[slex]

Yes, i suppose the delivery of power is superlatively better and match well with dac.

Good read on filter-less dac

http://www.opera-consonance.com/products/Digital-filter-less%20DAC%20Concept%20page5.htm

 

[Soundsgoodtome]

Yes, i suppose the delivery of power is superlatively better and match well with dac.

Good read on filter-less dac

http://www.opera-consonance.com/products/Digital-filter-less%20DAC%20Concept%20page5.htm

Such an excellent read, thank you!! And to quote:

The Sound of Non-oversampling
We can control the "diffusion of sound coherence" only by constructing it with smaller number of taps. From that aspect, Wadia's decoding computer (13 taps) or Luxman's former fluency DAC, DA-07 (3 taps) are considered to be excellent machines. They both received (Wadia still does) outstanding appraisals at the time for their sensual representation of the sound. The sound of non-oversampling DAC is on the extension of these machines, and theoretically, it can exceed those achievements.

The difference between the non-oversampling DAC and the conventional DAC with the digital filter lies whether you attach importance on the accuracy in the time domain or in the frequency domain. In other words, whether you choose the musical performance or the quality of a sound. This trade-off line defines the boundary of the current digital audio format .
    
A natural, stress-free sound that communicates the musicians' intention directly to you. That is the sound of non-oversampling DAC. The feel of this sound is closer to that of analog reproduction.

 

[SeeSax]

Thanks to you kind folks for introducing me to these DACs, my patience has paid off and I snapped one up on eBay today. I thought the chances would be VERY slim of finding a used Pagoda, but I did! I bought it this morning and it will hopefully arrive in a week or so. Can't wait - so excited to use this with my Ember!
 
-Collin-

 

[Soundsgoodtome]

Congrats, the MHDT Dacs and Garage amps have excellent synergy. For a relatively small footprint, it creates a grand sound.

 

[s1rrah]

  Thanks to you kind folks for introducing me to these DACs, my patience has paid off and I snapped one up on eBay today. I thought the chances would be VERY slim of finding a used Pagoda, but I did! I bought it this morning and it will hopefully arrive in a week or so. Can't wait - so excited to use this with my Ember!
 
-Collin-

 
Welcome to the club ... you will be pleased, I'm sure...
 

 

[SeeSax]

Can you guys comment on the USB input on these DACs? It would be most convenient for me to use USB as my other rig is taking up the one optical cable out of my sound card. Does USB work okay? I'm not well-versed in all the different USB options, but hopefully someone can comment on that? If optical would be way better, I can look into swapping the two setups. Thanks!
 
-Collin-

 

[Soundsgoodtome]

It's decent but if your usb is noisy from your computer, your optical out may be a better solution for isolation. What's your other rig?

 

[s1rrah]

  Can you guys comment on the USB input on these DACs? It would be most convenient for me to use USB as my other rig is taking up the one optical cable out of my sound card. Does USB work okay? I'm not well-versed in all the different USB options, but hopefully someone can comment on that? If optical would be way better, I can look into swapping the two setups. Thanks!
 
-Collin-

 
I think the USB sounds just fine ...
 
I've always preferred using optical but over the years, I've used both.  
 
I wouldn't worry about it and to tell you the truth?  I'm pretty sure far more computer listeners out there are using USB over optical ... since it's just so convenient ...
 
The who bought  my former Stockholm 2 is a speaker rig listener alone ... using some really high end, Magnapane speakers as well as some super high end amplifiers ... and he uses nothing but USB with the Stockholm and he loves it ...
 
Enjoy...
 
joel

 

[SeeSax]

It's decent but if your usb is noisy from your computer, your optical out may be a better solution for isolation. What's your other rig?

Other rig is the Audio-GD NFB-1 DAC and amp. I only have one optical out and I've heard this setup is not great with USB.

I think the USB sounds just fine ...

I've always preferred using optical but over the years, I've used both.  

I wouldn't worry about it and to tell you the truth?  I'm pretty sure far more computer listeners out there are using USB over optical ... since it's just so convenient ...

The who bought  my former Stockholm 2 is a speaker rig listener alone ... using some really high end, Magnapane speakers as well as some super high end amplifiers ... and he uses nothing but USB with the Stockholm and he loves it ...

Enjoy...

joel

Thanks. I will try it on both and see if I can hear any difference.

 

[NWRain]

How important is the grade of a PCM1704 to the overall sound of a DAC?  I've been researching what features I want in a Dac, and was curious about vintage based chips.

