Looking for... DAC - HP Amp w/ Coax S/PDIF out.

(I also posted this in Dedicated Source Components... sorry for the redundancy)

Hey.

The Cambridge DAC Plus and the Audiolab M-DAC have Coax S/PDIF out.

I've contacted Audio gd, and Kingwa can customize one of his DAC's to include the Coax out, but only fed from the USB input.

But I'd prefer one that can output as a pass-through from an optical or coax feed.

So... any other Dac-HP Amps have this feature?

Thanks!!

shane

Quote:

Originally Posted by pwfletcher 

Look at Bel Canto ... I think I remember the having something like that.  If not in their current models, maybe in their last generation models.

Um, kind of. They make one current model that outputs s/pdif, but input is USB only. Maybe an older model, I'll have to check.

Quote:

Originally Posted by cel4145 

Have you see this: http://www.siig.com/av-products/converters/audio/s-pdif-coaxial-toslink-2-way-converter.html

Perhaps something like that would help. Looks it can take either coax or optical and output both, but I could be wrong. Then you could get whatever DAC you want.

Yes! I like this option, thanks! But it's another device / wall wart, that I was trying to avoid...

Thanks. Anyone else have any ideas?

Cheers

Quote:

Originally Posted by cel4145 


It's only 2x2x1, so you could probably hide it somewhere. LOL

What you are trying to hook up with the extra digital signal? And is it coming from your computer? Perhaps someone can suggest an entirely different alternative?

Well... it's rather complicated.

My current DAC (Bencmark DAC1-PRE) is in my office with my computers and Turntable, etc. It's where most of what I do takes place. I use it as a HP amp as well as a preamp for my Outlaw receiver and as a feed (analog) out to my living room. I want that feed to be digital. I still need one DAC in my office, and I'll need one in the living room, where the better speaker / stereo system resides.

The analog signal running through the house picks up too much interference, hum, etc. The digital (I've tried it already) doesn't.

My laptop only has Toslink/optical out for S/PDIF, so it needs to be converted to digital over Coax after it feeds the DAC. I was planning on moving the Benchmark into the living room, and getting something like the Audiolab M-DAC for the office.

Your solution is good. I can split the Optical digital signal into Optical and Coax, feed the Benchmark (or whatever DAC) in the office, and feed the Coax S/PDIF to the living room. It's a good solution. I just didn't want an additional device / wall wart, etc.

I am hoping for a more elegant solution. I've got a good budget for it, so the M-DAC is not out of the question, I just wanted to know all my possible options.

Cheers!

The cables already exist, so I'm not running anything new. I ran high quality shielded cable two years ago.

I've considered streaming, but I'd need different equipment anyhow, and a whole new method (I think)... and since I'm often playing 24bit/96khz files, I'm not sure I'd be able to stream at that high bit resolution. (I'm a little light on the streaming knowlege)