[brunk]

  and yet they DID give it to the Teac UD-501.  crazy.

Yeah, that is crazy. I bought that DAC when it was newly released and compared it directly to the Yulong D18. I kept the Teac for about 2 weeks until I happily returned it...

 

[cizx]

  what are these dsd files you guys are listening to?  is it a different file type for download on hdtracks.com or something?  what's the difference between them and the flac files i have?

literally 3 seconds: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Direct_Stream_Digital

 

[Gary in MD]

  what are these dsd files you guys are listening to?  is it a different file type for download on hdtracks.com or something?  what's the difference between them and the flac files i have?

As far as I know HD Tracks doesn't have any DSD.  Try Acoustic Sounds dot com.  Their Super Hi Rez site has lots of DSD, more all the time because they really believe it is better.  Most of the stuff is older recordings, but there are some real gems there.

 

[Angelbelow]

Been following this thread early in hopes of picking out a dac. before Gary started testing or even finalizing his dac list I ended up getting the Yulong da8 early December. Haven't looked back since and still very Happy with my purchase. Glad you're enjoying the da8 Gary!

 

[koiloco]

  and yet they DID give it to the Teac UD-501.  crazy.

What's so crazy about it?  Unless you think your ears are the reference?  I have had this DAC for a while and been happy.  I will remain open minded about its SQ vs other DACs until W4S DAC2 arrives.

 

[cizx]

  What's so crazy about it?  Unless, you think your ears are the reference?  I have had this DAC for a while and been happy.  I will remain open minded about its SQ vs other DACs until W4S DAC2 arrives.

if you've only ever eaten saltines, you think they're just fine.  I've had a ritz.
 
 

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B0x_dFMnZVI

 

[DoctaCosmos]

literally
 
i know very well what search engines are for but have you ever looked at the bottom of the page and seen how many registered users and guests are on these forums looking but not saying anything?  I have a feeling some people disregard what could be useful information because of their ignorance of the matter but if they saw someone else asking questions and being replied to by informative people that answer the question in a more simple way than reading wiki article about how
"The signal is stored as delta-sigma modulated digital audio; a sequence of single-bit values at a sampling rate of 2.8224 MHz (64 times the CD Audio sampling rate of 44.1 kHz, but only at ¹⁄₁₆^th its 16-bit resolution). Noise shaping occurs by use of the 64× oversampled signal to reduce noise/distortion caused by the inaccuracy of quantization of the audio signal to a single bit. Therefore it is a topic of discussion whether it is possible to eliminate distortion in 1-bit Sigma-Delta conversion"
 
and might miss out on things like
 
"stated that 1-bit converters (as employed by DSD) are unsuitable for high-end applications due to their high distortion. Even 8-bit, four-times-oversampled PCM with noise shaping, proper dithering and half data rate of DSD has better noise floor and frequency response." 
 
but then again, this quote is one of many theories in a paragraph dedicated to the absence of an answer as to whether the fundamental dsd digital signal is superior sounding over pcm

 

[brunk]

^ Hear it for yourself, you be the judge.

 

[koiloco]

  if you've only ever eaten saltines, you think they're just fine.  I've had a ritz.
 
 

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B0x_dFMnZVI

lol.  I intend to find out what you've been eating.  

 

[DoctaCosmos]

I'd be happy to. I always keep an open mind and would never simply believe because of someones suggestions.  My previous statements were simply in regards to how his link that took him 3 seconds to find got me now where.
However Gary's simple answer helped me out and i thank you gary

 

[DoctaCosmos]

however i'm not buying a dedicated dac for it lol  $$$$ maybe just get a turntable and not worry about how dsd is an alternative to analog taping in the recording process and just stick with pure analog.

 

[Gary in MD]

Folks:
 
Here's the last test report I am going to post for a while.  I have family obligations to deal with this weekend. 
 
Don't buy the Emo Stealth for its headphone amp.  It is harsh and boomy, with a small soundstage.  Nothing really sounds "right" on it, at least with my cans, my ears, my brain, such as it is after 3 or so weeks of this exercise. 
 
Still sounds fine as a DAC though.  I mean, they had to give up on something to be able to sell it that cheap.  Now I know at least one item they cut corners on. The mini-jack was an obvious clue, but I figured I had to try it anyway.  Now it is going back in its box, and back to Emo.  It is a very nice value, even without a viable headphone jack, but I'm sort of smitten with that DSD stuff... and with the overall Yulong package.
 
Note, however, that I'm old and single, and I've had a history of not staying smitten long, so stay tuned...

 

[cizx]

  I'd be happy to. I always keep an open mind and would never simply believe because of someones suggestions.  My previous statements were simply in regards to how his link that took him 3 seconds to find got me now where.
However Gary's simple answer helped me out and i thank you gary

you asked a pretty broad question, so I gave you a pretty broad answer.  you get back what you put in.  just like you'd only trust your own ears, you should start with doing some of your own research before asking people to explain something to you, especially when that thing is so easy to google.
 
plus I'm bored.

 

[stainless824]

The DACs that I'm awaiting for quite keenly is the lightharmonic geek pulse. Looks to be a giant killer - a Da Vinci Junior (comparable to the dcs vivaldi and MSB dacs) of sorts from the same creator and designer

 

[DoctaCosmos]

my subjective opinions that involve my hearing isn't a relative analogy to an answer about an objective opinion.  and yes it's easy to google but like i said,.....