[urbo73]

Quote:

Originally Posted by EliasGwinn /img/forum/go_quote.gif It is normal...the voltage regulators are strapped to the chassis, so the entire chassis acts as a heat sink. That is why it feels warm. It should feel like a mug of coffee...that is normal. This is true when it is 'On' or in 'Standby'. The internal electronics are never shut-down unless the power to the unit is disconnected. All the best, Elias

So it's ok to just leave it on standby when not using it? No need to disconnect in order to have it cool down once in a while? Built to last?

 

[john11f]

Hi Elias,
you recommend the Senn HD650 for the DAC1 pre. How about the HD800?

 

[Quaddy]

i am not voiding elias answering, but just adding my take.... my 800s are fine here with the pre, same impedance as the 650's, its fairs pretty well and the headphone stage of the pre handles the power requirements in its stride, its a lean sound with the pre pairing, how i like it, but if are overtly bass hungry, it will not please

 

[EliasGwinn]

Quote:

Originally Posted by urbo73 /img/forum/go_quote.gif So it's ok to just leave it on standby when not using it? No need to disconnect in order to have it cool down once in a while? Built to last?

Correct!

All the best,
Elias

 

[EliasGwinn]

Quote:

Originally Posted by john11f /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hi Elias, you recommend the Senn HD650 for the DAC1 pre. How about the HD800?

I wish I could answer, but I haven't heard the HD800's. Sorry...

Best,
Elias

 

[urbo73]

Quote:

Originally Posted by EliasGwinn /img/forum/go_quote.gif It depends on the type of music you will be playing and your preferred listening levels. The best jumper settings will allow you to achieve a mild-yet-adaquate listening level at 11 o'clock on the volume knob while playing your loudest music. If it is too loud at that position, move from 'A' to 'B'. If you can't get your 'quiet' music loud enough, move from 'A' to 'OFF'. If you have additional questions, please feel free to ask! All the best, Elias

OK, perhaps this is too simple, or lost on me a bit. Bear with me

I just got my 702s today, and I'm using the DAC1 HDR as is - i.e. assuming it's at A when shipped, since I have not opened the box up to look.

I listened to a wide variety of music (via a CD transport) and all sounds really great. Fantastic product so far! More on the DAC later, but all systems check so far

On some CDs, a good *loud* volume was around 12 o'clock - these are the more pop/rock loud-produced CDs. On others (older/progressive rock, classical, & jazz) 2-3 o'clock was needed for a good *loud* volume. Also these have more dynamic range, so it makes sense. OK, so that's all fine and dandy! That's why there's a volume control

But my confusion is, how far do I want to (or don't want to) go with the volume control? In other words, all these positions are confusing me, when I bet it's simple. What is the ideal range on the "clock"? In what range is it most efficient? I don't want to under or over-drive it. Is this making sense? In other words, is it bad to go past 3 o'clock? Does it even matter? That sort of thing. I guess the 3 settings have me all confused on this simple matter. Is it better to have volume in the lower range of the control or the higher?

 

[EliasGwinn]

Quote:

Originally Posted by urbo73 /img/forum/go_quote.gif On some CDs, a good *loud* volume was around 12 o'clock - these are the more pop/rock loud-produced CDs. On others (older/progressive rock, classical, & jazz) 2-3 o'clock was needed for a good *loud* volume. Also these have more dynamic range, so it makes sense. OK, so that's all fine and dandy! That's why there's a volume control

This sounds like your settings are perfect! The ideal range of the volume control is 11 o'clock to 3 o'clock. If you are always in that range, I wouldn't change a thing!

All the best,
Elias

 

[jpelg]

Been meaning to post this question for a while now, and thought this thread is as good a place to elicit a response as any.

In the October 2009 issue of The Absolute Sound, John Siau responds to Alan Taffel's column reviewing the DAC1-PRE. One of Taffel's points was his observation of the DAC1 having different results with different transports, despite a relatively long history from both Benchmark & many users touting that such differences are greatly minimized (if not completely eradicated) with the DAC1.

Mr. Siau describes some recent findings at Benchmark claiming that both CD & DVD transports not only "produce non-recoverable read errors", but that some DVD players actually insert some of their own data "not true to the original data" into the digital stream. Siau states that these errors, both soley & possibly in combination, is what adversely affected Taffel's final listening results. Benchmark's complete writeup is found on their website in their July 2009 Feedback Newsletter.

Unfortunately, Benchmark does not go as far to list those CD & DVD transports they actually tested, and their specific findings. I'd love to see that information posted somewhere, Elias!

 

[urbo73]

It would be nice to see a list of the transports tested and which did what, but I don't know that Benchmark will do this. I know there are some players that do NOT modify the digital content over their coaxial/optical S/PDIF outputs, but that is illegal in terms of copyright reasons (I believe the only legal way to output is over HDMI). So they will neither confirm nor deny what they do to not get in trouble. If Benchmark were to test such a player, would they publish the results, possibly creating trouble for the manufacturer?

