[DaveBSC]

Quote:

Ah, thanks for that Dave. That USB Link doesn't seem like a very good deal at all for $500, which is more than I paid for the DAC2.

Indeed not. Curiously Bel Canto seems to be trying to bring ST glass fiber back in to favor with their USB Light Link. ST can be used for extremely long runs, but other than that I don't think it has any real advantages over electrical, especially a good 75 Ohm BNC connection.

 

[melomaniac]

in terms of price/quality on the curve, I think the CIA VDA2 is often over-looked, if it's paired with the VAC1 PSU it is really competitive on an optical connection

 

[soloclass]

 
Quote:

What are some of the better Dacs / Pre to consider for using computer music files as source to drive amp and speakers.

 
I use a dedicated small desktop PC with a 1 TB disk (all my FLAC files on it). That PC does not do anything else than play these files with Foobar (no internet, no other software than the OS, W-7).
From a USB 2.0 output, I use an Audiohlileo 1 (with a digital volume control included) directly plugged into the input (no digital cable) of my Yamamoto DAC.
IC's anc AC cables are from Crytstal cable, power conditioner is an EP15A - (you want "good juice" to feed yor DAC).
The analog output from the DAC goes to a passvve TVC preamp that has two sets of outputs (volume pots always to the max).
One set of outputs (from the passive pre) goes to my Head amp (also a Yamamoto, paired with my ATH-W1000) while the other outputs go to my amp/speaker setup. 
 
I doubt that anything else could please me better , even if I was willing to spend quite a lot more than what I did.
 

 

[PedroH]

The Ayon and Ayre DACs recommended here are products from 2009... is the industry stagnating? I would expect hi-end computer audio to progress faster...

 

[DaveBSC]

The Ayon and Ayre DACs recommended here are products from 2009... is the industry stagnating? I would expect hi-end computer audio to progress faster...

I'd say its progressing remarkably fast. Only a few years ago, if you wanted high-end audio from a PC, a Lynx card and a custom breakout cable was pretty much your only choice. Now there's a menagerie of adaptive mode and asynchronous mode USB converters, with price points ranging from $150 to $3000. These converters let you connect just about any DAC in history to a computer.

Quality USB DACs are still fewer, but they are coming. Part of the problem is that small, high-end operations just don't move that fast, and a lot of them also just don't seem interested in USB as a high-end medium. Simaudio for example are still sticking 16/48 "convenience" USB inputs on their products. More companies are getting into it though, either by licensing from Wavelength or M2Tech, or doing something else like Audio Research did with the DAC-8.

 

[2deadeyes]

Quote:

What are some of the better Dacs / Pre to consider for using computer music files as source to drive amp and speakers.

The newly released Meitner Audio MA-1 DAC. It has six digital inputs, all with support for resolution of up to 24bit/192kHz, including USB.

 

[chesebert]

The newly released Meitner Audio MA-1 DAC. It has six digital inputs, all with support for resolution of up to 24bit/192kHz, including USB.

Didn't you get rid of your EMM DAC2SE some time ago?

 

[2deadeyes]

Quote:

Didn't you get rid of your EMM DAC2SE some time ago?

Still have my DCC2SE. I did place a FS for it when I was contemplating of selling my entire rig but ultimately decided against it. Now I'm finishing my speaker rig.
 

 

[chesebert]

Still have my DCC2SE. I did place a FS for it when I was contemplating of selling my entire rig but ultimately decided against it. Now I'm finishing my speaker rig.
 

Nice. Still remember the fist day you got that DAC and how elated you were at the improvement it made over the Transporter.

10k must be the magic number where digital starts to really sound like music. My Transporter is now primarily serving as a wifi bridge - still waiting for that one magic filter implementation that will make it sound like 10k

 

[2deadeyes]

Quote:

Nice. Still remember the fist day you got that DAC and how elated you were at the improvement it made over the Transporter.
10k must be the magic number where digital starts to really sound like music. My Transporter is now primarily serving as a wifi bridge - still waiting for that one magic filter implementation that will make it sound like 10k

 
I'm glad I didn't sell the emmlabs - saved me a wad of cash by forgoing a preamp with its built-in one! Lol @ magic filter! With Logitech @ the helm now, I wouldn't hold my breath I still love my Transporter though - I'm also using it was a wifi bridge feeding the DCC2SE. With (unofficial) support for Spotify streaming in Squeezebox, I'm loving the Transporter even more.
 
 

 

[melomaniac]

Quote:

 
I'm glad I didn't sell the emmlabs - saved me a wad of cash by forgoing a preamp with its built-in one! Lol @ magic filter! With Logitech @ the helm now, I wouldn't hold my breath I still love my Transporter though - I'm also using it was a wifi bridge feeding the DCC2SE. With (unofficial) support for Spotify streaming in Squeezebox, I'm loving the Transporter even more. 

good to see some hardy Transporter love - although I totally don't get spotify, already got rid of it again. as for chesebert's magic filter: it's just like saying that 10k sounds like music - a magic number, nothing else. there are DACs for a lot more that to me sound awful, and DACs for a lot less that to me sound great. no need to reinforce the ugly stereotype about us snobby stereo-types, er I mean, audiophiles

 

[chesebert]

It's safe to say that no one "reasonable" person in their right mind would pay 10k for a DAC that sounds worse than a 3k one (Ayre and PS Audio come to mind). As good as Ayre and PWD sound, the older Esoteric X01 and the new dCS entry-level DAC are simply better in all respects.
 
On the TP filter: this is one of those things you can modify yourself with a custom filter file. I attempted to do a minimum-phase one with good results (comparatively speaking of course). But there were enough shortcomings in operation (mostly due to my lack of knowledge in SOX) that I hoped some hardcore TP fan would make a perfect one and make that available to loyal TP fans. A properly implemented filter would bring TP up to today's sonic standards.   
 
With a network streamer, I actually no longer use my TP for any audio duty (it's really better this way, eliminate interface-induced jitter all together). I am really hoping a better custom filter would allow me to use it as a balanced source for another setup (without suffering too much from the source downgrade).
 
 
Quote:

good to see some hardy Transporter love - although I totally don't get spotify, already got rid of it again. as for chesebert's magic filter: it's just like saying that 10k sounds like music - a magic number, nothing else. there are DACs for a lot more that to me sound awful, and DACs for a lot less that to me sound great. no need to reinforce the ugly stereotype about us snobby stereo-types, er I mean, audiophiles