of a step up over my V-Link, just different.
 
I'm going to wait for more feedback and reviews before committing.
 
Cheers.

Click to expand...

Bear in mind no USB/SPDIF converter is going to "sound". The result will always depend on the DAC you're using, and on how it reacts to level of jitter the converter "produces"
 

Hey.

I took a chance on the Hiface. I should receive it on Thursday. I'm interested to hear if there is a difference between this and the V-link. Keith said I can have a refund if I'm not happy

Plus I can have a good listen to it over Easter.

Will keep you posted.

Cool!
I'm curious to know your thoughts about it.
A suggestion: the Hiface puts a lot of stress on the USB port of my MacMini (but I guess it's the same for a standard PC). Use a swivel USB adapter so you can direct the cable towards the dac.

Hi Realmassey.
 
Thanks for the tip about the USB port.  I have my dac and mini on a sound organisation stand and the dac is directly below it, so hopefully it won't put much stress on it.  I will also gaffa the lead to the shelf so it isn't pulling on the usb socket.
 
 

I would second an usb extension, a good cheap 1.8m belkin should do the job, that way you can turn your Hiface into a Bridge. I have been using my Hiface 1 for a year with one after finding the weight of the unit and the coaxial cable put too much stress on my laptop's usb port. I can alway crack open the Hiface to fix its usb but my laptop is another story.

I was looking for a BNC adapter to connect the Hiface directly to the dac but haven't found any: any link to share?

^ there was a thread here about modding the hiface by Jkenny, you can find the link there, I was thinking about purchasing one but decided to go for rca in the end.

Yeah I plumped for the RCA.  Haven't got a BNC cable and wouldn't for the life of me know how to fix one up.  
 
 

 
Just a quick update. 
 
I have just managed to install the HiFace 2 on my mac and get it set up with Pure Music.   I'm running it in Hog Mode.   
 
Its connected to a Rega Dac.
 
Previously I was using a V-Link.
 
 
Well first impressions are OMG!!  A veil has been lifted!  The haze has gone!
 
I put on David Bowie Outside, basically because I have found the mix on some of the tracks to be hazy and confused.  Now I've always been unsure if it was the V-Link or the DAC that was the problem.  Well straight away from the first track I knew it was the V-Link - the mix came alive!
 
The background voices that were previously muffled were perfectly clear!  I could hear new things in the mix - it like I was peeling away all the haze and hash of the V-Link and getting a deeper insight into the mix of each song.  The bass was more textured and powerful.  Bowie's voice took on a life like quality that, during the track 'A Small Plot of Land', it was like he was in the room!  I could hear all the nuances of the guitar solo on 'Strangers When We Meet' that put a big grin on my face.  I could hear backing vocals that I had not heard before.  The list could go on.
 
I've only managed to listen to four tracks tonight because I started late and I don't play stuff after 9pm because of the neighbours.  But first impressions are extremely positive.  Its like I've bought a new DAC.
 
I can't wait to have another listen tomorrow!
 
On a negative note Pure Music crashed when I chose another song, which it never did with the V-Link.  I hope its just a one off.
 
Thanks.

Good good good, I'm happy your first impressions are positive.
It's amazing how important the transport is, sometimes I can hear smaller changes between dacs than swapping a SUB to SPDIF converter.

I know I'm well chuffed.
 
I almost took a pass on it as well because I was sceptical of the improvements offered.  I was thinking 'ah well I can always send it back for a refund la la la'.  Then bam!!
 
Bloody hell if it sounds this good with the Bowie album that sounded grainy and congested with the V-Link what about stuff that sounded half decent with the V-Link!!
 
I think I may well have saved myself £400 over the Audiophilleo, which was on my radar for a summer purchase.  I know the Audiophilleo will sound better than the HiFace Two, but is it worth £400 to get that improvement??  I'm not so sure now.
 
Anyway its still early days and I'm getting ahead of myself.
 
Lots more listening still to do.
 
Take it easy.

Quote:

warrenr said:

.  I know the Audiophilleo will sound better than the HiFace Two, but is it worth £400 to get that improvement??  I'm not so sure now.
 
 

Click to expand...

Hey, 
 
Are we sure the Audiophilleo will sound better ? AFAIK Stello U3 and Audiophilleo play in the same league, and Hiface Two has pretty much the same hardware than the Stello. so ?
 
Cheers

Quote:

mynaim said:

Hey, 
 
Are we sure the Audiophilleo will sound better ? AFAIK Stello U3 and Audiophilleo play in the same league, and Hiface Two has pretty much the same hardware than the Stello. So ?
 
Cheers

Click to expand...

 
We know the new, and more expensive, V-link 192 uses the XMOS RISC processor, but I'm not clear if it has any from of  galvantic isolation, the original V-Link had neither.  

We also know the Stello U3 is based around the XMOS RISC processor and has galvantic isolation, but what is the HIface Two design based on?  Their web page(s) don't give much way. 
 
Perhaps Linux users can get some more info about the device with the terminal commands:
 
lsusb -v
 
and
 
cat /proc/asound/xxxx/stream0             (where xxxx must be replaced by the Hiface device name, whatever that might be)
 
 
 
 

Quote:

brightspark said:

 
We know the new, and more expensive, V-link 192 uses the XMOS RISC processor, but I'm not clear if it has any from of  galvantic isolation, the original V-Link had neither.  

We also know the Stello U3 is based around the XMOS RISC processor and has galvantic isolation, but what is the HIface Two design based on?  Their web page(s) don't give much way. 
 
Perhaps Linux users can get some more info about the device with the terminal commands:
 
lsusb -v
 
and
 
cat /proc/asound/xxxx/stream0             (where xxxx must be replaced by the Hiface device name, whatever that might be)
 
 
 
 

Click to expand...

Understood the new hiface is based on the same XMOS chip (not 100% sure)