[Aiml3ss]

Hey everyone,
 
I think I am dumb, I just figured out that my StyleAudio Carat Emerald DAC can do 24bit playback. I have tried to get it to work on my PC and Mac but I cannot get options beyond 16bit 48hz. Any ideas on what I am doing wrong? Are the drivers not working or is my DAC messed up?
 
Thanks,
 
Aiml3ss

 

[RexAeterna]

looks like a plain dac. there is no software for it or is it just plug and play? if it's plug and play then the only way to get it to play at 24-bit is listen to 24-bit material. if it does have a software interface/drivers then there might be a consumer/professional switch but i'm taking a good guess no since it looks like a consumer dac and not a professional audio interface(professional audio interfaces has professional and consumer switches for their converters).

 

[Mauricio]

Make sure you have the DAC's USB 2.0 driver installed.  No USB 2.0, no 24-bit over USB, I believe.

 

[Roller]

While DACs with proprietary drivers often have selectable output formats through either software or hardware level, driverless DACs should display all available formats from within the OS itself.
 
From a little reading, it seems that the PCM2707 can only output 16/44.1 and 16/48. But 24/192 playback can only be achieved on Windows using USB through proprietary drivers, as Windows only supports up to 24/96 with USB, and up to 24/192 through S/PDIF.
 
But I'm not familiar with that DAC, so someone that has experience with that DAC might help better.

 

[adamlau]

@Aiml3ss: No OS X option available for 2ch-24bit Integer under Audio MIDI Setup? 
 

 
Quote:

Make sure you have the DAC's USB 2.0 driver installed.  No USB 2.0, no 24-bit over USB, I believe.

USB 1.1 supports 24-bit media playback (12 Mb/sec) with a samplerate no greater than 96 kHz.
 

 

[cladisch]

[size=9pt]The DAC chip itself, the PCM1793[/size], does support 24 bits at 192 kHz. However, the USB interface chip, the PCM2707, does not support more than 16 bits at 48 kHz, independent of what driver you're using.

 

[Aiml3ss]

Thanks for all the replies so far!
 
@adamlau
 
Nope, its only 2ch-16 bit 48hz
 
 
Quote:

[size=9pt]The DAC chip itself, the PCM1793[/size], does support 24 bits at 192 kHz. However, the USB interface chip, the PCM2707, does not support more than 16 bits at 48 kHz, independent of what driver you're using.

So in layman terms, I cannot send 24/192 through my DAC to my headphones? Also, there were no drivers to download for this DAC, they installed automatically.
 
Would it be wise to sell this and upgrade to a better DAC/Amp for my HD650's? Right now my setup is PC > DAC > headphones. 
 
Thanks for all the help so far! 
 
 

 

[ROBSCIX]

This happens with some DAC's with USB input, the DAC chip itself supports 24/96 or higher but the receiver chip is limited to either 16/44.1 or 16/48Khz.  In which case you are stuck with 16 bit resolutions.  If your DAC has S/Pdif input, that might be a way around this receiver limitation.
On USB input DAC's the receiver chip is a very important aspect to consider when purchasing.

 

[Aiml3ss]

 
Quote:

This happens with some DAC's with USB input, the DAC chip itself supports 24/96 or higher but the receiver chip is limited to either 16/44.1 or 16/48Khz.  In which case you are stuck with 16 bit resolutions.  If your DAC has S/Pdif input, that might be a way around this receiver limitation.
On USB input DAC's the receiver chip is a very important aspect to consider when purchasing.

Oh I see! Bummer! Seems shady that they market DAC's like that. 
 
What would you recommend as an upgrade to this DAC to be paired with my HD650's?

 

[ROBSCIX]

Quote:

 


Oh I see! Bummer! Seems shady that they market DAC's like that. 
 
What would you recommend as an upgrade to this DAC to be paired with my HD650's?

Yeah, it is a bit misleading unless you know how to understand the specs, if they print the info there.
As for a recommendation, there are many great DAC's out there.  I suggest just making a new thread and
you will get many suggestions.