[VilMo]

  Seriously, if you have no need for DSD and you have the space in your pc get a pci express pro sound card like the Lynx e22, RME HDSPe or Digigram vx222e.  Better sound and no usb related nervosa. I dumped usb last year (and a bunch of stuff like the wyrd, regen, Singzer f-1 etc) and I couldn't be happier.  I am not sure why it is not discussed more but computer to computer, laptop to laptop etc, usb computer output quality is way too variable.  USB dac input cards also vary in quality.  That's why some folks go on and on about how great a wyrd or regen are while others don't think they help.

 
USB from PC do vary widely in quality. That is why recently I was tempted and tried a different approach to usb audio. I tested a USB device server - Silex DS-510 (http://www.silexamerica.com/products/connectivity-solutions/device-networking/usb-parallel-connectivity/ds-510/). 
 
This unit kind of decouples USB from the noisy PC. The PC/laptop sends USB over IP (via a switch) to the DS-510 where the USB signal is freshly reconstructed. I feed the DS-510 with a linear power supply (Sbooster). Ethernet provides galvanic isolation. So now I have a very clean USB signal that is fed to a DAC or DDC (like Singxer F1). Better still, the USB signal is generated on the PC side by software purely - it is not negatively influenced by the USB bus of the PC.
 
This is another way to avoid crappy USB from PC and ... still stay with USB .
 
All this for about USD/EUR 90.00 (without the LPS)! Not bad at all  

 

[gr8soundz]

  Seriously, if you have no need for DSD and you have the space in your pc get a pci express pro sound card like the Lynx e22, RME HDSPe or Digigram vx222e.  Better sound and no usb related nervosa. I dumped usb last year (and a bunch of stuff like the wyrd, regen, Singzer f-1 etc) and I couldn't be happier.  I am not sure why it is not discussed more but computer to computer, laptop to laptop etc, usb computer output quality is way too variable.  USB dac input cards also vary in quality.  That's why some folks go on and on about how great a wyrd or regen are while others don't think they help.

 
I've done this several times in the past and internal cards also save desktop space.
 
I still own several Asus cards and last year picked up a $100 AIM SC808 with a Wolfson WM8741 chip and I added Sparkos opamps. Those cards still sound great but I thought I needed DSD for upsampling (transcoding) of poor recordings to make them sound worthwhile.
 
However, I just got a Soekris R2R dac and just stopped using DSD (a few days ago) since everything now sounds incredibly musical just from bitperfect output.
 
Assuming the S19 sounds similar (being R2R) then I can safely say to other Head-Fiers that DSD is dead.
 

 

[ciphercomplete]

I have never tried any of the consumer cards like Asus.  One thing to consider is that pro level cards have transformer coupled outputs which would help greatly in isolating your dac from your computer.  There are probably some consumer cards with this as well though.  
 
Pro cards are expensive though.  I got mine on Ebay for less than half the retail price and there are usually a bunch on there.  Gearslutz.com often has used cards on their for sale/trade page.

 

[TurbOSquiD67]

Interesting, all of these solutions sound like they are working well for people yet USB is always the "go to" for everyone. Probably because USB is easy, until you realize you want it to sound better.I will have to try a coaxial connection, but I will need a pci card for my pooter.  Any decent recommendations that won't break the bank? I also like the Silex DS-510 setup, nice! 
 
So, a pci card with BNC or RCA coaxial connection will fix all* line noise?
 
NOS19 Update: VB-Audio ASIO Bridge fixed the issue 

 Thank you so much for your input everyone. 
I seem to have the least amount of sample rate issues at 96k Hz. Others, such as 176,400 are okay but shows the sample rate changing quite a bit, and is red sometimes. 384k is impossible - so much popping. Why? Does it even matter because NOS?