On the other hand, it would be nice to see how badly some fare over the others, though I don't know how much it would matter. I'm not a believer that high-rez audio really means anything anyway on playback. More bits are good for recording/engineering purposes (i.e. more headroom) and higher sampling rates don't reproduce a more accurate waveform than the Nyquist theorem proves. I firmly believe that, and have not seen any scientific fact to prove that wrong. It's all marketing hype to me - 24/96 24/192, etc.

I would ask Benchmark if they plan to add an HDMI input however to their DAC.

 

[music_man]

i don't know if this has been asked but i was hoping mr. gwinn could answer it.

it there any difference in sound on the dac1 when using optical,coaxial(rca) or aes/ebu? i am assuming it is designed so they are all equal quality connections?

edit: is see you already answered this question! "no difference between cables".

thank you,
music_man

 

[yilmaz196]

I am using dac1 usb only as dac through balanced outs to my wa22. Should I keep the volume knob at max?

 

[EliasGwinn]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jpelg /img/forum/go_quote.gif Been meaning to post this question for a while now, and thought this thread is as good a place to elicit a response as any. In the October 2009 issue of The Absolute Sound, John Siau responds to Alan Taffel's column reviewing the DAC1-PRE. One of Taffel's points was his observation of the DAC1 having different results with different transports, despite a relatively long history from both Benchmark & many users touting that such differences are greatly minimized (if not completely eradicated) with the DAC1. Mr. Siau describes some recent findings at Benchmark claiming that both CD & DVD transports not only "produce non-recoverable read errors", but that some DVD players actually insert some of their own data "not true to the original data" into the digital stream. Siau states that these errors, both soley & possibly in combination, is what adversely affected Taffel's final listening results. Benchmark's complete writeup is found on their website in their July 2009 Feedback Newsletter. Unfortunately, Benchmark does not go as far to list those CD & DVD transports they actually tested, and their specific findings. I'd love to see that information posted somewhere, Elias!

Here is a list of the transports we tested:

DVD Transports - Benchmark

However, please note:

- This is not meant to represent a complete survey of all transports but merely demonstrate that transports will often corrupt data
- John Siau suggested that transport errors MAY have caused the reviewer to arrive at his conclusions, but it can't be known for sure without testing the devices. There were more questions then answers with this review setup.
- We've conducted several tests that prove that the performance of the DAC1 conversion is ONLY dependent on the data. In other words, if a given set of 1's and 0's arrive at the DAC1, they will ALWAYS produce the same result regardless of transport and/or digital cable. If there are differences in sound, it must be due to inaccuracies in the data.

Best,
Elias

 

[EliasGwinn]

Quote:

Originally Posted by yilmaz196 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I am using dac1 usb only as dac through balanced outs to my wa22. Should I keep the volume knob at max?

It depends on the input capabilities of the WA22. Ask the manufacturer what the maximum input level is for the WA22, and I'll tell you where to put the volume knob.

All the best,
Elias

 

[pcf]

Hi Elias,

I have also been under the impression that the performance of DAC1 was less dependent on the transports used than others. That is based on our phone conversations and info from this thread. I also own two of the DVD players on your transport test list. (Oppo and Pioneer). I did my own listening tests comparing those two budget players as transport to some cd transports that costs ten times more. They seemed to sound the same to my ears when they were hooked up to the DAC1.
But are you telling us now that different transports affect the performance of DAC1 more than we were led to believe? I thought that was one of the strong selling point of DAC1.

I am still very happy with my DAC1pre though.

Keep up the good work.

Paul


Quote:

Originally Posted by EliasGwinn /img/forum/go_quote.gif Here is a list of the transports we tested: DVD Transports - Benchmark However, please note: - This is not meant to represent a complete survey of all transports but merely demonstrate that transports will often corrupt data - John Siau suggested that transport errors MAY have caused the reviewer to arrive at his conclusions, but it can't be known for sure without testing the devices. There were more questions then answers with this review setup. - We've conducted several tests that prove that the performance of the DAC1 conversion is ONLY dependent on the data. In other words, if a given set of 1's and 0's arrive at the DAC1, they will ALWAYS produce the same result regardless of transport and/or digital cable. If there are differences in sound, it must be due to inaccuracies in the data. Best, Elias

 

[jpelg]

Quote:

Originally Posted by EliasGwinn /img/forum/go_quote.gif Here is a list of the transports we tested: DVD Transports - Benchmark

Thanks so much for the information, and the clarification Elias. I apprears that the Panasonic DVD-S47 continues to be one of the few transports that outputs unadulterated hi-rez digital.