[MacedonianHero]

Quote:

 

Oh, hehe.....all I was saying is for the same price you can get much more capable chips than PCM2704. Nothing less, if it sounds good it's great then

 
Except if they made their own custom firmware for the TAS chip, it's got to be using a PCM270x chip(as that's pretty much the only USB chip available back then)....and if they did, they'd boast about it instead of hiding the board in gooey

 
In a gooey PVC pipe...quite existential in its design for sure.

 
Regardless, it does sound quite nice to my ears (even as a standalone DAC

)....I was a bit surprised by this. Not sure why Gilbert doesn't list what chipset he's using (which could have also changed over the past few years), but I can confirm as a USB to SPDIF converter, there is a marked improvement in SQ over standard USB. The Hiface has had a lot of good/bad press. But two Head-fiers that I respect have warned me against the Hiface.
 

 

[leeperry]

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by upstateguy /img/forum/go_quote.gif It didn't come with any drivers and the chip is a Blue Circle secret.

My Mac reads the thingee as a Burr Brown PCM2704 for the USB conversion. Not sure if that is handling the dac as well.

Ah!

 
Well, I'd say that this "thingee" is the current bottleneck in your rig. Now enough w/ the threadcrap, didn't mean to interrupt.

 

[MacedonianHero]

Quote:

 

Ah!

 
Well, I'd say that this "thingee" is the current bottleneck in your rig. Now enough w/ the threadcrap, didn't mean to interrupt.

 
Regardless....the rule of thumb "if it sounds good it is good" very much holds.

 
While the Hiface has been reported as making SQ worse...or at best no effect whatsoever.

 

 

[baka1969]

I've had the Thingie all weekend and one thing for certain is, as a USB/SPDIF converter, it's better than the Hiface I had before. I sort of like and appreciate the home-grown industrial look of it. The money I spent on it isn't exactly high end territory so I like the tongue-in-cheek approach to it's aesthetic. I used to have the Marantz 5003 CD player and when compared to my computer setup, I found the differences to be slight. I did find, however, a bigger difference with the Marantz SACD player when comparing it to my music server.


I have the Thingie going into my DacMagic via digital coax. I use a Belden digital cable I got from Blue Jeans (I also use Belden ICs going into my amp also from Blue Jeans). The USB going into the Thingie is a standard off-the-shelf cable.


All I've been trying to do is bridge the gap between what my computer music system is and what the quality SACD player sounded like. I would say that although the difference is subtle, it does bring me a step closer and the convenience of having all my music in one place now more than outweighs the small gap advantage the transport had. Although not a wow product, the price I paid does seem to be worth it. I'll even go as far as saying the difference is better than if I were to spend double what I did on the DM; as I find DACs have even more subtle differences between them. All IMHO of course.

 

[upstateguy]

Quote:

....but  I'm quite sure  that an Hiface/Bravo/TeraX2 would kill this +3yo thing. PCM2704 isn't the best sounding chip in many ppl's experience.

Don't be so sure ....... I have both a BCT and a HiFace and the BCT is noticeably better than the HiFace. 
 


 
Quote:

I've had the Thingie all weekend and one thing for certain is, as a USB/SPDIF converter, it's better than the Hiface I had before.
 
<snip>
 

I'm going to agree with baka and MH.  The BCT is considerably better sounding than the stock HiFace.
 
My guess is that there are different ways to implement the 2704, because my Stello dac, which also uses the 2704 chip, doesn't come close to sounding as good as the Thingee.
 
USG

 

[upstateguy]

Quote:

Regardless....the rule of thumb "if it sounds good it is good" very much holds.

 

.... and the BCT sounds good ! 

 
USG

 

[94cdnm3]

Here is my take on the BC Thingee: I originally bought it primarily to convert from usb to spdif and it does this very well. However, I also played it as a stand alone DAC and surprisingly it is very good! So good that I am using it as a DAC rather than as a converter for my computer music files. As a comparison, I have the Bryston built in DAC in my B60 integrated and to my ears the Thingee is easily 95% of the performance of the Bryston. It is less detailed and resolving but warmer and in some ways more musical than the Bryston. Here are a couple of  pics of my rig for context:

 

[leeperry]

 

Don't be so sure ....... I have both a BCT and a HiFace and the BCT is noticeably better than the HiFace. 

 
I've got a nasty nocebo against anything that's in the signal path and isn't galvanically isolated and running off a discrete linear regulated PSU. I haven't heard the Hiface BTW, nor do I plan to...I don't enjoy listening to a stellar ripple computer PSU.

 

[sorenmad]

My experiences with the thingee have been very positive as well, However I don't care for it as a DAC, I think I like the sound of  my old NAD 541i better, and I never really liked the NAD much.  But when hooked up to an old Muse Model 2 the things sound great

.  I have only heard one other quality DAC - A Musical Fidelity X-DAC V8.  I preferred the thingee/muse combo easily. 
 
