[roker]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MatsudaMan /img/forum/go_quote.gif However, if you're into rock, hip/hop, techno, alternative, or anything that is about thumping rhythm, you might want to stay away

What would be a better option around the 300 price point? (please no "look for a used _____" answer)

 

[hukkfinn]

Quote:

Originally Posted by roker /img/forum/go_quote.gif What would be a better option around the 300 price point? (please no "look for a used _____" answer)

I do not think you are going to find a better option at this price.

The notion that the VDAC is not the best for rock is simply false in my experience, as I stated above. I'm a rock drummer, have been for years, and also play the piano, all rock, and so I require that my stereo must really perform in the PRaT (pacing, rhythm and timing) department. The VDAC sounds absolutely fantastic, including in these categories.

I note that it improves dramatically with a quality transport (I switched from a cheap Toshiba DVD player to a Pioneer Elite PD-65 and the difference was startling), but I did not notice any problems with PRaT even when I used the cheap DVD player as transport.

One thing DID screw up my PRaT: I tried a super expensive neato whiz-bang audiophile digital cable, which killed the music's rhythm, but this was the fault of the cable, NOT the VDAC. That cable somehow "disconnected" the timing of the bass from the treble. I could hear everything nicely, but it was utterly boring. I replaced the offending cable with a simple Radio Shack coax and everything is back to normal. Perhaps the people who are complaining about the VDAC's rhythm are using similar goofed-up cables.

As for a mini-review, I find that the VDAC's primary benefit is to present ALL of the music, in a musical, human, natural-sounding fashion, including truly deep bass, space, air, and treble detail, but without the "digital", hard, harsh, crunchy sound that often disrupts the treble and upper midrange of CD playback.

Hukk

 

[hukkfinn]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dr.larkos /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hukkfinn: Not at all. The stock PS is known to output between 15 and 19 volts DC...with most instances close to the 19 volts mark, the reason why stock wall-wart PS and V-DAC unit get so hot.

Thanks very much. What about the amperage, 3 amps vs. 0.5 amps provided with the stock power supply. Possible to "over-feed" the VDAC by giving it 6 times more amperage than the stock power supply?

 

[spore]

Dont worry about amperage. you will be fine and wont spoil the vadc. I am feeding my vdac 2.5A.

 

[hukkfinn]

Spore -- Thanks very much.

O.K. PEOPLE! I'm going to try the Samlex power supply suggested earlier:

Samlex America RPS1203 3 Amp Regulated Linear DC 12 Volt Power Supply

Has anybody else added a hefty regulated power supply like this to the VDAC? Any improvement? Other comments?

Hukk

 

[anadin]

Quote:

Originally Posted by hukkfinn /img/forum/go_quote.gif Spore -- Thanks very much. O.K. PEOPLE! I'm going to try the Samlex power supply suggested earlier: Samlex America RPS1203 3 Amp Regulated Linear DC 12 Volt Power Supply Has anybody else added a hefty regulated power supply like this to the VDAC? Any improvement? Other comments? Hukk

That thing is huge it's overkill, you don't need a power supply like that to get the best out of your V-DAC.

 

[knireis]

Quote:

Originally Posted by hukkfinn /img/forum/go_quote.gif I do not think you are going to find a better option at this price. The notion that the VDAC is not the best for rock is simply false in my experience, as I stated above. I'm a rock drummer, have been for years, and also play the piano, all rock, and so I require that my stereo must really perform in the PRaT (pacing, rhythm and timing) department. The VDAC sounds absolutely fantastic, including in these categories. I note that it improves dramatically with a quality transport (I switched from a cheap Toshiba DVD player to a Pioneer Elite PD-65 and the difference was startling), but I did not notice any problems with PRaT even when I used the cheap DVD player as transport. One thing DID screw up my PRaT: I tried a super expensive neato whiz-bang audiophile digital cable, which killed the music's rhythm, but this was the fault of the cable, NOT the VDAC. That cable somehow "disconnected" the timing of the bass from the treble. I could hear everything nicely, but it was utterly boring. I replaced the offending cable with a simple Radio Shack coax and everything is back to normal. Perhaps the people who are complaining about the VDAC's rhythm are using similar goofed-up cables. As for a mini-review, I find that the VDAC's primary benefit is to present ALL of the music, in a musical, human, natural-sounding fashion, including truly deep bass, space, air, and treble detail, but without the "digital", hard, harsh, crunchy sound that often disrupts the treble and upper midrange of CD playback. Hukk

i agree that the v-dac is quite good in every aspect. I have connected a little pinkie V power supply (Little Pinkie V, PSU for Musical Fidelity V-Can, V-DAC, V-LPS) and it makes the v-dac sound better, more open, with slightly tighter bass. Not a big change but certainly audible.