 

[beano bomboozo]

To all you guys having computer issues with your DACs, have you tried Daphile? You don't have to install it, you can run it from a CD or a USB thumb drive. Nice thing about it is that you don't have to download any drivers for the DAC. I have a NOS 19 and it picked it up without having to install anything extra. It would be a good troubleshooting step to see if your DAC works properly with it. If not you may have a DAC or computer issue.
 
Website address to download: http://www.daphile.com/#download

 

[beano bomboozo]

By the way Turbo have you had a chance to listen to the NOS 19? If so, what do you think about it?

 

[TurbOSquiD67]

  By the way Turbo have you had a chance to listen to the NOS 19? If so, what do you think about it?

Sure have, and it's pretty righteous! I'm about 72 hours deep. I didn't know what to expect at first. How can music sound soft, natural, and non-fatiguing? Well it can, and while the signature change may be subtle, it's noticeable enough to appreciate what the NOS19 does to my audio. I also find this to be more true with acoustic tracks, and live recordings such as others do too.
 
My Modi MB is a bit more high res, but is also a bit more digital sounding. This is still high res, but a bit of res is compromised for naturalness.
 
beano, you change settings in the NOS19? It will also be very interesting to compare this to the Singularity 19! 

 

[beano bomboozo]

No I haven't messed with it, I like where it's at right now. Believe it or not but your NOS 19 is going to sound even better with more playing time. I have tried the coax connection but didn't notice a difference. I'm not sure spending the money for a re-clocker and linear power supply is going to make that much of a difference. Some people are saying they hear a big difference, some are saying that they couldn't tell if there was any difference in the sound.

 

[TurbOSquiD67]

If you like it, don't mess with it - I've learned that lesson at times. Nice! 
 
I'm definitely looking forward to spending time with this DAC. Thanks for the positive reassurance as well 

 

[exsomnis]

To all you guys having computer issues with your DACs, have you tried Daphile? You don't have to install it, you can run it from a CD or a USB thumb drive. Nice thing about it is that you don't have to download any drivers for the DAC. I have a NOS 19 and it picked it up without having to install anything extra. It would be a good troubleshooting step to see if your DAC works properly with it. If not you may have a DAC or computer issue.

Website address to download: http://www.daphile.com/#download

Interesting, looks like audiophile Linux distros are progressing nicely. How do you find running Tidal on it?

 

[beano bomboozo]

I have a pretty extensive FLAC library so I don't use tidal or any other online streaming music service. Sorry can't answer that question. I've tried several Linux audiophile flavors and I think Daphile is the best so far. I'll probably check out Audiophile Linux again once they upgrade it. The nice thing about Linux is that you don't have to worry about installing drivers and bit perfect playback software is free. Ripping software included in that also.

 

[gunwale]

people say the nos 19 2nd mode sounds better than the default. the newer nos 19 has like 3 different modes.

 

[gvl2016]

NOS19 Update: VB-Audio ASIO Bridge fixed the issue 

 Thank you so much for your input everyone.  I seem to have the least amount of sample rate issues at 96k Hz. Others, such as 176,400 are okay but shows the sample rate changing quite a bit, and is red sometimes. 384k is impossible - so much popping. Why? Does it even matter because NOS?

 
Try increasing latency in the ASIO Bridge and/or the ASIO driver you use.

 

[TurbOSquiD67]

Try increasing latency in the ASIO Bridge and/or the ASIO driver you use.

Cool thanks. So what happens is when I try to increase the latency in ASIO Bridge, it asks for a reboot, I reboot, it's still at the previous setting. Also, when I click the ASIO Panel button it does not show the menu. Only did it show the menu when I first installed the program. What might I be missing here? Thank you for the help

 

[gvl2016]

Cool thanks. So what happens is when I try to increase the latency in ASIO Bridge, it asks for a reboot, I reboot, it's still at the previous setting. Also, when I click the ASIO Panel button it does not show the menu. Only did it show the menu when I first installed the program. What might I be missing here? Thank you for the help

 
Hmm, it worked for me last time I used it if memory serves. Is your ASIO device selected in the drop-down?