Lapfi: A Listing of USB and PCMCIA DACs
Feb 27, 2006 at 5:08 AM Post #16 of 62
Hmmmmm....this is the first time I have heard that my 9300 had a good soundcard. I have the Sigmatel chip and it sucks. I am going to look up the alternate chip now. See if there is any difference.
The BEST thing I ever did for the sq was try the TBAAM and HD201. Zero background noise, great soundstage and completely flat to my ears. I could have stopped there. I added a Edirol UA-25 and some 770dt's from Guitar Center.WOW. Then. Mr Meier came out with his wonderful Corda Aria with a usb dac.I am going to get some 880's to match it, unless something else turns out to be a better match. Then I am done...... haha... I just finished my third cmoy version tonight. This one uses two single opamps and I figured a way to incoperate a meier modified crossfeed circuit ( unswitched ) . It sounds great.
I think that will be my final cmoy.....UNLESS....I decide to etch my own board.

My best advice...... get off the internal card. USB is the best.
Save some time and get a Corda Aria and a Senn 880 and be done with it.


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...audio/aria.jpg
 
Mar 4, 2006 at 4:07 PM Post #17 of 62
 
Mar 4, 2006 at 4:18 PM Post #18 of 62
Um what about AQVOX USB2DA (also headphone amp) or Diyeden great-march (dac only)?
smily_headphones1.gif
 
Mar 4, 2006 at 7:56 PM Post #19 of 62
This may sound like a noobish question but, does a USB DAC work independently of a soundcard? I mean, would having a soundcard or not make any difference since the signal is just sent digitally through the USB?
 
Mar 4, 2006 at 8:56 PM Post #20 of 62
Quote:

Originally Posted by Pibborando
This may sound like a noobish question but, does a USB DAC work independently of a soundcard? I mean, would having a soundcard or not make any difference since the signal is just sent digitally through the USB?


A USB DAC more or less is another sound card. Depending on the DAC you can run system sounds through one sound card, and Foobar output to the USB DAC, etc.

I am using the DDDAC Mk2 USB interface in my custom DAC, which allows me to run via ASIO through foobar, while the computer sounds, ir I actually want them turned on, would go through a built-in sound card (usually disabled, along with system sounds).

What about DIY USB DACs like the DDDAC on this list?


Peter
 
Mar 5, 2006 at 7:44 AM Post #21 of 62
i was only looking for info about the TBAAM, but found this. i don't think i plan to be buying any of those high-end equipment, but i'm not so sure after reading this thread!

great info for the noob (me) and most every other level of lapfi user, i imagine.

the OP and RockinOut posts were especially informative. should be a sticky (i was surprised there isn't one there already).
 
Mar 9, 2006 at 4:17 AM Post #22 of 62
Thanks jiiteepee and pburke, and everyone else (I'll make sure everyone is properly credited). Back to studying for World Cultures Russia for now. jriihi, if I forget to add yours, bug me. I'm going to look for the threads where USB is compared to other interfaces after midterms, but if anyone can remember the top of their mind, please do share.

Actually, what we often think of as 'sound cards' functionally the same as the USB DACs but with a PCI interface (oh PCI-E 1x, where have you gone!?)
 
Mar 9, 2006 at 7:08 AM Post #24 of 62
I'm looking at the m-audio transit to plug into my powerbook g4's usb, in order to get optical out. It seems that one of the transit's main features is it's portability, however, portability is essentially a non-issue for me. (my setup is going to stay in my room) Are there any interfaces that will give me more accurate optical out than the transit for the same price, or the same quality optical out at a cheaper price, because they are bulkier?

Thanks
 
Mar 9, 2006 at 7:50 AM Post #25 of 62
Quote:

Originally Posted by Silentpug387
I'm looking at the m-audio transit to plug into my powerbook g4's usb, in order to get optical out. It seems that one of the transit's main features is it's portability, however, portability is essentially a non-issue for me. (my setup is going to stay in my room) Are there any interfaces that will give me more accurate optical out than the transit for the same price, or the same quality optical out at a cheaper price, because they are bulkier?

Thanks


Don't know the quality of these USB devices with optical out, but maybe

Audiotrak OPTOPlay (~50$) is a good choice (Review - http://www.short-media.com/review.php?r=249&p=1)

or

Edirol UA-1EX (~80$)
ESI GIGAPort AG (~145$) - (24-bit/48 kHz max analog res.)
Audiotrak MAYA44 USB (!! - (16-bit/48kHz max analog res.) !! Maybe hard to find.
Behringer U-CONTROL UCA202 (~35$) (!! may be 16-bit/48 kHz max analog res.)
Yamaha UW10 (~100$) (!! may be 16-bit/48kHz max analog res.)
ART USB Phono Plus (~90$) (!! 16-bit/48kHz max analog res.)
Turtle Beach Audio Advantage Roadie --> link on post #1
TurtleBeach Audio Advantage Amigo (~50$))
TurtleBeach Audio Advantage Micro (~30$)
ADS Instant Music (~38$) (!! 16-bit/48kHz max analog res.)
Xitel Pro HiFi-Link (~90$)
SIIG SoundWave 5.1 External Sound System (~20$)
Zalman Tech ZM-RSSC External Sound System (~55$)
Philips Aurilium 5.1 Channel External Sound Processor (~60$)

and ofcourse:

Creative SB Live! 24-bit External, Digital Music LX, Digital Music, Audigy 2 NX, Extigy and MP3+

would be suitable.


jiitee

P.S.

PHONIC Digitrack (~60$) has a S/PDIF (not optical) (!! 16-bit/48kHz max analog res.)
Yellowtec PUC - http://www.yellowtec.com/PUC.html (Professional USB Audio Interface)

BTW: Most of these are missing from the list on #1 post.
 
Mar 11, 2006 at 9:01 AM Post #26 of 62
Quote:

Originally Posted by Silentpug387
I'm looking at the m-audio transit to plug into my powerbook g4's usb, in order to get optical out. It seems that one of the transit's main features is it's portability, however, portability is essentially a non-issue for me. (my setup is going to stay in my room) Are there any interfaces that will give me more accurate optical out than the transit for the same price, or the same quality optical out at a cheaper price, because they are bulkier?

Thanks


Just go with the transit - you won't be disappointed with the quality of the optical out
 
Mar 12, 2006 at 11:12 AM Post #27 of 62
Yeah, ones and zeros are still gonna be ones and zeros. I use the Turtle Beach micro for the purpose of optical output and its works perfectly.
 
Mar 12, 2006 at 11:15 AM Post #28 of 62
BTW, this really should be stickied.
 
Mar 12, 2006 at 11:51 AM Post #29 of 62
I'd like to add the Creative Soundblaster Digital Music SX. It's not marketed as a DAC, but it takes USB output from a PC/laptop and provides RCA stereo out, headphone out (with volume control) and optical out. (It also takes optical in.) The most interesting feature is that it supports bit-perfect digital out, i.e., no resampling, unlike most Creative products. It supports a maximum resolution of 24-bit / 96 kHz.

It's USB-powered, so there's only one cable, but there's the option of external power as well, so it can be used as a standalone device without a PC.

It will also pass a Dolby Digital 5.1 or DTS signal via the optical out if you want to send your DVD sound through it.

I don't know if it's available in the USA yet, but here in Singapore it's about US$90.
 
Mar 20, 2006 at 6:10 AM Post #30 of 62
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