A nice bonus is that I can run my desktop sound through the thingees dac, and when I sold my desktop amp becasue I didn't use it enough I just hooked up some cheap powered speakers to the thingees headphone jack. (I live in a studio and my main system is close to but not part of my desktop)
 
Also I do realize that just becasue I prefered my 17yo Muse to one modern DAC doesn't mean I will prefer it to all modern DACs - but it sounds so good  that I will worry about many other upgrades before thinking about a new DAC.
 
edit: my friend let my try the xdac v8 again - totally changed my mind, the V8 beats the muse in all regards except maybe treble and soundstage size.
 
the V8 is smoother and more detailed and has more depth - also a much more focused an punchy sound

 

[upstateguy]

Quote:

Here is my take on the BC Thingee: I originally bought it primarily to convert from usb to spdif and it does this very well. However, I also played it as a stand alone DAC and surprisingly it is very good! So good that I am using it as a DAC rather than as a converter for my computer music files. As a comparison, I have the Bryston built in DAC in my B60 integrated and to my ears the Thingee is easily 95% of the performance of the Bryston. It is less detailed and resolving but warmer and in some ways more musical than the Bryston. Here are a couple of  pics of my rig for context:
 
<snip>
 

Nice looking rig. 

 
Quote:

My experiences with the thingee have been very positive as well, However I don't care for it as a DAC, I think I like the sound of  my old NAD 541i better, and I never really liked the NAD much.  But when hooked up to an old Muse Model 2 the things sound great

.  I have only heard one other quality DAC - A Musical Fidelity X-DAC V8.  I preferred the thingee/muse combo easily. 
 
A nice bonus is that I can run my desktop sound through the thingees dac, and when I sold my desktop amp becasue I didn't use it enough I just hooked up some cheap powered speakers to the thingees headphone jack. (I live in a studio and my main system is close to but not part of my desktop)
 
Also I do realize that just becasue I prefered my 17yo Muse to one modern DAC doesn't mean I will prefer it to all modern DACs - but it sounds so good  that I will worry about many other upgrades before thinking about a new DAC.

Just wondering why you didn't connect the line out to the powered speakers?
USG

 

[upstateguy]

Quote:

I've got a nasty nocebo against anything that's in the signal path and isn't galvanically isolated and running off a discrete linear regulated PSU. I haven't heard the Hiface BTW, nor do I plan to...I don't enjoy listening to a stellar ripple computer PSU.
 

Don't be so sure.  The BCT has a very nice implementation.
 
USG
 

 

[94cdnm3]

Thanks Upstate Guy! Cheers!
 
I forgot to mention an important aspect of the Thingee which may have a detrimental effect on the sound of its DAC. Its analog output level is quite low and thus your preamp must have enough gain to compensate for it. Otherwise, the sonics will suffer. 

 

[leeperry]

 

Don't be so sure.  The BCT has a very nice implementation.
 
USG
 

Why the picture of Francoise Hardy going to Alain Bashung's funerals? Are you trying to say something?
 
The problem w/ all those transports is that noone trustable has compared them. The only one I own is based on the 24/96 Tenor chip + WM8804 reclocker + ADUM4160 USB Isolator off two proper DPS...I don't find it very wise to recommend a +3yo $180 PCM2704 "thingee" over much more advanced transports...for the same price. A good PSU and a reclocker make up for a much improved SQ...using a USB powered 16/48 max PCM2704 unit in 2010 is living in the past as far as I'm concerned. OTOH, some ppl enjoy listening to +30yo DAC chips so whatever floats your boat.

 

[upstateguy]

 
Quote:

Why the picture of Francoise Hardy going to Alain Bashung funerals? Are you trying to tell me something?
 
The problem w/ all those transports is that noone trustable has compared them. The only one I own is based on the 24/96 Tenor chip + WM8804 reclocker + ADUM4160 USB Isolator off two proper DPS...I don't find it very wise to recommend a +3yo PCM2704 "thingee" over much more advanced transports...for the same price. A good PSU and a reclocker make up for a much improved SQ...using a PCM2704 unit in 2010 is living in the past as far as I'm concerned. OTOH, some ppl enjoy listening to +30yo DAC chips so whatever floats your boat

Just a picture of Francoise Hardy.  Seems like yesterday that Parenthèses came out.  The duet they sing on the first cut has some very good spacial characteristics.  The cymbals on the right channel are very far away from the rest of the mix and the bass is very clean.... I wonder what that little vibrating percussion instrument that can be heard in the background (around 1:05) is?
 
Which transport do you have that's based on the Tenor chip?
 
"Some ppl enjoy listening to +30yo DAC chips" and some people still listen to vinyl records and use vacuum tube amplifiers.... 
 
"More advanced transports" meaning more recent maybe, does not always mean they sound better, as in the case of the HiFace.  <shrugs shoulders>
 
Here's something to think about.  Since headphones make a bigger difference than all the other components in the chain combined, shouldn't you be listening with more advanced headphones like the HD800s or T-1s?

 
USG
 
Edit:  The headphone question is a general question, not referring to you specifically.

 

[amandafiyl]

/img/forum/go_quote.gif

Just want to wake up this thread, because I've seen rave reviews from UHF and Goodsound about this black pipe... But nothing about the headphone jack/amp... Anybody knows if it would fit well enough with Shure earphones and Denon D2000? I assume that it wouldn't be enough to power up higher impedence headphones...

It's helpful to me, Thanks for your effort! I understand this part.