Is it worth to buy DAC to my notebook ?

[BenF]

Quote:

I think i don't have, i haven't noticed that, then i should find something else.

 
Why not the SMSL SD 022 for 48.8$ ?

 

[slawek371]

I think i will order -->  http://www.ebay.com/itm/SMSL-SD-022-TE7022-DAC-USB-input-coaxial-optical-output-24Bit-96K-DTS-AC3-PCM-/180776360005?pt=UK_Computing_CablesConnectors_RL&hash=item2a171c5845
 
Do u think that cheap DAC like that make difference ?
 
There is written in shipping and payments --> free shipping so do i only pay for product and delivery is totally free ?

 

[BenF]

Quote:

I think i will order -->  http://www.ebay.com/itm/SMSL-SD-022-TE7022-DAC-USB-input-coaxial-optical-output-24Bit-96K-DTS-AC3-PCM-/180776360005?pt=UK_Computing_CablesConnectors_RL&hash=item2a171c5845
 
Do u think that cheap DAC like that make difference ?
 
There is written in shipping and payments --> free shipping so do i only pay for product and delivery is totally free ?

I think that this DAC will be much better than the built-in one.
Delivery is totally free

 

[PleasantSounds]

Quote:

I think i will order -->  http://www.ebay.com/itm/SMSL-SD-022-TE7022-DAC-USB-input-coaxial-optical-output-24Bit-96K-DTS-AC3-PCM-/180776360005?pt=UK_Computing_CablesConnectors_RL&hash=item2a171c5845
 
Do u think that cheap DAC like that make difference ?
 
There is written in shipping and payments --> free shipping so do i only pay for product and delivery is totally free ?

 
Yup it will make a difference - it will make you $50 poorer. 
I thought you're looking for a DAC, not a USB to S/PDIF converter???  The auctioneer put the word DAC in the header and this is all you noticed. You need USB input and analog (RCA) outputs, even if you're not going to look at any other specs.

 

[BenF]

I think you have confused this converter with this DAC:
 
http://www.ebay.com/itm/SMSL-SD-022-24bit-96kHz-TE7022-DAC-USB-Coaxial-Optial-Toslink-AC3-DTS-PCM-SD022-/190753550611?pt=UK_AudioTVElectronics_HomeAudioHiFi_Amplifiers&hash=item2c69cc3113

 

[slawek371]

Yes i did, its good that u told me, becuase i tried to buy it.

 

[slawek371]

I haven't bought yet because i have been on holiday for 2 days.
 
Now im back and thinking about buying one of these 2 : SMSL SD-022 or Maya u5.
Maya u5 is a bit more expensive on ebay than SMSL but on my native polish Allegro its the same price.

Someone told before that Maya u5 is strange DAC because it only support ​

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 24bit/48kHz sampling rate,​

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SMSL supports ​

24bit/96kHz, ​

 i've read that Maya u5 is quite good DAC and the price on ebay is higher than SMSL so maybe high sampling rate doesn't matter a lot.

D​

oes it make difference as i listen to mp3 ? ​

 
I've read on some forum that Maya u5 is even too good for mp3, they said that i should listen to FLAC to see bigger difference so do u think that i should buy SMSL a bit cheaper and wait  about 15 days for delivery from abroad or MAYA u5 and wait 2-3 days ?

 

[BenF]

Quote:

I haven't bought yet because i have been on holiday for 2 days.
 
Now im back and thinking about buying one of these 2 : SMSL SD-022 or Maya u5.
Maya u5 is a bit more expensive on ebay than SMSL but on my native polish Allegro its the same price.

Someone told before that Maya u5 is strange DAC because it only support ​

[size=13.63636302947998px]

 24bit/48kHz sampling rate,​

[/size]

SMSL supports ​

24bit/96kHz, ​

 i've read that Maya u5 is quite good DAC and the price on ebay is higher than SMSL so maybe high sampling rate doesn't matter a lot.

D​

oes it make difference as i listen to mp3 ? ​

 
I've read on some forum that Maya u5 is even too good for mp3, they said that i should listen to FLAC to see bigger difference so do u think that i should buy SMSL a bit cheaper and wait  about 15 days for delivery from abroad or MAYA u5 and wait 2-3 days ?

SMSL is cheaper and better. It too will shine with FLACs or 320Kbps MP3.
Get SMSL.

 

[slawek371]

Someone on polish forum told me that DAC's like Maya u5 is too good for mp3 and i'm not a bat to need hear something beyond 24bit/48Khz. He said that i don't need any expensive DAC;s like that for mp3, just something which play a bit better than integrated card. Is it true ?

 

[sebna]

I have 200e Sound Card. I bought 1500$ external DAC and there was a massive difference then I bought 3k DAC and it is massive improvement over 1500$ DAC not to mention the sound card... so here you go. Buy the best you can and enjoy.

