[namp]

Hi,

I recently came upon Mackie MDB-USB Stereo DAC which converts USB input to balanced XLR analogue outputs.

As I understand its mainly for digital musicians who want, for example, to process samples from a computer to a console for further mixing, and need to eliminate noise. For this reason it's kind of limited as it converts a stereo digital audio feed at only up to 24-bit/96 kHz resolution.

I was wondering if this can be also used as a standard balanced DAC feeding to a higher quality balanced amplifier (e.g. THX AAA 789) or if the limited sampling rate is going to be have negative audible effects in such a setup.

Thanks

 

[kukkurovaca]

Hi,

I recently came upon Mackie MDB-USB Stereo DAC which converts USB input to balanced XLR analogue outputs.

As I understand its mainly for digital musicians who want, for example, to process samples from a computer to a console for further mixing, and need to eliminate noise. For this reason it's kind of limited as it converts a stereo digital audio feed at only up to 24-bit/96 kHz resolution.

I was wondering if this can be also used as a standard balanced DAC feeding to a higher quality balanced amplifier (e.g. THX AAA 789) or if the limited sampling rate is going to be have negative audible effects in such a setup.

Thanks

Do you already have a library of music that's beyond 24/96? If not, don't sweat that aspect.

 

[namp]

Do you already have a library of music that's beyond 24/96? If not, don't sweat that aspect.

I stream Spotify premium (320 kbps) which I guess is a problem. But I'm not sure what happens it such cases. Will it sub-sample the signal up to 96,000 24-bit samples per second and then convert it to analogue?

 

[kukkurovaca]

I stream Spotify premium (320 kbps) which I guess is a problem. But I'm not sure what happens it such cases. Will it sub-sample the signal up to 96,000 24-bit samples per second and then convert it to analogue?

kbps is not the same thing as khz. Spotify premium is basically high-quality MP3. Lossless CD quality is still only 16-bit 44.1 khz. According to google the kpbs of 24/96 would be 4,608. So, you don't have anything to worry about re: Spotify Premium.

You might be able to find better options for similar prices, though. (SMSL SU-8, maybe?)

 

[namp]

kbps is not the same thing as khz. Spotify premium is basically high-quality MP3. Lossless CD quality is still only 16-bit 44.1 khz. According to google the kpbs of 24/96 would be 4,608. So, you don't have anything to worry about re: Spotify Premium.

You might be able to find better options for similar prices, though. (SMSL SU-8, maybe?)

Thanks for clarifying this. Indeed I'm considering the SMSL SU-8 but I found the Mackie MDB-USB for around $100 less than the SMSL and was wondering if it's worth it.