[gikigill]

Looking forward to it Magick.

 

[SP Wild]

Are you connecting the dac via USB? Try resampling everything back to 44.1 before going into the dac.

I have the same problem with my Asus Dgx sound card via its optical out with 96 and higher and it's definitely the rubbish optical connection. There is spdif out on header pins in the card but I have yet to explore that option. Nevertheless setting digital output limited to 44khz gave a clean sound.

This got me thinking about the negatives of hi res audio.

 

[ssrock64]

As much as my chain has gone digital over the last five years, sometimes I long for the relative simplicity of a good analog setup. I hate going through a settings dialog for both W8 and Foobar2K and then just hoping that I've done everything correctly.

 

[billybob_jcv]

Yeah - I'm using USB - my laptop doesn't have coax or optical digital out. Hopefully I'll have time today to investigate further.

I'm such a sucker for cheap audio products. If I could combine all the money I have spent over the years on audio products that cost under $150, I would have one kick-@ss system. I'm not "frugal", I'm not "value conscious" and I'm not a "bargain hunter" - d@mnit I'm just a cheap b@stard!

 

[Magick Man]

The cheap (or cheaper) option is the FiiO E18. I really like the muscle this little thing has on tap, plus it's very quiet and doesn't distort towards warm or bright, even on High gain (it has a Low/High toggle), it just gives what it gets. So much in audio is individual perception, I don't believe most of the crap that reviewers say, and it isn't because they're trying to mislead, it's just normal expectation getting in the way of perception. IOW, the most unreliable part of every audio chain is the squishy organic part at the end. So what I can say is that, unlike most other portable amps/DACs the E18 doesn't turn the bass from my most sensitive/lowest impedance headphones into a blurry mess (0.3 Ohm output) and it works fantastically with everything else I've tried, even my HE6s, even though they don't get quite loud enough with it they still sound fine. Also, it works with;

- Any Android or Windows phone or tablet that has OTG capability (no fiddling, you just plug it in and it works)
- PCs and Macs (again, no fiddling, no drivers)
- newer car head units with USB (for real)
- anything with an unbalanced line-out (its line-in capability is top notch)
- anything with an unbalanced line-in (if you want to use it as a standalone DAC and use a different amp, for whatever reason)

Plus, it:

- will work as a phone or tablet battery charger
- has a coax S/PDIF output (converts USB to a stereo 16-bit 48k stream)
- has handy play function buttons that work with a mobile device, computer, or car head unit
- lasts all day on a single charge (3500 mAh LiP battery)

The only thing that's even a minor gripe is its build quality. It doesn't match the fit and finish of, say, an A&K DAP. I mention those because I've played with them a lot lately. The places where the pieces of the aluminum housing meet aren't perfectly square (if you look really close you see that they're just barely off). Also, the Alps volume pot has a little more resistance than I'd like. But, those things are me being extremely picky. For a "normal" consumer grade device its top notch, and its really not fair for me to compare that aspect of it to gear that costs >6x more (like the AK100 MKII).

So, anyway, the E18 is truly portable (5.7 oz), it's an amp, it's a DAC, it's an amp+DAC, it looks nice, it feels nice, and it works as a quality desktop amp, but costs <$150. So if you need such a thing, "holy golden ears, Batman", go out and buy one of these.

 

[billybob_jcv]

Thanks Magick.

Non sequitor:

Remember when your Grandma believed that everything was better if it was covered in a crocheted cozy?

https://www.etsy.com/listing/188861888/crochet-covered-wrapped-earbuds-tangle
https://www.etsy.com/listing/115376106/crochet-pattern-to-make-your-own
https://www.etsy.com/listing/193533254/made-to-order-headphone-ear-covers
https://www.etsy.com/listing/182683204/headphone-beanie-and-diaper-cover-set

 

[billybob_jcv]

Magick - can the E18 be powered and used as a USB DAC at the same time (ie, can it be used as a permanent desktop unit)?

 

[Magick Man]

Ayup, I'm using it like that at work right now. You just flip a little toggle over to PC and it works as a desktop amp/DAC running on USB power (while charging the battery, if needed). If you need to charge the battery faster you can even plug in a second micro USB connection (either from the PC or a wall wart), there are 2 on the bottom of the unit, and it'll charge in half the time (while still being usable as a desktop DAC/amp). It's pretty darned flexible.

 

[billybob_jcv]

That's cool! It's good to see someone that doesn't make every engineering decision based on being able to eliminate a 15 cent part.

 

[customcoco]

While not in the least way related to the ongoing discussion, I'd like to share those wonderful videos with you :

330 P4 (my god those curves !)


[VIDEO]http://youtu.be/awArTC8iQ3Q[/VIDEO]


250 GT Lusso


[VIDEO]http://youtu.be/AVuSf6tkfpQ[/VIDEO]


Hope you enjoy them

 

[ThickGlasses]

While not in the least way related to the ongoing discussion, I'd like to share those wonderful videos with you :

330 P4 (my god those curves !)



250 GT Lusso



Hope you enjoy them

 

[billybob_jcv]

Hmm, well after running a few more tests with two DACs I'm more confused than I was before. The issue is occurring with both DACs at *approximately* the same place on the same song - however it's not exactly repeatable - it will occasionally NOT happen at all, or it might be somewhat subtle, or it might be very obvious. Changing Windows properties from 16/44.1K, 16/48K, 16/96K, or 24/44.1K, 24/48K, 24/96K didn't seem to make any difference.

So, I was sitting here staring at my laptop, and I realized that in all tests I had been using the same USB 2.0 port on my Dell laptop's docking station. So, just for S&Gs, I plugged the Fiio E10 into the lone USB 3.0 port that is directly built-in to my laptop itself, instead of on the docking station. I set the Fiio to 24/96K and listened to the same section of the same song about 10 times and...

NO ISSUES. None. Clean as a whistle.

Hmmm...

I'll now have to do some more experiments with different USB ports on my laptop and docking station. I pull this laptop out of the docking station a zillion times a day to go to meetings, so having anything plugged directly into the laptop instead of the docking station is a PITA...

I really have no idea how the laptop treats USB ports on the docking station - I'm not sure if they are seen as a USB hub, or if they are treated as another USB controller on the system bus.

It's hard to tell much of anything from the device manager:



Edit: The plot thickens. I pulled a brand new Dell docking station out of a box (again, perks of being in IT!), and plugged in to the lone USB 3.0/ESata port on the docking station (I had forgotten that it has one back there) - the skipping happens on that port just like on the USB 2.0 port on the docking station. But, it's fine on the laptop's USB 3.0 port. I think it's definitely something to do with the laptop-dock combination. I'm thinking that maybe the clock timing signals through the docking station aren't quite right or something along those lines.

My new Lenovo is almost done, so it will be interesting to see what happens when I switch to that one...

Curse you Dell!!

 

[ssrock64]

While not in the least way related to the ongoing discussion, I'd like to share those wonderful videos with you :

330 P4 (my god those curves !)


250 GT Lusso

Hope you enjoy them

Are those both Petrolicious videos (I wasn't able to watch them just this second)? I very much enjoy their style of cinematography.

 

[billybob_jcv]

Chuck and I are in agreement about those videos:

 

[customcoco]

  Are those both Petrolicious videos (I wasn't able to watch them just this second)?

Absolutely.