[cvision123]

Charged up now - playing with the TotalDAC D1 usb cable and Audeze LCD2's... it's like magic! Will have to make sure too much time isn't "lost" exploring the music collection today.

IMHO, you'll loose ton of time because of the iDSD micro and a good pair of headphones

 

[semeniub]

IMHO, you'll loose ton of time because of the iDSD micro and a good pair of headphones

So true already.

 

[BillsonChang007]

IMHO, you'll loose ton of time because of the iDSD micro and a good pair of headphones

agreed! Can't believe I skipped my gaming time for it D: 

 

[Emerpus]

Me too ... been

  agreed! Can't believe I skipped my gaming time for it D: 

 
Mee too! Been listening to the Micro iDSD with my B&O H6 instead of playing games ... since the iDSD arrived ... like ... how long ago was that?!

 

[wisnon]

  Hello N. !!  Good to see you on Head Fi!
 
....didn't you have a Chord DAC at one time?  I can't remember if it was you or some one else who had a Qute.
 
anyway, I can't directly answer your question, but, according to the boys at iFi their house sound is quite different than Chord.  So that would be a starting point.  Also, we know that the iFi products do native DSD conversion without DSP.  Whatever Chord does on their FPGA, only Chord really knows.   I am going to venture a guess, and only a guess, that some kind of DSP is going on there. 

Hi A.
 
Yup, good memory. I do have a Qute. Not to worry, a pal of mine will son get the Micro and will be able to compare directly both the Hugo and the Micro. I expect the Micro will win hands down on DSD, but it will be a toss up for PCM, where the Hugo has its sweetspot. Rob and many other say the Hugo is better than the Qute, but RossB from Audtalia thinks that with a great LPSU, the Qute is better...more full bodied and richer.
 
Infact, its no mystery at all what Chord-Rob Watts does with DSD. Rob is extraordinarily forthcoming with his explanations (thus he commands a lot of personal respect from me). thorsten is the same way too.
 
Rob is not a DSD lover and does not think native playback is as good as his solution. I vehemently disagree. He upsamples/upconverts all incoming signal (PCM and DSD) to 2048fs PCM. That is at 90mhz! Then he brings it back down to a lower rate PCM for output after extensive DSP manipulation. I think the Hugo has 16 DSP cores in FPGA pulse array Dac. Timing is paramount for Watts (4ns threshold) and his Watts Transient Aligned filter is proprietary. All this is buried somewhere in that MONSTER Hugo thread here at Headfi.

 

[wisnon]

   
My issue is the pop is quite loud (so no getting used to it)  in this set-up: MacBook Pro retina late 2012 -> Audirvana Plus -> ifi iDSD Micro -> LCD-3(f)
 
No pop with : MacBook Pro retina late 2012 -> Audirvana Plus -> Chord Hugo -> LCD-3(f)
No pop with : MacBook Pro retina late 2012 -> Amarra Syphony -> ifi iDSD Micro -> LCD-3(f)
 
So I think its the Audirvana Plus issue.

The Hugo converts DSD to high rate PCM, so no native playback and thus no chance of popping.

 

[BillsonChang007]

  Me too ... been
 
Mee too! Been listening to the Micro iDSD with my B&O H6 instead of playing games ... since the iDSD arrived ... like ... how long ago was that?!

*brofist*
 
same here! Enjoying it with the H6 as well! I like it with Annie but I LOVE it with Annie! 

 

[Somphon]

The Hugo converts DSD to high rate PCM, so no native playback and thus no chance of popping.

Then no use to listen in dsd as it completely take away the joy of music experience. IMO.

 

[wisnon]

Then no use to listen in dsd as it completely take away the joy of music experience. IMO.

You have both Dacs...what are your impressions of them?

 

[roamling]

   
Actually, I don't think it is simple at all.  Yes, the issue with Channel Classics comes from rendering into individual tracks, but I believe the actual issue that causes those ticks and pops is the same as what causes them in realtime bitstreaming.  Has to do with time/clocking, as far as I know.  I am definitely open to correction...
 
 
I also don't think the guys at Merging on the pro side or the guys on the consumer side, such as iFi are unaware of these small issues or annoyances.  I do think that DSD presents some unique challenges that aren't as simple to solve.  Do I know this?  No.  But I do believe this, based on the various things I have read over the years, and also based on my conversations with Thorsten at AMR/iFi, whom I respect as much as anyone when it comes to keen insight into all things audio...
 
