Everything has its pros and cons.....   What I was referring to was the fact that you can simply unplug a S/PDiF cable from one device and insert it into another and it will immediately start playing (the source device won't issue a fault, and the destination device will usually start...

  I tend to agree there - at least in principle. However, I do find that several DACs that I have auditioned DO sound quite different when used with a high-end USB-S/PDiF converter. (Which to me suggests that at least some of those "exotic" converters do somehow do a better job at the...

  I find that whether I hear a difference or not (with many DACs) depends to a large degree on the type of content you listen to.   For example, I tend to hear differences in digital filters with metallic instruments (like cymbals and even horns), but not to hear any difference with most...

  I just wanted to comment on a few things.....   1) Emo is quite happy with the results of Gary's review/comparison.   2) While the other inputs on the DC-1 have galvanic isolation, the USB input does not - which is why you might hear a tiny bit of noise there - with certain few computers...

  What I disagree with is that you're lumping "all reference quality headphones" together - and assuming that they are all "equal" in exposing the differences in other components - and then assuming that everyone using them will be able to hear, and will be listening for, the same things; and I...

Quote:   Personally, I very much doubt that a difference could exists that would only be audible with one pair or headphones, or one model of speaker. It seems much more likely that it is audible on some and not others. This being the case, who's to say that you won't be able to hear that...

Oversampling is used to simplify filter construction - it is NOT a technique to minimize jitter. (Depending on how it is done, it may increase or decrease sensitivity to jitter). There are several methods for reducing jitter: asynch USB interface, reclock by PLL, reclock by ASRC, and the one...

About DACs....   The purpose of oversampling is to simplify filter design, which makes it easier to design a better sounding filter (and cheaper to build it). At the 44.1 sample rate used on CDs, you need a very steep filter right above 20 kHz, which tends to be a poor compromise. By...

Quote: I've never heard the Wavelength Proton, but I have quite a few DACs, including the Bifrost. I agree entirely with that assessment..... FOR ITS SIZE, the Dragonfly is a very good DAC. Heck, it fits in your pocket, and has that cool display that changes color to show the bit...

Channel imbalance is indeed a function of how analog potentiometers are made. Low cost potentiometers are very bad, and even expensive ones tend to lose channel tracking at lower settings (more expensive ones have better tracking, and maintain tracking to lower levels, but even expensive ones...

A balanced amplifier doesn't necessarily deliver higher power (although that's usually true, especially for designs running on limited voltage - like portables). Likewise, crosstalk may be lower, but that isn't necessarily true either.   There is are, however, other benefits.   With a...

You need to read up on the various TYPES of USB audio transfer.   The "lower forms" of USB allow the computer to send the data when it chooses (in adaptive, there is feedback which adjusts the rate, but the actual clocking is still erratic). Since most DACs derive their clocks from the data...

It's kind of annoying that optical digital audio hasn't attracted more interest.   The problem really is more one of interest (commercial) than any need for an improvement in the technology itself. Optical network hardware has been used for years, and has absurdly high bandwidth and...

Yeah, HifiMan HE-500's ... Oops...   Keith Quote:

Yes, I know that it's hybrid, but the overall design is that it will add "tube sound" to things - which it does to a significant degree. Schiit's solid state headphone amps are pretty much "flat and accurate". The solid-state output also gives the Lyr much better damping than most tube...

A computer is basically an RF noise generator. Virtually every bit of circuitry in a computer broadcasts noise. It's up to the other equipment to avoid picking it up. An SSD might actually make it worse, because it is electronic rather than partly mechanical, and so actually may make more...

I have one of the older Bose models.   The sound cancellation is top notch (the sound cancellation works at low frequencies and they do very well mechanically at blocking high-frequency noise). They do well both with things like motors and lawnmowers, and with voices and office or plane...

DACs do indeed sound quite different - although, compared to, say, the difference between headphones, you may or may not consider the differences important.   There are a whole bunch of issues which are being glossed over here.   The analog circuitry in the DAC certainly makes a...

I don't know if this thread is dead - or just sleeping :)   There IS a distinct downside to driving underdamped or tuned drivers with a current source. Most tuned drivers (bass reflex speakers) have an impedance that rises sharply to a peak at the resonant frequency. They also have a major...

About USB screeches.   First, I have a Bifrost and I've never heard it do anything like that, but I can shed some light on the subject overall.   When you start and stop the data stream on a computer (which happens whenever you start or stop a track, and whenever you change the sample...

A balance control is a passive potentiometer. I can't imagine it's having ANY significant effect on the sound quality. It's debatable whether it would ever prove useful but I can't see its being a negative.     Quote:

I've been following this thread, and a lot of people seem to be missing the whole point of the Lyr.....   Tubes SOUND DIFFERENT than solid state equipment. This is because tubes (usually) generate specific sound colorations that some people find pleasant. (A tube preamp can be totally clean...

No.   The whole point of a bridged amp is that you have a + phase and a - phase signal for each channel.... and the distortion in the two halves cancels out.   Depending on the amp, you might or might not get away with running only half of each channel (which is what you'd be doing)...

Suggestion about USB noise.....   I haven't had this sort of trouble with my Bifrost, but I have had other DACs occasionally pick up assorted chortling noises and such (you usually get little whining, chortling, and zizzing noises rather than hum) when connected via USB. It is common with...

Here's another thought.....   Modern music tends to be more highly compressed than older recordings.   Assuming that the files were properly encoded, the maximum signal level (0 dB) is fixed. This means that, if the older files are less compressed (=greater dynamic range), then the...