[EliasGwinn]

edit: duplicate post...

 

[EliasGwinn]

Quote:

Originally Posted by doctorcilantro /img/forum/go_quote.gif Since I have effectively turned the XLR outputs into RCA by floating the 3rd pin, does the +9 to +29 still apply? Or does the XLR output now conform to the unbalanced RCA specs:

I'm sorry I've been M.I.A. for the last week...but I'll can help you with this setup.

By floating pin-3, you are lowering the output by 6 dB (or 1/2 the voltage). So, the output in that case would range from +3 to +23 dBu for 0 dBFS inputs. Any attenuation in the software should be calculated from those numbers.

As Sejarzo mentioned, if you are using Replay Gain, it is wise to configure it so that no boosts are applied.

Thanks,
Elias

 

[EliasGwinn]

Quote:

Originally Posted by vcoheda /img/forum/go_quote.gif elias: could you please comment on the difference in application between the coaxial digital input and the XLR balanced digital input on the DAC1. for example, if i intend to use the DAC1 with a balanced setup (amp and headphones), and use the coaxial instead of the XLR digital input from my music server to the DAC1, does this mean the setup is NOT balanced? basically, is there a difference between these two setups. 1. MusicServer (digital coaxial cable) > DAC1 (XLR analog cable) > Bal Amp > Bal HP 2. MusicServer (digital XLR cable) > DAC1 (XLR analog cable) > Bal Amp > Bal HP thanks

vcoheda,

The balanced digital input does not affect the balanced/unbalanced output. There will be no difference whatsoever between the two scenarios you've outlined.

Balanced digital transmission is simply a type of signal transmission mechanism that was originally thought to be superior to coaxial with regards to noise rejection and transmission distance capabilities. It was developed very early in the life of digital music. However, it has since been tested and generally agreed upon that well-shielded coaxial cable with tight impedance characteristics and impedance matching is more noise-immune and can successfully travel further distances then balanced digital transmission.

The bottom line is...coaxial is technically superior to balanced digital transmission. There will be no differences in performance between coaxial and balanced input to the DAC1, as the DAC1 is built to be immune to any quality differences in digital signals. So, unless you're sending a digital signal over 1000 feet, there will be absolutely no difference with the DAC1.

Thanks,
Elias

 

[ted betley]

Elias I hate to bother you but I tried j river and loved the sound through my Benchmark usb dac. However based on all the research I have done on the various sites it seems that folks prefer asio vs direct sound as an interface. I can get direct sound to work but not asio4all. Any advice on how to do that? I downloaded asio4all, followed the 9 page documantation, set audio output options to asio, chose asio4all and still no success. I get a 'direct show filters not available...'or something similar diagnostic and then my pc unselects the Benchmark as the ouput device (in the Asio4all panel) and it reverts back to direct sound.

 

[joijwall]

I follow the bit-transparancy discussions with manic interest, although some/most of it is over my head.
My listening experience using MacBook 10.5.2/iTunes 7.6.1/DAC1 USB compared with a very good Linn Majik CD is that I hear no or minimal difference. This is disturbing. Connecting DAC1 USB directly to my Majik CD makes the sound clearer and better in my ears.
I'd like my Mac/DAC to perform better! Why? How? News?

 

[infinitesymphony]

Quote:

Originally Posted by joijwall /img/forum/go_quote.gif I follow the bit-transparancy discussions with manic interest, although some/most of it is over my head. My listening experience using MacBook 10.5.2/iTunes 7.6.1/DAC1 USB compared with a very good Linn Majik CD is that I hear no or minimal difference. This is disturbing. Connecting DAC1 USB directly to my Majik CD makes the sound clearer and better in my ears. I'd like my Mac/DAC to perform better! Why? How? News?

Are you saying:

MacBook -> DAC1 analog output sounds the same as Majik analog output
or
MacBook -> DAC1 sounds the same as Majik -> DAC1
or
Majik's -> DAC1 sounds better than MacBook -> DAC1

Either way, they should all be bit-perfect.

 

[riverlethe]

Quote:

Originally Posted by joijwall /img/forum/go_quote.gif I follow the bit-transparancy discussions with manic interest, although some/most of it is over my head. My listening experience using MacBook 10.5.2/iTunes 7.6.1/DAC1 USB compared with a very good Linn Majik CD is that I hear no or minimal difference. This is disturbing. Connecting DAC1 USB directly to my Majik CD makes the sound clearer and better in my ears. I'd like my Mac/DAC to perform better! Why? How? News?

Did you volume-match for this comparison?

 

[Crowbar]

Quote:

Originally Posted by riverlethe /img/forum/go_quote.gif Did you volume-match for this comparison?

high five

 

[Terje]

I think this is an interesting test

Odyssey Audio HK Forum - Mac Notebook + Benchmark DAC1 Pre Audition

 

[Wavelength]

Quote:

Originally Posted by joijwall /img/forum/go_quote.gif I follow the bit-transparancy discussions with manic interest, although some/most of it is over my head. My listening experience using MacBook 10.5.2/iTunes 7.6.1/DAC1 USB compared with a very good Linn Majik CD is that I hear no or minimal difference. This is disturbing. Connecting DAC1 USB directly to my Majik CD makes the sound clearer and better in my ears. I'd like my Mac/DAC to perform better! Why? How? News?

Joijwall,

Do make sure the equalizer, sound check and sound enhancer are off on iTunes. These are default on...

