Or you should be able to install windows on your Mac as the windows audio drivers I believe should allow 24/192.
Or you should be able to install windows on your Mac as the windows audio drivers I believe should allow 24/192.
Uh, no. I can put together some piece of junk for cheap enough. I run Win7, Linux, whatever, but only as virtual machines. Not worth wasting my MacBook on this task.
If it really is the software in the OSX Kernel or a Driver, then I'll start hacking when I find time.
There is so much misinformation out there.
The DAC chips in modern macs are completely capable of 24/192 but the optical output is limited under Mac OS X to 24/96. This has nothing to do with building a PC because it's more economical, that's not even relevant to this technical discussion.
If you don't believe me - install windows 8/7/Vista with the latest audio drivers on your mac in bootcamp and look for yourself. You can easily blow away the partition when you're done.

I've been searching continuously for a way to get 24/196 (non-USB) out of a Mini or MacBook. It looks like the only hope is Thunderbolt. There is professional gear heading down that path. A bit pricy when one could build a complete cheap PC to do the same.
Anyway, check this out: 64 channels of 24/192. Maybe someone will take pity and give us just one channel of S/PDIF coax ..
http://apogeedigital.com/products/symphony-io.php#thunderbridge
At least this means the parts are probably available off the shelf.
Has anyone really/actually been successful at getting bootcamp to run the toslink @ 24/192 (with a decent cable at least), or has this all been speculation?
Cheers,
Frank


Bummer. Do the bootcamp drivers just not work, or is the toslink reporting that it can't do those rates? The native windows drivers supposedly do not work on any toslink above 96k, but there are out drivers out there that do.
As for USB - I do, I have. I've both a Bifrost and Gungnir. The USB adds an extra layer to the signal path. Our favorite vendor says "our USB is better than most, but still .."
It's like climbing a mountain, you can't see the view until you're at the top. Well, I want to be able to truly A/B coax vs USB at any rate. And NOT using a USB to coax adapter - adding stuff to the signal path, how stupid is that? Except for maybe .. a FIFO that re-clocks the signal, check out:
Cheers, Frank


Yeah, I use A+, direct and integer. As for USB and "layers" .. The object is to take the DSD or PCM bit stream from some file and dump it into the DAC. I2S, DSD and to some extent PCM are fundamentally similar protocols. You pull the (say flac) blocks from a file, uncompress, DSD->PCM as required and pump it directly out S/PDIF or I2S to the DAC. To get to USB the physical layer (look up the ISO stack) is very much different so you need to munge the stream into USB. Then the DAC gets the USB and munges it back to something more like I2S, DSD.
THE engineers can comment about exactly the flow and transformations. There is a reason that the Schiit DACs have the USB board as an option. It's the extra layer in HW.
Jason - did I get that sorta right?
the reader's digest version of the first nineteen pages would be:
the info is much easier to digest like that
I have about 150 hours on my Gungnir now.
At first I was dissapointed.as the high's sounded really fake & shrill & raspy. At first the Dac Magic Plus I upgraded from beat it for the highs.
However, after 150 hours this thing is smooth as, spacious as. Pink Floyd sounds rediculously good.
I found something that sounds absolutely AMAZING is this. https://www.hdtracks.com/index.php?file=catalogdetail&valbum_code=HD603497941032
It is just rediculous how good 'Dreams' sounds. It actually sounds perfect to my ears. The bass is so punchy and tight, it sounds like perfect vinyl without the hiss!!! Check it out...
So far so good with the Gungnir. I am running VAF DCX-35's on an NAD 351BEE 2 Channel Amp.
I had a similar experience. The higher frequencies sucked at first listen. I A-B the Gungnir with my Logitech Touch and I could not tell the difference between the two. After about 200 hrs the Gungnir is slightly better in the upper frequencies and clearly better in the lower range. Of course, the Touch also has about $500 in mods done to it.
Currently, I'm comparing the Gungnir to the new TEAC UD-501. So far, the only definitive conclusion I've drawn is that they are both good DACs.
interesting heads up on the teac DAC. they do take their high end gear seriously. if the two DACs sound similar, then the gungnir has to be the better deal as it's $100 cheaper. though probably about the same street value, but it just looks so much cooler than the teac in either color. looks might not be the most important part for a piece of gear, but they do matter, especially when you're paying close to $1,000.
let us know how the two DACs compare when you've done more listening to them. if the teac's that good, it deserves recognition too. no giant killing bargain should suffer obscurity. that 1980s retro look with fugly red LEDs isn't my cup of tea at all though.





