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Cambridge Audio DacMagic XS
Oct 31, 2013 at 5:34 PM Thread Starter Post #1 of 95
Johnnyhi

Johnnyhi

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didn't found a thread... looks like an interesting DAC with the ESS SABRE ES9023 chip. 
FIRST REVIEW : http://www.whathifi.com/review/cambridge-audio-dacmagic-xs  
 
 
 
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DacMagic XS USB DAC / Headphone Amp

Specifications

Connections Micro USB input, 3.5mm analogue output 
Digital to Analogue Converter ESS9023 24-bit DAC 
Sample Rates Supported USB 1.0 mode: 16/24-bit, 44.1kHz, 48kHz, 88.2kHz, 96kHz 
USB 2.0 mode: 16/24-bit, 44.1kHz, 48kHz, 88.2kHz, 96kHz, 176.4kHz, 192kHz
Output Voltage2V RMS
Max. Power Consumption 150mW 
Min. Headphone Impendance12 Ohms
Frequency Response+/-0.2dB 20Hz – 20kHz
THD (unweighted):<0.004%
SNR 103 dBr (unweighted) 
Crosstalk66dB
Output Impedance0.5 Ohms
Volume Steps53 steps (54 different volume levels) 
Dimensions (W x H x D): 30 x 10 x 53.5mm (1.2 x 0.4 x 2.1’’) 
Weight 100g (3.5oz) 


 
Nov 7, 2013 at 8:31 AM Post #3 of 95
im interested in checking if itll work with phones too, and to that end im popping into richer sounds tonight armed with phones (HTC one on stock 4.2.2 and n7100 on CM10.2 with NEAK kernel) on my way home to try it out ill report just as soon as i know if its working
 
Nov 7, 2013 at 5:02 PM Post #4 of 95
i bought one and the answer: in some cases its close but ultimately no, it will work fine with usb audio recorder but when used with a standard music player it just wont have it, heres the results:
 
HTC One stock 4.2.2 - nothing at all, seemed to make the phone somewhat unstable and there was always a notification warning that this device cant charge the phone.
 
galaxy note 2 with CM10.1 - nothing at all, like the htc one above but without the notifications or freezing
 
note 2 running samsung stock 4.1.2 and 4.3 leak - it really wants to play here, when you try and play an audio track through a music player you just get silence, but notification sounds come through the outer phone speaker and tracks jump along in 3 second or so gaps instead of playing, remove the usb and it works again normally, its trying to play but just not getting there for some reason.
 
so close yet so far, who knows i may get it running somehow yet
 
Nov 7, 2013 at 6:36 PM Post #6 of 95
Sounds like the DAC is too power hungry for the phones. I know you can get OTG cables with power connections for these sort of issues. Does anyone know if a battery powered USB OTG cable/hub exists?
 
Nov 8, 2013 at 2:26 AM Post #7 of 95
not really as it works fine in usb audio recorder so its just a software issue, the dac doesnt even make a raspberry pi grumble when plugged directly in so i dont think power draw is the issue (i have plenty of y cables and battery packs to solve that issue anyway) ill test it on more phones soon to see if it will work with anything but i think the s3 and n7100 had the widest support for usb audio
 
as for the sound its not bad, build quality is solid and it feels like a nice device. i dont have too much for comparison really but id say it is a tiny bit harsh at the high end, it does seem to improve the low end quite nicely, it doesnt astound on any real level but you cant expect it to for this price. if i could have used it with a phone too i would have said it was definitely worthwhile but right now im still wishing id gone with the schiit i think. over all id say not bad but there is likely better out there if portability isnt high on your priority list
 
Nov 8, 2013 at 8:13 AM Post #8 of 95
New tests with some tablets all no result though

asus transformer tf201
lg v900
hp slate
hp slate hd

i also tested several more samsung based roms for the n7100 but still just silence its by far the closest to working (something i never expected from a stock rom)

it does work under linux and on a raspberry pi though
 
Nov 8, 2013 at 8:09 PM Post #9 of 95
good,i could have used it with a phone too i would have said it was definitely worthwhile but right now im still wishing id gone with the schiit i think. over all id say not bad but there is likely better out there if portability isnt high on your priority list,thank you
hDDnd7

 
Nov 10, 2013 at 5:28 AM Post #10 of 95
well while it was by no means a bad product i just couldnt love it, for the price it is good, it just didnt quite suit me so i took it back and paid the extra to get a HRT microstreamer instead (which should be here midweek)
 
Nov 15, 2013 at 4:34 AM Post #12 of 95
the HRT microstreamer is working a treat with my phone and its exceptionally good. i have a friend who is waiting for the e18 though as he wants the battery pack too
 
Nov 21, 2013 at 12:25 PM Post #14 of 95
not particularly high, id say mid level (lets say 7 out of 10 were it a 0-10 slider) it just seemed to bite a little at the top end, it was the same on both headphones and speakers, it may well just be me though. i can say im much happier with the HRT than i was with the DM and thats good enough for me, as with all audio gear though everyone is different so you really need to hear them for yourself, id still like to hear that schiit though 
 
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