I have been optimizing USB and Ethernet for 15 years. There are a lot of hoops you can jump through to get USB to sound decent, including: 1) minimizing background tasks 2) improved LPS for the computer 3) changing playback software - I find Amarra to be best for USB 4) optimizing the USB...

The main motivation to make the computer something special has to do with the interface you are using. If you are using USB from the computer, then all of these things are critically important. If you are using Ethernet/WIFI, they are not important. Any computer will do. Steve N. Empirical Audio

The fact that you preferred the USB interface over the Ethernet interface on the Bricasti is curious. Each of these designs have different levels of jitter and maybe the implementation of the Ethernet was not as good as the USB. On the other hand, maybe it has to do with the playback software...

Thanks. I guess the vendors at the show I spoke with were not aware of this. I notice in the user manuals that there are no warnings that balanced headphones should have 4 separate wires, with none connected to each other. Seems like it would be easy for a user to make their own balanced...

The output on my DAC designs is so much like a tube in SQ, that I started planning a headamp that is truly balanced based on the same design. It think it would be nice to have an alternative to good tubes, that is not tubes. I like tubes and even have tube SET monoblocks for my speakers, but...

I have tried the standard Siemens E88CC, the CCA and the CCA grey-plates. There is no contest, the grey plates win. The non-grey plates are quite good however and a lot cheaper. The British tubes, Amperex PQ and Philips are not even in the same league.

I've compared a lot of different 6922 tubes for my older Spoiler DAC design. By far the best tube I found was the Siemens CCA grey-plate. A pair of these is expensive, particularly strong ones. These were top performers made for the German phone company in the late 50s. They have finer grids...

I have HE-400 and using a highly modified Bottlehead SEX 1.2 to drive it.  Spectacular.  Better than anything I have heard at the HF meets that I have attended.  I dont notice any deviation from flatness.  Sound almost identical to my ribbon speaker system.   Anyone compared HE-400 and...

Quote: Just go to Home Depot and get some 1/2" foam strip for sealing around doors etc..  Cut this to fit and stick it on the underside of the headband.  Works great and fits all.

I am a manufacturer and I usually dont do headphones, but I have been invited to a local high-school to exhibit for their science fair.  I am excited to teach a little here and encourage more students to pursue science and math careers. I plan to demonstrate the differences in SQ between MP3...

Simple.  Jitter can mask other system sibilance.  If the sibilance is worse sounding than the jitter that masks it, then the jitter is euphonic.   Lots of systems have high levels of sibilance due to bad silver cables, poor preamps and even some amps.   Steve N. Empirical Audio

  Quote:   You need to check your math.  If you divide 11.2896MHz by 256 you get 44.1kHz.  In Async systems multiples of 44.1 and 48 are used for the two clocks.  Even multiples.   In one CEntrance Adaptive interface a 6MHz clock is multiplied up to 48MHz.  This is then used to...

  Quote:   This is like so many reviews.  You dont know the quality of the reviewers system.  Listing the components tell you nothing really.  The only way to know is to be there and play a sample track.  They typically dont do shootouts so you dont know what they are comparing it to. ...

Try playing only .wav files and see what happens.   Steve N. Empirical Audio

  Quote:   I cant speak for others cables, but my Bitmeister uses pure 5-nines perfect crystal silver and is hand-made using air and expanded teflon dielectrics.  Double-shielded with pure copper direct gold-plated connectors.  No brass here.  It takes 2 days to make one of them.  Very...

  Quote:   Really?  It just so happens that my interconnects are and have always been air dielectric.  Its patented.   Steve N. Empirical Audio

  Quote:   Actually, it does.  It's called the modding business, which I dont do anymore incidently.  It was a great learning experience to see all of the other Mfgrs products and what they did right and wrong.  Also, lots of experimenting with different components, particularly...

Dalamar - When you are ready to learn something, let me know.  I was doing this long before you were born.   Steve N.

  Quote:   Skin-effect - mostly a function of the conductor diameter Losses and Dispersion - a function of the dielectric - teflon is good, expanded Teflon is better, air is even better, vacuum is best Impedance matching - as close to 75 ohms as possible Conductor metallurgy -...

A good S/PDIF cable is at least $500 IME.  It's needed anyway, even with the attenuators, in order to minimize skin-effect, dispersion and losses that slow and move the edges.   Steve N. Empirical Audio

Changing to a 1.5-2m length digital cable would likely have the same effect, assuming that reflections are the problem.   Steve N. Empirical Audio

  Quote:   Sure, just go ahead and ignore the technical truths and believe the marketing BS.  I suppose you believe what all these DAC manufacturers claim about jitter too.  Zero jitter? Not possible.   When are you guys going to realize that Jocko and I are real engineers with...

  Quote:   You are not alone.  They argue with me too.  Everyone on the forums is an expert you know....   Once in a while someone actually learns from these posts, if they are willing to put their egos aside.  I done know why I bother frankly.  Even the simplest things are trade...

Always interesting to see inside another component.  The Audio-gd thing has a 50 ohm BNC output where it should be 75 ohms, and notice the wiring inside the box.  Totally negates any advantages of the BNC anyway......   You cannot tell anything about the USB interface from this picture. ...

  Quote:   Certainly I2S connection has the potential for the lowest jitter.  This is why I design it into all of my products.  The problem is that simple DIY DAC implementations do not include a muting function, which is critical to avoiding loud pops.  This can damage tweeters, blow...