 

[Soundsgoodtome]

It's a factor but not the final word. There are a lot of factors that can make a dac chip sound great and vice versa, best way to know is use your ears.

 

[Sechtdamon]

  Can you guys comment on the USB input on these DACs? It would be most convenient for me to use USB as my other rig is taking up the one optical cable out of my sound card. Does USB work okay? I'm not well-versed in all the different USB options, but hopefully someone can comment on that? If optical would be way better, I can look into swapping the two setups. Thanks!
 
-Collin-

 
I'm using Atlantis, and i can say if you want to use it via USB input, you should have a seperate computer for playback only. Its USB input is too picky. (My desktop cannot feed it properly, but a seperate entry grade laptop with empty task manager can feed it.) Or you can buy a usb isolator/reclocker; something like schiit wyrd and it should be fine.
 
I haven't tried optical input, but I've tried other three; USB is just fine compared to other known multibit dacs, Coax is better: with Coax input it gains slight body. But, for me, the best input is BNC. The body it gets via Coax is better/clearer (i dont know the terminology well) with BNC, mids gets slightly lushier.
 
But I have to say, the changes with input differences are less noticable then changes via tube rolling. In fact, if you dont have "the ear" and "experience" or mid-fi amp and headphone setup, you might not notice the differences between inputs.

 

[SeeSax]

   
I'm using Atlantis, and i can say if you want to use it via USB input, you should have a seperate computer for playback only. It's USB input is too picky. (My desktop cannot feed it properly, but a seperate entry grade laptop with empty task manager can feed it.) Or you can buy a usb isolator/reclocker; something like schiit wyrd and it should be fine.
 
I haven't tried optical input, but I've tried other three; USB is just fine compared to other known multibit dacs, Coax is better: with Coax input it gains slight body. But, for me, the best input is BNC. The body it gets via Coax is better/clearer (i dont know the terminology well) with BNC, mids gets slightly lushier.
 
But I have to say, the changes with input differences are less noticable then changes via tube rolling. In fact, if you dont have "the ear" and "experience" or mid-fi amp and headphone setup, you might not notice the differences between inputs.

 
That's very helpful - thank you. Ideally, I would really like to use coax, but I have to figure out a way to add something like that into my PC. It seems silly to buy an expensive sound card just for that port, but maybe I will discover another way. I have only one optical out, which is being utilized for another setup. Anyway, thanks for the info!
 
You picked a good time to reply as I JUST got notification that the DAC has landed at the post office. That seemed like forever!
 
-Collin-

 

[Sechtdamon]

 

   
I'm using Atlantis, and i can say if you want to use it via USB input, you should have a seperate computer for playback only. It's USB input is too picky. (My desktop cannot feed it properly, but a seperate entry grade laptop with empty task manager can feed it.) Or you can buy a usb isolator/reclocker; something like schiit wyrd and it should be fine.
 
I haven't tried optical input, but I've tried other three; USB is just fine compared to other known multibit dacs, Coax is better: with Coax input it gains slight body. But, for me, the best input is BNC. The body it gets via Coax is better/clearer (i dont know the terminology well) with BNC, mids gets slightly lushier.
 
But I have to say, the changes with input differences are less noticable then changes via tube rolling. In fact, if you dont have "the ear" and "experience" or mid-fi amp and headphone setup, you might not notice the differences between inputs.

 
That's very helpful - thank you. Ideally, I would really like to use coax, but I have to figure out a way to add something like that into my PC. It seems silly to buy an expensive sound card just for that port, but maybe I will discover another way. I have only one optical out, which is being utilized for another setup. Anyway, thanks for the info!
 
You picked a good time to reply as I JUST got notification that the DAC has landed at the post office. That seemed like forever!
 
-Collin-

 
Well I'm using Gustard U12 for USB to Coax converting. It is really good for its money. And it has a small screen for sample rate. If its expensive for you, you can check other DDC solutions. And I agree with @Soundsgoodtome about USB noise. You should use either a usb reclocker or a DDC to avoid noisy usb output. Reclockers are as expensive as DDCs.

 

[SeeSax]

Hi folks, 
 
Finally got the Pagoda DAC and WOW! I've only listened for an hour, but I am in love. Will report back soon. I'm using it with the Ember, by the way. I got a Toslink splitter for temporary use, but it sounds great to me!
 
-Collin-