[hanalei mike]

Quote:

Originally Posted by spraggih /img/forum/go_quote.gif I don't know -- but thinner and constricted at higher frequencies (I think) would sound harsh to me.

Understood, some words have different meanings to different people, when I hear the word "harsh", I think bright, etch, glare, things that make you cringe like a shot of cheap whisky. If you were experiencing " thinner and constricted" it could very well have been what I suggested, it was even worse running the s300 amplifier through the conditioner. I alway have the dac at 100, fixed output.

MIke

 

[spraggih]

Agreed.

So maybe it was my setup -- given you are running fixed @ 100 on the volume. I really wish I had the temperment to try out multiple items at once for an extended period of time. I cannot get over the lost monies from my bank account though-- even when I know I can/will return an item the thought of having two DACs or two amps or multiple headphones all out of my bank account feels like a burden.

I would welcome trying out the DAC3 again and comparing it in more detail against the DAC64. And I really like my DAC64 but given the potential sound and features of the DAC3 it seems like a good product.

 

[Aimless1]

Thanks for your thoughts on the headphones paired with the link/DAC3. Interesting. I would have thought the "multi-layered" detail some refer to for the link would have been right up headphone alley, so to speak. Your comments regarding sound stage make perfect sense.

I've only had my DAC3 for a short time. I'll be interested to hear the changes when I get my new amp. I find I really like the sound, but as Spraggih sez, it does have some digitalis, or at least it does paired with the Opera. I hope Mike has an opportunity to try the macbook to link to DAC3 combo with his headphone rig as I'd really like to hear your take on it.

 

[dmashta]

mike, thanks for the review. just to confirm, was your comparison only between the usb link and usb out to the dac3? did you compare using optical out from your macbook? and how subtle (or not so subtle) were the differences you mentioned? do you think you can confidently identify the differences under a blind test situation? would be interesting if you could have someone swap out the usb link without you knowing. not doubting your observations at all, i just think it's easy to hear 'improvements' when you're listening critically for them, especially when you just paid $500 for it.

 

[hanalei mike]

I think the spdif implementation is just that much better then the usb, I had read that the usb was the worst input to use, but at the time, it was my best choice. As far as the optical, my computer is 30ft away from the dac, and yes I did try both, a 30ft glass optical, and a 30 ft powered usb cable. I thought the usb sounded slightly better, I then asked Bel Canto what their opinion was and they said for a run that long, the usb would be the better choice. Blind test with the usb link, no problem, I could hear the differences from the first play, no a/b ing. I usually trust my first instincts, especially with that familiar playlist. I read that that is how Alan Shaw voices his Harbeth speakers, with a similar playlist. Everyone hears differently, has different quality speakers, and amplification, and all the things inbetween. Now the difference between the 30ft usb and the 30 ft optical much, much, much more subtle, but I had different speakers and amplification at the time. And as far as 500.00, I already mentioned I don't have to keep it. 100% refund if I want it, but in my system, I would probably pay even more for the improvements it gives me. I download a lot of new music from mp3 blogs to check out new stuff, it is all in mp3 format, I used to hate when one of those songs would come on a playlist, but now they are very listenable, with the improvements even more drastic then with the 44.1khz stuff. No more cringing at mp3's? come on, in my collection, that's worth something.

 

[rurika]

Well, lucky me.

I don't want usb converter.

 

[ejoy]

Hi I have a NOS DAC. However, I was limited to 16/44 by the usb interface. Can this usblink provide 24/96 upsampling just as in m-audio transit via SPDIF?
Cheers,
John

 

[auee]

Check out John Atkinson's review of the Link in the May issue of Stereophile. He claims that the M Audio Transit sounds as good as the Link, it passes lower jitter and it is less expensive than the Link by $400.00. The Transit requires installation of drivers while the Link does not. Take this info for what it is worth, but I find that I agree with his assessment almost of the sound of a component more times than not.

 

[Patu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by auee /img/forum/go_quote.gif Check out John Atkinson's review of the Link in the May issue of Stereophile. He claims that the M Audio Transit sounds as good as the Link, it passes lower jitter and it is less expensive than the Link by $400.00. The Transit requires installation of drivers while the Link does not. Take this info for what it is worth, but I find that I agree with his assessment almost of the sound of a component more times than not.

Well this doesn't surprise me that much. I had the Link in test and it didn't really amaze me by any way.

 

[DoYouRight]

Anyone else onboard with this item, I am going to be using it with a Buffal32s and I already have a transit sitting around, I will compare and keep whichever is best and report back.

 

[spraggih]

Please let us know what you hear.

Stereophile recently had an article on Bel Canto USB and said it performed essentially no better than the Transit. Powerful words from a mag that loves spending money... but then again Stereophile also had a Sennheiser HD800 article where the reviewer said-- given the price he preferred the K701s and that while the HD800 was the best ever heard the price was not warranted in his opinion.

Just opinions though.

 

[rmask]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DoYouRight /img/forum/go_quote.gif Anyone else onboard with this item, I am going to be using it with a Buffal32s and I already have a transit sitting around, I will compare and keep whichever is best and report back.

Please share the results

Thanks

 

[rickd]

I have a HTPC and high end Theta Casablanca and want to use a highend digital link into my Theta as it has highend dac's for stereo etc.

Question is can these units pass DD and DTS so I can use it for surround sound digital pass thru? as well as stereo music?

Currently I am using the optical out on the MB of the htpc and it sounds good but I expect that it is not bit perfect on windows vista ...will these units make it bit perfect? If so what effort is requried to achieve this

Thanks Rick

 

[joe_cool]

rickd - What is the name of your onboard audio? I am thinking if it will pass DTS correctly then it can be made bit-perfect with the right player. You may have a problem with 44.1/48kHz resampling but this is not always the case.

 

[rickd]

It is realtek chipset onboard, i am about to install an M-Audio Delta Dio which is lying around un-used with digital spdif out which will be a better sounding Digital out I expect and can handle DD / DTS.

However to get the best out of my music I want to get a highend digitial output like the off ramp with a superclock as I understand that will improve sound quality over standard lower cost outputs ie reduced jitter etc.

Also I read that the Emphirical audio output really improves the sound over standard digital audio connections from a pc and is bit perfect with itunes player using vista due to its firmware.

I also understand it can pass DD with an m-audio driver? But not sure whether this compromises the stereo output in anyway? Also if someone can confirm if iTunes under vista can be bit perfect with this unit as I know itunes is not typically under vista.... only OSX.

I could use separate digital outputs to solve this ie emphirical for music and m-audio for surround but would really want all formats to be cleaned up and reclocked for best possible SQ via the off ramp 3 for DD AC3 and stereo .

My goal is to replace my highend CD player with computer based .wav and aiff rips via EAC. The theta has excellent DAC's so keen to leverage them to simplify my system.

Thanks for advice