[lan]

No the 1820m uses the computers power also. You can mod/hack rewire it to power it externally.

 

[sbulack]

Quote:

Originally Posted by slimer What exactly is the use of an external DAC. I am using a Terratec EWX 24/96 (which has an optical out) hooked straight to my amp with the analog outs. Is there any reason to need to go from my sound card > exernal dac? > amp > headphones? If it does make a difference I would be interested in getting one.

I bought an AOS Piccolo DAC when I decided that I liked the sound of my Pioneer DV-563A noticeably better than the sound of my Terratec EWX 2496. The Piccolo improved the sound quality of the audio originating as optical digital output from the Terratec to where it was equivalent to the quality of the analog audio I was getting from the Pioneer (tighter bass, more detail and translucence in the tone throughout the acoustic spectrum, more coherence in the spatial presentation of the sound). So what else could I do? I routed the optical digital out from the Pioneer through the Piccolo Dac and obtained yet another non-subtle improvement in analog audio quality originating as digital optical output from the CDP. The external DAC is easy to share between my Terratec and my CDP as digital sources, and gives worthwhile sound quality improvement to them both. For its price, the AOS Piccolo DAC gives me great bang-for-the-buck in my overall audio rig. Plus, it gives me a standalone and very portable DAC as a tool for intercepting and listening to an optical digital output whenever I need to for troubleshooting. I find that it's just a great addition to my audio rig.

 

[lucpes]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lan No the 1820m uses the computers power also. You can mod/hack rewire it to power it externally.

Is it possible to totally remove the ground connection with the PC on the 1820m?