[alvaroa]

hi, would you prefer this dac against musiland monitor 02 or e-mu 0404 usb? I am willing to buy some used hd600

 

[ninjikiran]

Quote:

hi, would you prefer this dac against musiland monitor 02 or e-mu 0404 usb? I am willing to buy some used hd600

Those dac's I think should be good(Now that I put my SCard into an A/B test format with my new amp).  It might be a better idea to get an amp, and since your here check out the A1

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[middachten]

Quote:

hi, would you prefer this dac against musiland monitor 02 or e-mu 0404 usb? I am willing to buy some used hd600

The D1 and the 0404 are completely different beasts. The 0404 will provide you with much better drivers if you want to use it with ASIO or AU based music software (like Cubase or Logic). And it has more studio oriented connections (like mic amplifiers and MIDI).
 
The D1 has better audio quality and a much better headphone amp. I use a TC-Konnekt D24 interface in my home-studio setup. I compared this unit extensively with the 0404 and found the audio quality of the D24 much better. What I think of the D1 compared to the D24 you can read in my review on this forum.
 
If you want the studio options of the 0404, I would strongly suggest you consider the TC Konnekt interfaces instead.

 

[djnagle]

Has anyone tried the Westinghouse WL5670  tube in the D1???

 

[taylor]

Apologies if this has already been asked (long thread)
 
What's better to use on this, USB or SPDIF? I've been reading it up and most say it depends on the USB chip being used.
 
I have 4 interconenct options
 
1 - Use the USB in the maverick
2 - Use toslink out from my motherboard - VIA VT1708S
3 - Use toslink out from a dedicated soundcard - Chaintech AV-710
4 - Buy a new AM3 mobo or a new PCIe x1 soundcard with coax output
 
Which would be best?

 

[ninjikiran]

1 - Last Scenario, USB mode is pretty bad and limited to a single mode 16/48.
2 - Its ok, not the best.  You have to sample rate match your file and mess with other settings.
3 - Bit-matched I think, supports up to at least 96khz from spdif I assume and 24-bit.  If so than this would be your best option.  If its a combo port, spdif would be the better option over toslink.
4 - Unsure why you would want to do this(change MOBO)
 
5 - Extra I am adding here, an external USB  transport or sound card(like the Asus ST, or Prelude)

 

[djnagle]

Hi Ninjikiran, I am a computer dumby so please bare with me as I don't understand what you are saying.  Currently, I have a computer acting as my server for my music system.  I have a 2TB external hard drive with all my music on it.  From the computer I go out of the USB into the D1 then on to my system.
 
Are you saying I will get better quality with some other way of hooking this all up?  If so, can you use simple words so I can understand it.  Thanks.
 
Quote:

1 - Last Scenario, USB mode is pretty bad and limited to a single mode 16/48.
2 - Its ok, not the best.  You have to sample rate match your file and mess with other settings.
3 - Bit-matched I think, supports up to at least 96khz from spdif I assume and 24-bit.  If so than this would be your best option.  If its a combo port, spdif would be the better option over toslink.
4 - Unsure why you would want to do this(change MOBO)
 
5 - Extra I am adding here, an external USB  transport or sound card(like the Asus ST, or Prelude)

 

[uelover]

hi djnagle,
 
The sound coming from USB to Maverick D1 is the worst option as compared to either toslink or coax. Nonetheless it will still sound better than direct analog sound out from your PC (server).
 
However, if you have no dedicated sound card that supports optical out, USB remains the way to go.

 

[djnagle]

So is it just a matter of getting a sound card with Coax or Toslink?  Is there something specific I should be looking for?

 

[middachten]

Ninjikiran has already given some good advice.
Let me just add my 2c to it:
 
A lot of information about the general difference between usb and spdif(Toslink or Coax) can be found here: Why is SPDIF better than USB?
 
