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Mar 14, 2009 at 2:26 PM Post #93 of 466
Quote:

Originally Posted by HeadLover /img/forum/go_quote.gif
I have the PICO, I really love it!
I just wished the DAC could have been better, cause buying something I already have isn't nice (even thought it is a great product!!)
24/96 input could be very nice


There is one consideration for the DAC that it has over the Amp/Dac which may be significant. That is that it will not have to pass the signal through the Amps volume control. If as I think the volume control on the Pico is analog it would degrade the signal compared with a straight Dac output which does not pass an analog volume control.

There are several discussions of the effects of an analog volume control vs. digital on the new Lavry DA11 postings if you want to read about this possible difference.
 
Mar 14, 2009 at 2:28 PM Post #94 of 466
Quote:

Originally Posted by justin w. /img/forum/go_quote.gif
There is also a "bonus" feature of the Pico USB DAC. If you use an amp with standard board mount RCA jacks (14mm center to center spacing), such as the Gilmore Lite or GS-1, and hundreds of others, you can connect male-to-male RCA couplers between the Pico USB DAC and your headphone amp instead of any interconnect.
h211ZNADP2M-fp.jpg



Parts Express # 263-386 $11.89 - saves a bunch on cables...
 
Mar 14, 2009 at 2:40 PM Post #95 of 466
Quote:

Originally Posted by slwiser /img/forum/go_quote.gif
There is one consideration for the DAC that it has over the Amp/Dac which may be significant. That is that it will not have to pass the signal through the Amps volume control. If as I think the volume control on the Pico is analog it would degrade the signal compared with a straight Dac output which does not pass an analog volume control.


@HeadLover, so there's your 1% improvement right there! (or more). Also remember that the DAC is powered by the 5 volt USB so no external power/charging required.
 
Mar 14, 2009 at 2:43 PM Post #96 of 466
amm yep the fact that it is 5V by the USB is nice, BUT (and that is a big but), sometimes the USB (most of the time) power isn't very clean and can really bring bad SQ.
(Not saying this is the case here, but really PC power isnt great at all)
 
Mar 14, 2009 at 2:51 PM Post #97 of 466
Quote:

Originally Posted by GreatDane /img/forum/go_quote.gif
@HeadLover, so there's your 1% improvement right there! (or more). Also remember that the DAC is powered by the 5 volt USB so no external power/charging required.


As Justin has told me that I probably would not be able to tell the difference but I wanted to note this anyway.

Justin as told us that the DAC on each channel is isolated from the USB power. Do you think if this was not something worth noting that he would have mentioned it?
 
Mar 14, 2009 at 2:55 PM Post #100 of 466
Quote:

Originally Posted by HeadLover /img/forum/go_quote.gif
amm yep the fact that it is 5V by the USB is nice, BUT (and that is a big but), sometimes the USB (most of the time) power isn't very clean and can really bring bad SQ.
(Not saying this is the case here, but really PC power isnt great at all)


I haven't heard any bad effect from the USB power with the prototype and correct me if I'm wrong but the Pico amp/DAC uses USB power for the DAC and the Li-ion battery only powers the amp section.

I do agree with the noisy PC environment. I use a HP laptop and I needed to lift the ground with a cheater plug to eliminate noise with my Pico(just a ground issue?) and I'll guess this would happen with my only other current USB DAC, the XM5, although I've never tested.
 
Mar 14, 2009 at 3:02 PM Post #101 of 466
Right now I have my Pico Amp/Dac feeding my Yamamoto HA-02 into my Ultrasone Edition 9s. The sound is very nice.
 
Mar 14, 2009 at 3:19 PM Post #102 of 466
Quote:

Originally Posted by HeadLover /img/forum/go_quote.gif
I have the PICO, I really love it!
I just wished the DAC could have been better, cause buying something I already have isn't nice (even thought it is a great product!!)
24/96 input could be very nice


Is this really pertinent to this thread? Go post in one of the already started threads about your thoughts on the Pico or the Dac section. This thread is for people interested in purchasing Justin's product. I for one did my research prior to letting Justin know I wanted to purchase this Dac.
 
Mar 14, 2009 at 4:19 PM Post #103 of 466
Quote:

Originally Posted by HeadLover /img/forum/go_quote.gif
BTW
I have the Audioengine A5 right now (as for speakers), how well will they go with this DAC ? anyone tried or something? and when will Justing start shipping it?


I wish the moderators would ban you from this thread.
 
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