[MikeW]

Kinda doubt it, USB is limited to 16 bit..

Quote:

Originally Posted by ssingh0 does this mean that the ARIA sounds better out of USB than any soundcard (or other source?) Will it sound better (or competitive) out of usb even with a emu0404??

 

[darky_mtp]

The usb fonction is very important for me as I'm using the motherboard sound system to listen to my loss-less audio files.
As it seem to be a great amplifier, it's the perfect combo for me.

 

[Elephas]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ssingh0 does this mean that the ARIA sounds better out of USB than any soundcard (or other source?) Will it sound better (or competitive) out of usb even with a emu0404??

I think it is possible and depends on implementation.

My CEC DA53's USB input with ALAC-iTunes sounds better than the E-MU 1212M's analog out with wav->foobar ASIO.

 

[ssingh0]

24 bit is pretty noticeable from 16 bit, no? regardless of what kind of padding or implementation?

 

[wakked1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MikeW Kinda doubt it, USB is limited to 16 bit..

Huh? USB can handle at least 12Mbps in its most dumb form... its more than capable of supplying far more data than any DAC could possibly handle.

 

[MikeW]

Im not arguing it has the bandwidth. But for whatever reason, USB dac's do not support 24bit. At least i havent found one that does. Many support 24bit over SPDIF, but not usb. Probably somthign to do with the controller chip or internal spdif converters. I can't speak for other setups, but with my system there is a large and noticeable differnce between 16 and 24 bit. This is with an X-Fi. Now maybe the X-Fi has a sub-standard 16 bit implementation and a decent 24 bit, or maybe there really is just that much differnce. I don't know, but it's nite and day.

Quote:

Originally Posted by wakked1 Huh? USB can handle at least 12Mbps in its most dumb form... its more than capable of supplying far more data than any DAC could possibly handle.

 

[sxr71]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MikeW Im not arguing it has the bandwidth. But for whatever reason, USB dac's do not support 24bit. At least i havent found one that does. Many support 24bit over SPDIF, but not usb. Probably somthign to do with the controller chip or internal spdif converters. I can't speak for other setups, but with my system there is a large and noticeable differnce between 16 and 24 bit. This is with an X-Fi. Now maybe the X-Fi has a sub-standard 16 bit implementation and a decent 24 bit, or maybe there really is just that much differnce. I don't know, but it's nite and day.

It could be a Microsoft software implementation issue. I really don't know though.

Anyhow 24bit is nice, but there still isn't much open material in 24 bit except for those DVD-music discs. However a DAC should have 24bit capability just for future-proofing.

 

[JaZZ]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MikeW ...for whatever reason, USB DAC's do not support 24 bit.

Yes, I think you're right with the 16-bit limitation of USB.


Quote:

...with my system there is a large and noticeable difference between 16 and 24 bit.

Just curious: What audio formats benefit from the 24 bit resolution? Such with native 24 bit, or such converted from the redbook standard, too?
.

 

[humanflyz]

SACDs use 24bit, and I can hear a very noticeable difference between it and regular CDs that use 16bit.

 

[MikeW]

Oh I notice a large differnce with just Lossless Ripped CD's when outputing 24bit with Foobar.. don't know if that's a limitation of my soundcard or what, you'd think it should sound the same.

 

[JaZZ]

Quote:

Originally Posted by humanflyz SACDs use 24bit, and I can hear a very noticeable difference between it and regular CDs that use 16bit.

I was referring to MikeW's X-Fi, not the hi-rez formats in general. BTW, the SACD format (DSD) is based on 1 bit, in contrast to DVD-Audio which has a max. resolution of 24 bit.
.

 

[JaZZ]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MikeW Oh I notice a large differnce with just Lossless Ripped CD's when outputing 24bit with Foobar.. don't know if that's a limitation of my soundcard or what, you'd think it should sound the same.

Thanks! So it's Foobar's famous upsampling which is in play. It won't work with the Aria, but who knows, maybe its USB DAC sounds better than your soundcard's even without upsampling.
.

 

[MikeW]

should work with the aria in spdif modes eh? coax or optical.. unless the dac chip can't handle 24bit.. so foobar is actually upsampling eh? You know i hate foobar's ssrc, it kills the soundstage and is just blah, maybe I should give regular 16-bit a more critical listen somtime.

 

[JaZZ]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MikeW should work with the aria in spdif modes eh? coax or optical...

Yeah, if there was some S/PDIF interface, but the Aria only accepts USB signals. Don't know about its DAC's actual (theoretical) 24-bit/96-kHz capabilities.
.

 

[Andrea]

The DAC accepts only 16 bit and 32-44.1-48 KHz as said previously. (no 24 bit nor 96 KHz even theoretically)