 

[slawek371]

Why do u say that SMSL is better than Maya u5 ? Only because it has higher sampling rate [size=13.63636302947998px]

24bit/192Khz than Maya u5 - ​

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24bit/48Khz​

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 ?​

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Does it make a difference when listening to mp3 ? ​

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Are there any other benefits of SMSL over Maya expect higher sampling rate ?​

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On ebay Maya is a bit more expensive, its not a rule that it must be better but usually when something is better then it's more expensive.​

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Maybe there are other more important things than sampling rate ?​

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[slawek371]

I've forund somehting about sampling rate:
 
[size=medium]"When MP3 files talk about frequency sampling rates of 44.1 kHz, they are not talking about how high or low the notes are. They are talking about the quality of the audio file.[/size][size=medium][/size]
[size=medium][/size]
[size=medium]For example, CDs typically cover an audio range of 20 Hz (very low sounds) to 20,000 Hz (very high sounds). But the sampling rate on a CD is 44.1 kHz. In essence that means that every second of sound that goes by, that sound is sampled 44,100 times. The mathematical properties of waves cause the maximum frequency recorded at this rate to be around 22,000 Hz. Since even the most accurate human ear only hears up to around 20,000 Hz, and most adults only hear up to 14,000 Hz or even lower, this is more than enough to cover a human ear's range."[/size]
 
[size=small]Does it means that if CD has sampling rate 44.1  kHz then Maya u5 with maximal  [/size][size=13.63636302947998px]

24bit/48kHz [/size]has enough sampling for CD and if  SMSL has [size=13.63636302947998px]

24bit/192Khz then is it too much for CD and won't make it any better ?​

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I mean that when CD is sampled to 44.1 kHz then DAC with anything above that will not make any difference because dividing signal source from CD or mp3 which is already divided won't make it more detailed, for simple if in time of one sample frequency is 50hz and if i divide this one sample into two samples then first and second sample will have the same frequency of 50hz so it won't make any difference  . ​

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Do i understand it right ?​

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[HamilcarBarca]

Quote:

[...]
[size=medium]Does it means that if CD has sampling rate 44.1  kHz then Maya u5 with maximal  [/size][size=13.63636302947998px]

24bit/48kHz [/size]has enough sampling for CD and if  SMSL has [size=13.63636302947998px]

24bit/192Khz then is it too much for CD and won't make it any better ?​

[/size]

 
If Maya can produce 16-bit, 44.1kHz audio samples, that's exactly right for audio CD's.
 
If you use Maya to produce a higher-sampling rate, if will have to be re-sampled for a standard audio CD; if you use Maya to produce a larger sample size, it will have to be reduced for a standard audio CD. Nothing prevents you from doing either of these and you may find reasons to do exactly that.

 

[slawek371]

Quote:

 
If Maya can produce 16-bit, 44.1kHz audio samples, that's exactly right for audio CD's.
 
If you use Maya to produce a higher-sampling rate, if will have to be re-sampled for a standard audio CD; if you use Maya to produce a larger sample size, it will have to be reduced for a standard audio CD. Nothing prevents you from doing either of these and you may find reasons to do exactly that.

Then it means that 24bit/48Khz which can Maya play is more than i need to play CD in the best fidelity, as i've read bits define sample size and kHz - sampling rate.
I think mp3 has less sampling rate and size than CD because mp3 is a name of compression and CD is lossless so  if i listen only to mp3 then i don't need any more sampling rate and size than Maya has.
I don't know what sampling rate has my integrated card in notebook but i think it can be something like CD need. So if someone above wrote that he has expensive DAC and after buying even more expensive one can see improvement in listening to mp3 and i think these two can play more sampling rate and size than CD need's then it mean's that sampling rate and size is not that important, just DAC need to have enough of it for source but i think all of them have enough. It means that DAC must have some other more important parameter's which decide about sound quality. 
 
Then higher sampling rate of SMSL doesn't make it better than Maya for playing mp3, so i think i will order Maya because its a bit cheaper in Poland and delivery will be much quicker than SMSL on eBay. 
 
Do u think that it shouldn't make much difference if its SMSL or Maya when listening to mp3 ?

 

[PleasantSounds]

Buying a DAC based on the sampling rate alone is a bit like buying a car based on how high the engine can rev. There's more to it, and not all the qualities can be quantified (i.e. how comfortable the seats are).
In case of a DAC there's also the tonality, soundstage, distortions, choice of inputs and outputs, overall build quality, size, styling and possibly many other factors to consider. Ultimately it's your decision, but people with experience have given you some good advice. I may add to it: if you really want to experience better sound, buy the best DAC you can afford.