[ccschua]

As to the DIP settings. the dsp1 v4.0 comes with manual settings.
 
I have run around my old motherboard in search of the jumpers (with holder for easy setting)
 
After much trial, I found again the recommendation by Faudrei suits me.
 
1. PIn1 ON (PLL is deactivated)
2. Pin 2 On
3. Pin 3 On (means I am now on -50dB attenuation)
4. The rest of the pins are default
 
I felt the dither ON has lost focus and enrgy and rounder edge. Musics flows smoothly with Dither Off rather than ON.
 
However my finding with Kingwa is that Dither has no part to play in Ref 1 because of the DIR9001. I wonder if the DIR 9001 can work to in 16 bit mode (padded with zero)?

 

[ccschua]

The stickers will serve to remind me of the 'warranty', just joking.

 
Quote:

Looking forward to your impressions, if you'll be able to compare.
 
I gotta' ask.... Why did you leave those white stickers on all of your gear?

 

[FauDrei]

Glad that my DSP-1 experiments helped you ccschua.

 
Also, perhaps there were some misunderstanding: I have ordered DSP-1 V4 but I do not have it yet. It will be shipped to me with some other gear that I'm expecting. My V4 comments were based on Google translation of A-GD's forum threads. But your V4 findings are quite encouraging and confirm the translated claims from A-GD's forum...
 
...now, if DSP-1 V4 has jumpers instead of dip switches I have to remember to ask A-GD to include 3-4 additional jumpers for my future experiments.

 
P.S.
I see CD-7 FV at your place, right? Not that I'm fan of CD players/transports, but I'd just like to hear for myself why KingWa considers it head and shoulders above current computer based transport solutions... I also hope sometime in the future to hear him saying: OK, this USB audio interface is on par with my latest CD-7 incarnation... but this would be the topic for some other thread.
 
BTW, ccschua, judging from the picture you will have (sweet) problems with positioning your gear...

 

[SilverCans]

ccschua how does the C1 amp sound? might get it with the ref7.  Is it warm, cold, analytical, sterile, sweet, or neutral sounding? Try to describe it best you can please across the frequency spectrum. Thanks in advance

 

[ccschua]

It is too early to tell now. However the adjetive you describe above does not fit except the last one.
 
This is like a new born baby. 

 

[lmswjm]

Copied from the Reference 7 thread:
 
Quote:

 
How about a comparison using the same outputs, XLR out on the Ref1 and HEDD to compare. That would be interesting. I have a hard time imagining a Sigma-Delta dac being more dynamic then a R2R.
 

Okay, so I compared the XLR outputs of both DAC's and still preferred the HEDD 192. Then I made up some silver ACSS cables to compare also. Along with the materials ordered for the cables, I also had partsconnexion make up a 5' Furutech FX-Alpha-Ag BNC cable that Prickley Peete recommended.
 
Now here was the surprise: With the Furutech in place, the Reference 1 kicked the HEDD to the curb readily. My previous BNC was an 18' Blue Jeans Belden. What I believe happened was that the HEDD was at it's full potential with the Belden, but the Belden was stifiling the Ref 1. I did not extract any extra performance out of the HEDD with the Furutech, but the Furutech allowed the Ref 1 to open up and blossom. I just sat and listened completely amazed to about 4 hours of music over the last 2 nights since the switch which is something I don't usually do. The big jump in performance was 3D imaging. It made the HEDD sound 2 dimensional comparitively. The sound is just so completely real and natural it is still blowing me away. And to think I contemplated selling my Ref 1. Shame on me.
 
On another note, I wound up preferring the XLR over the ACSS outputs. Another surprise for me. The sound is a little bigger and warmer without giving up a stitch of detail. Maybe I'm a "musical flavors" guy after all.
 
Lastly, if you are using Shark ACSS and Canare BNC cables, you cannot imagine what you are missing. Do yourself a favor and thow them in the garbage.

 

[vrln]

Quote:

Glad that my DSP-1 experiments helped you ccschua.

 
Also, perhaps there were some misunderstanding: I have ordered DSP-1 V4 but I do not have it yet. It will be shipped to me with some other gear that I'm expecting. My V4 comments were based on Google translation of A-GD's forum threads. But your V4 findings are quite encouraging and confirm the translated claims from A-GD's forum...
 
...now, if DSP-1 V4 has jumpers instead of dip switches I have to remember to ask A-GD to include 3-4 additional jumpers for my future experiments.

 
P.S.
I see CD-7 FV at your place, right? Not that I'm fan of CD players/transports, but I'd just like to hear for myself why KingWa considers it head and shoulders above current computer based transport solutions... I also hope sometime in the future to hear him saying: OK, this USB audio interface is on par with my latest CD-7 incarnation... but this would be the topic for some other thread.