My general experience with SPDIF connections is that Coax is almost always the best sounding option. But, I haven't actually listened to this option on my D1 (assuming that it would not be worth the effort!).
The USB option is a bit of a mixed bag on this interface. I'm under the impression that it functions best at 48kHz sample rate. And at that rate the performance is on par with the Coax input. I've listened to a few live recordings that I made in the past at 48kHz sample rate. And with those recordings its almost impossible to find a difference between USB and Coax. I must admit that these recordings are not the most discerning pieces of music I have, but still I think the comparison is useful. 
When I use 44.1k music material (for most people 100% of their collection!) the Coax sounds clearly better than USB. Overall difference: the bass is more defined and mid-high is more detailed and less shrill. But these differences are probably much smaller than the difference between the D1 and your motherboard output!
 
If you don't have a coax connection available I would say: just hook it up to USB and listen. You can always add a USB to SPDIF interface. This might even give you a better quality solution considering the better coax interface of these units. This will improve the jitter behavior of the D1 coax input (which is quite OK as is, we're talking subtle improvements here).
 
Hope this answer doesn't make it more complicated.....

 

[djnagle]

Thanks Mid.  One more question:  do I have to buy a new sound card to get coax or toslink?  There are neither of them on the back of my server.
 
I guess there is also the question of the USB connection from my exteral HD to the server.  Is that link also an issue?
 
And yes, the D1 sounds WAAAAAAAY better than my sound card.

 

[middachten]

If you're happy with the output trough USB you don't need to invest in a new soundcard. Effectively your D1 IS your new soundcard

.
 
The link between the HD and the server is not an issue. This does not influence the audio stream.
 
BTW (and grossly off-topic) whats that boat that you have in your sig? Sailing is my other big passion! 

 

[uelover]

Adding on to middachten, there are many USB to Coax/Toslink converters out there in the market but they are pretty expensive compared to D1, plus there could be signal dropoff during the conversion so I won't advise you in getting them just to enjoy the coax/toslink input.
 
It is a plus to upgrade the soundcard in your server but not a necessary if you are already enjoying D1 out from USB port.
 
I guess that the ulterior goal of this audiophile hobby is to really enjoy what you already have and to stop wondering how you can make things better =D
 
 
And a side track:
 
I have always heard people saying that coax is better than toslink.
 
Once, I have connected my sacd player directly to my D1 through Monoprice Coax and Toslink cable concurrently. I turned the input knot on my Maverick D1 but could hear exactly no difference between the two options (as if they are the same line!). It puzzled me but still turning the knot from coax to toslink and vice versa is like not turning the knot at all.
 
However, when I change the Monoprice toslink cable to another toslink cable, I could clearly hear the difference in sound between the two cables.
 
I wonder if monoprice made their digital cables to be exactly the same or if the difference between coax and toslink are very little for cheap cables...
 
 
P.S. Man you guys have got expensive hobby!

 

[ninjikiran]

The toslink connection pops for me on the D1, the coax does not.  So the choice was simple

.  Besides there more nasties using toslink, than there are using a well shielded Coax cable.  So if given a choice, I would go with Coax first Toslink second.
 
A good transport might cost a bit of cash(~$100-$200) but you can use it with any DAC you buy in the future so its something you probably won't need to replace after buying it.

 

[djnagle]

Thanks guys.  Just talked to a friend that fixes PCs for a living at one of the major car companies here in Detroit and he is always collecting ANY that might be good in discared computers and he thinks he has a sound card with a coax I can have.
 
Can I assume that any sound card I get, the coax or Tos will by-pass the boards DAC?  I understand that is what happens with my USB connection.
 
I bought the Yamaha 1800 DVD/CD/SACD player 6 months ago.  It was only three months ago that I got around to buying a coax cable to hook it up to the D1.  Switching from that to the RCA inputs is night and day.
 
OT, that is a Catalina C25 I bought and sailed for 4 years, sold, then bought a Catalina C27.  The C25 is the best of the two.  I sold the C27 and bought a 1958 Sparkman & Stevens 36' wood sailboat that was built in Norway.  I just sold that and am looking for my next project boat.  Out of the three, for jumping in the boat and going, the C25 was the best.