[MilhouseV]

Just got mine in the mail.  It came in priority Mail flat rate box - so I'm not sure what the talk was about lack of tracking with USPS option.  Will be trying it out shortly.
 
 
I guess we are expected to come up with our own microUSB cable...
 
Needs a hub to connect via CCK to an iDevice - "too much power" message otherwise.

 

[sheldaze]

  Just got mine in the mail.  It came in priority Mail flat rate box - so I'm not sure what the talk was about lack of tracking with USPS option.  Will be trying it out shortly.
 
I guess we are expected to come up with our own microUSB cable...

Glad you had no issues with the USPS. That's the option I chose, and hope to find it when I return from travel.
 
I am following the DACport Slim thread. What I read there seemed to conclude it also did not ship with a cable, but any Android phone cable capable of charging and data sync should work. I'll be trying my AmazonBasics cable.
 
Any impressions? I'm quite eager to hear what you think.

 

[MilhouseV]

Can't seem to get it to output DSD just yet (Foobar throws error about being unable to set output rate of 44k - go figure - I'm using the same settings as with my TEAC 301, which works).
 
PCM playback works, though.  So far - DAC is quite neutral, and in line with other AKM-based units.  Amp seems to struggle a bit with T5p, but then it's not an easy load by any mean.  Will have to try a few others - T5p would not be my pairing choice for a USB-powered device anyhow.

 

[MilhouseV]

OK, low gain seems to be a factor here.  XBA-H3 on low gain was a muddy mess, switching to high gain cleared it out completely, but obviously at the expense of ability to control volume.  T5p is doing much better on high gain as well.  On the other hand, MDR-V6 sounded incredibly clear and resolving on low gain.  Need to experiment more.
 
BTW, this thing gets quite warm.

 

[alpha421]

Got it today as well.  Using it with my Win7-64bit laptop with JRiver and it appears the CEntrance drivers don't jive when using WASAPI.  Had to use ASIO to get anything to play.  Initial impressions - sounds pretty darn good from Redbook to 24/192. Right now, using it with the Rockets and it could use a little more volume swing in low gain; where as in high gain it is just too much.  Can't wait to test out HG with the VE Zen.
 
Line out configuration to my powered desktop speakers is quite impressive.  Not as smooth as the Meridian Explorer 2 I had, but a bit more detailed and just as musical.

 

[sheldaze]

  OK, low gain seems to be a factor here.  XBA-H3 on low gain was a muddy mess, switching to high gain cleared it out completely, but obviously at the expense of ability to control volume.  T5p is doing much better on high gain as well.  On the other hand, MDR-V6 sounded incredibly clear and resolving on low gain.  Need to experiment more.
 
BTW, this thing gets quite warm.

Sounds interesting. I may have to borrow (again) a Sony MDR-V6. I would have thought it would do well on high gain because it paired well with an Apogee Groove - the current drive gave it real guts and balanced highs. I'll certainly have to play with the gain on the DACport with a few ortho and dynamic driven headphones.
 
I think warm is good. What's the room's ambient temperature? I've read with other USB products that the room temperature can make an enormous difference.

 

[MilhouseV]

Same issues with WASAPI - foobar just complains about lack of support for 44100 - something is off.  The driver appears to be installed correctly, shows version 6.00.00.3530.  So far ASIO and ASIO via dsd proxy work fine, but neither will decode DSD stream.

 

[sheldaze]

  Got it today as well.  Using it with my Win7-64bit laptop with JRiver and it appears the CEntrance drivers don't jive when using WASAPI.  Had to use ASIO to get anything to play.  Initial impressions - sounds pretty darn good from Redbook to 24/192. Right now, using it with the Rockets and it could use a little more volume swing in low gain; where as in high gain it is just too much.  Can't wait to test out HG with the VE Zen.
 
Line out configuration to my powered desktop speakers is quite impressive.  Not as smooth as the Meridian Explorer 2 I had, but a bit more detailed and just as musical.