I imagine there may be ways to work around it, and it would not surprise me at all if the software guys at iFi come up with some kind of 'solution' to a problem that really isn't of their own making.  Reminds me of the USB 3.0 bug from a few months ago.  The bug wasn't an iFi problem.  It was literally a programming error hard coded by Intel themselves, and Intel was not going to fix things anytime soon, since it affected, well, statistically speaking, no one.  But after I am sure growing tired of hearing people complain about a bug that wasn't their own, iFi went out and rewrote code to compensate for Intel's error.  
 
 
I do believe a lot of these DSD bitstream issues may more readily be solved on the player side. Jriver, Pure Music, etc.  John' post is a good example of how different Jriver builds give quite different results.  
 
DSD can sound quite lovely.  As a matter of fact, I believe that the very best sounding recordings in my collection are pure DSD recordings by Polyhymnia for Pentatone.  There is just a certain something special that is difficult to describe.  I personally will deal with a little inconvenience for that kind of playback experience.  But I totally understand why some may not feel the same.  

 
Agree, ifi is not at fault here, thats not what i said. My "appeal" to the industry is actually based on the assumption that DSD is a valid format and should be more widely available. The SACD release was not done properly (to be restraint in choosing my wording) and failed to reach a wider audience. The availabilty of DSD downloads is certainly welcome but is prone to these issues. I don't really care in which side the issue is addressed, software or release, as long as there is some type of industry standard for DSD playback.    
 
JRiver is a great software and can solve these issues on the software side. Last night I enjoyed the Wagner album from Channel Classics.
 
Right now I have done a complete system overhaul, I will post some pictures on the weekend, I was just mad busy the last couple of days... The ifi micro iDSD is right now in the center of my HiFi and I dont care to much about the headphone section right now. The internal DAC section is doing all the hard work and I dont think I need a mini iDSD at all! 
 
I also have my hand on the "buy" button for a LIV Zen Vortexbox. Fanless design and plays PCM 24/384 and DSD 64/128 straight to a USB DAC. Does anyone have feedback how DSD files play on the Vortexbox software, any issues with pops? 

 

[RadioWonder737]

   
Agree, ifi is not at fault here, thats not what i said. My "appeal" to the industry is actually based on the assumption that DSD is a valid format and should be more widely available. The SACD release was not done properly (to be restraint in choosing my wording) and failed to reach a wider audience. The availabilty of DSD downloads is certainly welcome but is prone to these issues. I don't really care in which side the issue is addressed, software or release, as long as there is some type of industry standard for DSD playback.    
 
JRiver is a great software and can solve these issues on the software side. Last night I enjoyed the Wagner album from Channel Classics.
 
Right now I have done a complete system overhaul, I will post some pictures on the weekend, I was just mad busy the last couple of days... The ifi micro iDSD is right now in the center of my HiFi and I dont care to much about the headphone section right now. The internal DAC section is doing all the hard work and I dont think I need a mini iDSD at all! 
 
I also have my hand on the "buy" button for a LIV Zen Vortexbox. Fanless design and plays PCM 24/384 and DSD 64/128 straight to a USB DAC. Does anyone have feedback how DSD files play on the Vortexbox software, any issues with pops? 

Looks like you have to contact the Seller if you live in the USA... http://livconcepts.co.uk/
 
http://www.ebay.com/itm/LIV-Zen-2Tb-Vortexbox-CD-Ripping-Music-Server-NAS-for-Naim-Linn-Sonos-Squeezebox-/251198726145#shpCntId

 

[7cents]

I'm having 100% of my collection is PCM. Is iDSD still a decent DAC choice for PCM only?

 

[ClieOS]

  I'm having 100% of my collection is PCM. Is iDSD still a decent DAC choice for PCM only?

 
Of course. Don't forget that DSD1793 in the iDSD is as much a TOTL chip for PCM as it is for DSD.

 

[WNBC]

Indeed!  I only have DSD files that I have obtained for free as trials from sites like 2L.  Even though I haven't purchased a single DSD file the option is there down the road to pursue it.  I do have quite a bit of the high-rez 24/96 and 24/192, but the bulk of my library is average 16/44 flacs.  Micro is excellent with all formats.  DSD playback is a bonus.
 
 
Quote:

  I'm having 100% of my collection is PCM. Is iDSD still a decent DAC choice for PCM only?

 

[Emerpus]

  I'm having 100% of my collection is PCM. Is iDSD still a decent DAC choice for PCM only?

 
I only have PCM. In fact, I listen to a lot of spotify (non-premium) while the rest of my collection are Flac rip from my XRCD's. Very enjoyable to listen too (ok, depends on the source too ... bad recordings will sound bad still). lol