[LeonvB]

You don't need an external clock on a bus. It's not the source of sound like a DAC, it's a means to transport it. As todays busses are buffered you just need to make sure the next package has arrived before the last one is finished. Easy enough with a small stream like audio.

 

[SR-71Panorama]

yes.

 

[zirgated]

Quote:

Originally Posted by LeonvB /img/forum/go_quote.gif You don't need an external clock on a bus. It's not the source of sound like a DAC, it's a means to transport it. As todays busses are buffered you just need to make sure the next package has arrived before the last one is finished. Easy enough with a small stream like audio.

I meant for synchronizing separate audio interfaces on the same bus. Sorry for the ambiguity.

 

[DrBenway]

Quote:

Originally Posted by fordgtlover /img/forum/go_quote.gif It's not that long ago sonce ISA and EISA were used. Is it?

Yeah, it's been a long time since I've seen a motherboard with anything but PCI slots.


Quote:

Originally Posted by fordgtlover /img/forum/go_quote.gif Maybe I'm getting old too.

I'm afraid we all are. But, as much as aging sucks, it's DEFINATELY better than the only currently available alternative. <g>

 

[oqvist]

For sure it can. With an EMU 0404 or Xfi Elite PRO you don´t need an external DAC at all. Unless you get interference but I have none of that

.

For me there is no point getting more expensive gears. I bought a Heed Canamp and my Pimeta actually do many things better.

I also tried hooking up my Proline 750s to a really good stereo wasn´t better at all.

 

[maarek99]

Quote:

Originally Posted by oqvist /img/forum/go_quote.gif For sure it can. With an EMU 0404 or Xfi Elite PRO you don´t need an external DAC at all. Unless you get interference but I have none of that .

I disagree.

 

[Hirsch]

A computer can be part of a very nice system without even bothering about a sound card. I've got a computer set up as a music server. I use wireless ethernet to drive a Roku Soundbridge, SlimDevices Squeezebox 3/Bel Canto DAC2, and SlimDevices Transporter. So, three rigs are driven off of the same computer, which sits on my network and otherwise twiddles its thumbs. The computer itself need not be anything special, as the devices on the other end do the D to A conversion. The only real need is for big hard drives, if you've got a lot of lossless music.

 

[sinsiang]

Nice to see that gordon is posting in this forum too. I'm pretty surprised!

siang

 

[Spiug31]

Quote:

Can a computer be a decent audiophile source?

Mine certainly is

PC (running OpenBSD) -usb-> UA-5 (Empirical Audio modded soundcard) -XV2-> Apogee mini-dac -> balanced Proline 750's (recabled by Apuresound.com)
The only standard item in the chain is the usb cable and the pc but it really does sound very good

 

[poo]

Decided to make a move towards the plunge... purchasing an E-MU 1212m so I can decide for myself... should be able to post some impressions in a week or so.

 

[user5412]

Yes. What did they use to record that CD? What source is the only one that can ensure what you're hearing is actually what was recorded?

 

[dmk005]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wavelength /img/forum/go_quote.gif Gang, A few more thoughts on why PC programs sound different or maybe an example of why different front end programs will sound different. Let's say you rip via EAC. Well the EAC encoder the part of the program that writes the file type is written by EAC. Then you use say Foobar, JRiver, iTunes, Media Player all of which are using decoders written by their company. Also in the program the company has too use some internal data format that works with all the other features it has such as eq, vol, plug in's etc... All these things can effect the bit level of any particular sound. The idea of bit perfect seems a little far fetched if you can't even control how the front end treats the data. In a perfect world every program would rely on the OS for encoding and decoding of file types. This would at least put eveything on a standard foot hold. As far as differences with hardware well that may take a bit more patients on everyone's part. It's not like this stuff needs allot of horse power but the drivers and memory can always effect things. My wife got a IBM ThinkPad for work it was loaded to the heels with bs and it took 4 minutes to load explorer. I know many of you can't dedicate a computer to the system but you can go through and look for drivers and bs you are not using and unload those. I use to design pc's for a living. Motherboards, PCI, ISA (dating myself) and such. Internal boards really need a kick in the ass. The power supplies in any PC are really crappy for audio. PCI makes for a great interface but with the power supply problem, ground noise from switching supplies and EMI/RFI radiation it makes for a breading ground of bad sonics. It would be nice to see someone make a PCI board say with rechargable batteries for the analog sections or an external power supply or something. This is one of the reason's I do usb as you can place this external to the computer and have an easy to develop platform. There are several USB controllers on the market TI has the PCM27xx series which is easy to use rather low quality. Then it has the TAS1020 and TUSB3200 which are more complex and require custom programming. But really you could use tons of chips from companies that offer intelligent USB controllers. Many of the ARM based units from Atmel, Cypress, TI and many other companies would do an excellent job passing data to a fine dac. The development time would me a little high. But you could make one easily that did not require drivers and would do just as good as some of the TI parts. Well back to work... Thanks Gordon

Gordon,

Just wondering...do you know what different Amplifier designers need to do to add a USB input? I am asking in theory since I sense companies like Wavelength, Benchmark etc build their own DACs but I doubt someone like Jan Meier builds his own DAC for the Opera. If true, can anyone really logically expect there to be a comparison in result?

 

[Soundproof]

I'm going to have to post the obvious here:

Sound engineers, when recording, processing and mixing music, use hard disks and computers to control the process, record performances and evaluate the results.

Whether stored fixed on a CD or on a hard disk, it's the same bits and bytes. Computers have better error correction. Add to that the convenience of accessing your music over a computer.

What you need do is ensure that your computer has proper audio soundcards, either built in (very rare), or available to be added/inserted.

(And to those having issues with kmixer - check out the Benchmark DAC1 USB thread where developers from Benchmark show that this is only an issue if you have several files being played back simultaneously.)

I use Macs with stand-alone DACs, from small portable ones (such as the Benchmark and Grace m902) to larger DACs you don't want to carry about. Excellent sound results.

 

[DrBenway]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Soundproof /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm going to have to post the obvious here: Whether stored fixed on a CD or on a hard disk, it's the same bits and bytes.

Yes! Let's face it, a CD Player is a disc drive. I think the major issue is the associated equipment. It's best, in my opinion to take the signal as a bit stream out of the PC via a digital audio out and then process the signal via the highest qualily external DAC. Now you've got yourself a clean analog signal to feed to your preamp. Done.

 

[Wavelength]

dkm005,

Quote:

Just wondering...do you know what different Amplifier designers need to do to add a USB input? I am asking in theory since I sense companies like Wavelength, Benchmark etc build their own DACs but I doubt someone like Jan Meier builds his own DAC for the Opera. If true, can anyone really logically expect there to be a comparison in result?

Well since I make amplifiers (primarily DHT SET and Guitar) and have for 25 years, I guess the answer is yes. There are a ton of basic designs for USB audio now available in kit and finished product that provide some basic techniques chips and stuff.

But to really get the most out of USB you have to do a bit more, like programing some of the better controllers and such. Or go the extra mile on the integrated controllers like the PCM27xx series with external PLL/VCXO and really good supply chains and such.

Thanks
Gordon