I´d also be interested in hearing a few comments on HiFace/DI/built-in USB vs. CD-7 FV... Originally I was supposed to use my REF7 via my PC, but the more I´ve read and asked Kingwa, I´ve also gotten the impression that the PC as a source (according to Kingwa) can not compete with a high end CD transport. Actually I´ve asked him once if he could create a high end DI that would almost match the CD7FV, and he told me he simply can´t make a transport that good using USB with current technology. So it seems at least for the high end Audio-gd DAC´s CD´s are still the way to go. He did estimate that the the DI is as good as one of his first CD transports from 2006 or 2007 though, but that´s still quite a way off.

 

[haloxt]

The problem is computers can be very noisy. Trying to make a usb converter sound as good as a high end cd player, is like asking someone to make a high end cd player but with the requirement that a very very bad tray loader and pickup mechanism be used with no modification done on them whatsoever. If audio-gd also made computers for audiophiles, this analogy wouldn't apply.

 

[vrln]

Audio-GD digital transport with built-in solid state flash for FLAC files We can always hope... Oh well, I´ll be buying a CD7FV later this year anyway. 

 

[les_garten]

Quote:

The problem is computers can be very noisy.

Do you have any links to information to back this statement up?  I'm referring to Signal that is coming out of a PC that is SPDIF and has noise in it?
 
I'd like to see any info you have on this?

 

[haloxt]

Computers can have a lot of components that are bad in terms of electrical pollution, and some people think low jitter is dependent on low electrical noise.
 
Here's tips on components to improve computer as transport.
 
http://www.cicsmemoryplayer.com/index.php?n=CMP.05Components

 

[les_garten]

Quote:

Computers can have a lot of components that are bad in terms of electrical pollution, and some people think low jitter is dependent on low electrical noise.
 
Here's tips on components to improve computer as transport.
 
http://www.cicsmemoryplayer.com/index.php?n=CMP.05Components

The information on the HD is digital.  It goes thru no DA conversion.  Then exits as digital info out of the computer as SPDIF.
 
Do you have any info about how that is affected by computer noise?
 
I'm not saying there isn't noise in a PC.  I would just like to see some evidence that it got into a digital signal and caused problems.
 
I'm not saying there isn't evidence, I just haven't seen it.
 
p.s. I read over that link you posted and it was an interesting read.  But I didn't read any real evidence of anything.

 

[haloxt]

Electrical noise can manifest as measurable jitter and also measured at the analog output of the DAC. Whether this has been objectively proven to be audible and to what degree, is another matter which I am certainly in no position to try to prove.
 
Here's some measurements of different software (different use of hardware) to give you some idea of the possibility for jtiter to affect sound.
 
http://www.phasure.com/index.php?topic=692.0
 
I hope this answer your question les_garten, but I don't really know what kind of proof you are asking of me. Do you really believe all digital transports are the same? If so then I have no answer.
 
Or are you saying you think a computer is nearly as decent, or can be as decent, as very high end cd players? Then I have to ask you, do high end cd players use the kind of messy hardware and software as computers?

 

[les_garten]

Quote:

Electrical noise can manifest as measurable jitter and also measured at the analog output of the DAC. Whether this has been objectively proven to be audible and to what degree, is another matter which I am certainly in no position to try to prove.
 
Here's some measurements of different software (different use of hardware) to give you some idea of the possibility for jtiter to affect sound.
 
http://www.phasure.com/index.php?topic=692.0
 
I hope this answer your question les_garten, but I don't really know what kind of proof you are asking of me. Do you really believe all digital transports are the same? If so then I have no answer.
 
Or are you saying you think a computer is nearly as decent, or can be as decent, as very high end cd players? Then I have to ask you, do high end cd players use the kind of messy hardware and software as computers?

 
 
I am kinda saying all/most of  those things.
 
So what if a little Jitter shows up. Who cares if an oscilloscope sees it.  Maybe the oscilloscope may have trouble sleeping at night?
 
In tests, it takes a LOT of Jitter to be noticeable to listeners.  There have been various numbers bandied about, but they are all WAY above any gear out there.
 
Just because electrical noise is measurable on an Oscilloscope, what has that got to do with the digital signal integrity at the end of the line and the final product rendition?
 
You made a statement I asked if you had evidence of it?  I would whole heartedly agree that a computer can be hostile to Analog signals and Analog processing.
 
I would like to see evidence, that a digital signal is damaged enough by the computer as to be detected by listening differences after reception.
 
Jitter is measured in ps(picosecond), a picosecond is one trillionth of a second, or one millionth of one millionth of a second.  Take that with the fact that there are a small amount of ps worth of jitter, and it's basically a "sit around sipping Single Malt BS session" about extremely small numbers that only upset Oscilloscopes. 


 

 

[haloxt]

Some people, like Kingwa and author of XXhighend Peter, believe there may be more to it than just jitter. Research is still going on in this topic, and I wouldn't claim anything either way. I just know that in theory, computers can be a lot worse than cd players, and are more difficult to make as theoretically good as cd players.
 
I think it's difficult to gauge the EXACT limits of audibility, similar to but not exactly the same as the difficulty in exactly gauging the limits of human vision. Some people have proven to be able to see the moons of Jupiter without a telescope, but such acuity may come and go.