I definitely liked the line-out on the Explorer2. But my guess is the impedance on the line-out from the Explorer2 was very high. Line-out impedance tends to be high to reduce interaction with the receiving device, while a headphone output is more likely to have low output impedance. Good to hear though that the sound is impressive, if not quite as smooth. I think the Meridian processing may also be cause for its smoother sound. Would you consider the CEntrance sound to be harsh, or simply not as smooth in relation to the Meridian sound? I occasionally thought the Meridian sound was too smooth for certain recordings. And I am wondering if this is simply more accurate to the source material?

 

[sheldaze]

 
Same issues with WASAPI - foobar just complains about lack of support for 44100 - something is off.  The driver appears to be installed correctly, shows version 6.00.00.3530.  So far ASIO and ASIO via dsd proxy work fine, but neither will decode DSD stream.

If you haven't subscribed to the other thread, you may want to do so:
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/778966/review-centrance-dacport-slim-dac-amp-combo
 
I believe the drivers are identical, and was reading there about driver issues. I am primarily a Mac user. I will test this on a Windows 10 laptop in the near future, but there seems to be more eyeballs in the other thread. That, and they have received their Slim a little ahead of us.
 
EDIT: Wasn't thinking - DSD is specific to this device 

 

[MilhouseV]

  Sounds interesting. I may have to borrow (again) a Sony MDR-V6. I would have thought it would do well on high gain because it paired well with an Apogee Groove - the current drive gave it real guts and balanced highs. I'll certainly have to play with the gain on the DACport with a few ortho and dynamic driven headphones.
 
I think warm is good. What's the room's ambient temperature? I've read with other USB products that the room temperature can make an enormous difference.

My V6 sample might be a bit... unique - it's almost 25 years old.  It does sound quite well on high gain as well - but with a bit of harshness, kind of highlighting this model's biggest drawback.
 
The room temperature is 76 now - and the DAC is 100+.  We'll see what it does it our over-cooled office tomorrow.

 

[MilhouseV]

I think you might be right on the smooth - harsh - accurate.
I have a Director in the same set-up, and it's definitely warmer-softer, and Explorer has a very similar signature Meridian sound.  DACport, on the other hand, seems to be in the "accurate" category, which feels harsh by comparison - but might just be a more conventional, accurate, detailed presentation.

 

[MilhouseV]

Using it as output device into a headphone amp, the levels with low gain appear to be quite low; at high gain the levels are comparable to that of Meridian Explorer (1st generation).
 
Still no luck with DSD... interestingly, the readme makes no reference to DSD decoding.  Will have to dig further.

 

[AlterSack]

Received my DacPort HD today, installed Driver on my PC (WIN 7)  - but no Sound from VLC (PC-> DacPort-> audeo PF121) .
I cannot install other Software as this is my work PC (Driver installation was an exception) so will have to try on my MacBook Pro later.
 
Funny Thing is when checking on the System preferences the DacPort is being shown as a loudspeaker. ??
 
When configuring the "loudspeaker" the checksound can be clearly heard.

 

[AlterSack]

I do not know what to make out of this  - I unplugged the USB Cable, started the song again and it started to Play through the PC Sound Card. Then  I plugged the USB cable again into several USB Ports - and suddenly it works and I am getting Sound out of it.
 
BUT - next song - and the same procedure has to be applied - otherwise there is no sound.
Additionally I am getting dropouts.
That is a real strange behaviour - Will check how the DacPort is doing with the Mac.

 

[MilhouseV]

  Received my DacPort HD today, installed Driver on my PC (WIN 7)  - but no Sound from VLC (PC-> DacPort-> audeo PF121) .
I cannot install other Software as this is my work PC (Driver installation was an exception) so will have to try on my MacBook Pro later.
 
Funny Thing is when checking on the System preferences the DacPort is being shown as a loudspeaker. ??
 
When configuring the "loudspeaker" the checksound can be clearly heard.

Did you set DACport to be your default device?  Installation does not make changes to default device assignment, so the sound would still be routed to your original sound card, until you make this change.