We found on some MacBooks that they just can't keep up with the demands of Apple Lossless files. We found using uncompressed files like AIFF and WAV to sound better:

One thing you can do to recover space on slower machines is to expand the audio files to AIFF (or WAV). It appears that allot of processing takes place to decode the files on the fly and therefore chaning the file types to straight PCM (AIFF/WAV) that the processor has less to do.

Since the files are lossless they are fine to convert and you do not need to re-rip your cd's. Simply convert the files from Apple Lossless to either AIFF or WAV. But do note that WAV files do not imbede the cue information and if your library is damaged it will take some time reloading the cue information for the songs.

Preferences->Advanced->Importing:

Select AIFF or WAV as your output type and hit <OK>

Select a couple of songs and then pull down Advanced and hit Convert songs to AIFF/WAV (which ever you seleted above).

This will make copies of the songs you just selected. You can see the file types by adding KIND to your view options (View: View options...).

Thanks
Gordon

 

[little-endian]

Quote:

Originally Posted by EliasGwinn /img/forum/go_quote.gif L-e, Gordon, et. al., With the AD1896 (the ASRC used in the UltraLock clocking system of Benchmark converters), the jitter of the incoming signal will not affect the conversion, it will merely (and inconsequentially) affect the amount of data in the input buffer between samples (as l-e correctly stated).

Hi Elias,

sorry for my pretty late reply here.

Yeah, the buffer architecture of the DAC1 seems to be really impressive. What I like about your company Benchmark in general is the lack of voodoo. For instance it seems totally odd to me that some people try to reduce jitter at the transmission stage by changing cables, etc. while the problem arises during conversion and hence has to be fixed there as well.

Quote:

Originally Posted by EliasGwinn /img/forum/go_quote.gif L-e, the RAM in the AD1896 is 512 words per channel.

Does the term "words" equal to samples in this case, hence about 11ms @ 44.1 kHz or am I missing something?

Besides that I've a question in regard to "bad data" sent to D/A-converters like the Benchmark DAC1:

Can this do any harm? I mean especially in the case of the USB-version which is served by a PC where the data integrity is more prone to errors due to the source (file sharing, etc.). Don't get me wrong, I'm not referring to transmission errors between the USB-port and the DAC1 for instance but "bad data" by itself. In the worst case it could be white noise or audio with intersample peaks sent to the converter. Do the analog parts care about outputting totally distorted and clipping sound at all?

That would be really interesting to know since this can happen faster than one thinks (last time I forgot to tickle off the "play" option in Cool Edit while browsing through archives and suddenly "iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiik" @ fullscale; however it was played through a cheap Transit USB, not the "baby" hehe).

Cheers,

little-endian

 

[EliasGwinn]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ted betley /img/forum/go_quote.gif Elias I hate to bother you but I tried j river and loved the sound through my Benchmark usb dac. However based on all the research I have done on the various sites it seems that folks prefer asio vs direct sound as an interface. I can get direct sound to work but not asio4all. Any advice on how to do that? I downloaded asio4all, followed the 9 page documantation, set audio output options to asio, chose asio4all and still no success. I get a 'direct show filters not available...'or something similar diagnostic and then my pc unselects the Benchmark as the ouput device (in the Asio4all panel) and it reverts back to direct sound.

Ted,

My sincere apologies for not responding to this sooner. I just noticed it now...

Asio4All works with the DAC1, but it may be having an issue with J.River. I haven't worked with J River yet, so I cannot say for sure. I'll (hopefully) be testing J River soon, and I will post any and all results here as well as on the Benchmark Audio-Wiki.

Thanks,
Elias

 

[EliasGwinn]

Quote:

Originally Posted by joijwall /img/forum/go_quote.gif I follow the bit-transparancy discussions with manic interest, although some/most of it is over my head. My listening experience using MacBook 10.5.2/iTunes 7.6.1/DAC1 USB compared with a very good Linn Majik CD is that I hear no or minimal difference. This is disturbing. Connecting DAC1 USB directly to my Majik CD makes the sound clearer and better in my ears. I'd like my Mac/DAC to perform better! Why? How? News?

As the other posters mentioned, the two should be exactly the same as long as the volumes are matched and the DSP functions in iTunes/CoreAudio are set properly.

If you have any questions about how to set these parameters, please don't hesitate to ask.

Thanks,
Elias

 

[EliasGwinn]

Quote:

Originally Posted by little-endian /img/forum/go_quote.gif For instance it seems totally odd to me that some people try to reduce jitter at the transmission stage by changing cables, etc. while the problem arises during conversion and hence has to be fixed there as well.

How true...

Quote:

Originally Posted by little-endian /img/forum/go_quote.gif Does the term "words" equal to samples in this case, hence about 11ms @ 44.1 kHz or am I missing something?

You got it...

Quote:

Originally Posted by little-endian /img/forum/go_quote.gif Besides that I've a question in regard to "bad data" sent to D/A-converters like the Benchmark DAC1: Can this do any harm? I mean especially in the case of the USB-version which is served by a PC where the data integrity is more prone to errors due to the source (file sharing, etc.). Don't get me wrong, I'm not referring to transmission errors between the USB-port and the DAC1 for instance but "bad data" by itself. In the worst case it could be white noise or audio with intersample peaks sent to the converter. Do the analog parts care about outputting totally distorted and clipping sound at all?

No, this will not damage the DAC1. However, be careful not to damage your speakers with full scale noise.

Thanks,
Elias

 

[doctorcilantro]

I'd join & start a thread here at J. River; some VERY knowledgeable folks that will help you out:

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