I also own a V-can and the increase in SQ is more pronounced here so i use the little pinkie with the V-Can.

 

[roker]

Quote:

Originally Posted by hukkfinn /img/forum/go_quote.gif I do not think you are going to find a better option at this price. The notion that the VDAC is not the best for rock is simply false in my experience, as I stated above. I'm a rock drummer, have been for years, and also play the piano, all rock, and so I require that my stereo must really perform in the PRaT (pacing, rhythm and timing) department. The VDAC sounds absolutely fantastic, including in these categories. I note that it improves dramatically with a quality transport (I switched from a cheap Toshiba DVD player to a Pioneer Elite PD-65 and the difference was startling), but I did not notice any problems with PRaT even when I used the cheap DVD player as transport. One thing DID screw up my PRaT: I tried a super expensive neato whiz-bang audiophile digital cable, which killed the music's rhythm, but this was the fault of the cable, NOT the VDAC. That cable somehow "disconnected" the timing of the bass from the treble. I could hear everything nicely, but it was utterly boring. I replaced the offending cable with a simple Radio Shack coax and everything is back to normal. Perhaps the people who are complaining about the VDAC's rhythm are using similar goofed-up cables. As for a mini-review, I find that the VDAC's primary benefit is to present ALL of the music, in a musical, human, natural-sounding fashion, including truly deep bass, space, air, and treble detail, but without the "digital", hard, harsh, crunchy sound that often disrupts the treble and upper midrange of CD playback. Hukk

I was going to use this with my macbook to my NHT M-00s. I was deciding between this and possibly the Dacmagic. I'm about 1 day from pulling the trigger on this. The Compass seems to be the popular choice at 300 bucks but I have interest in it whatsoever (not about price, more about SIZE).

Does anyone else here listen to hip-hop, rock, and techno with this setup?

 

[roker]

Quote:

Originally Posted by anadin /img/forum/go_quote.gif That thing is huge it's overkill, you don't need a power supply like that to get the best out of your V-DAC.

you know, 30 bucks isn't a lot to spend. Do you have a better suggestion?

 

[iszatso]

Quote:

Originally Posted by knireis /img/forum/go_quote.gif i agree that the v-dac is quite good in every aspect. I have connected a little pinkie V power supply (Little Pinkie V, PSU for Musical Fidelity V-Can, V-DAC, V-LPS) and it makes the v-dac sound better, more open, with slightly tighter bass. Not a big change but certainly audible. I also own a V-can and the increase in SQ is more pronounced here so i use the little pinkie with the V-Can.

Little Pinkie power supplies are hand made, with the highest grade mateirals and attention to detail. I use his power supply for the x-can and works very well.

When originally purchased the v-dac had only it's wallwart power supply, so I bought a 1200mah battery with a ctek charger, runs about 18-24 hours with the voltage above 12v and it really opened up the v-dacs presentation and soundstage, free from any interference in using a switched power supply. Had I not put out the money for the battery and the charger certainly would have gone the lil pinkie route for the v-dac even though they are a bit expensive.

For someone not capable of installing mods to the vdac, it offers a cheap way to increase the fineness of the sound without all the soldering and such.

Recently purchased the dac19mk3 and have yet to receive it, hope it gives the v-dac a run for it's money.

 

[asher770]

Compusa has this APC H10 APC Home Theater Power Line Conditioner audio-video power regulator on sale for $99.Does anyone know whether It's compatible with the VDAC.It may be overkill but it handles quite a number of components.

 

[iszatso]

The above really has nothing to do with the powering of the vdac. The issue is the underpowered stock wallwart that comes with the unit. The above is a line conditioner which you would plug in your upgraded power supplies, some of which are mentioned in previous posts.

 

[asher770]

It is also a power regulator as per description.

 

[motorica.net]

I wonder, what about using a pc power supply to power the v-dac ?

 

[dr.larkos]

Quote:

Originally Posted by hukkfinn /img/forum/go_quote.gif Thanks very much. What about the amperage, 3 amps vs. 0.5 amps provided with the stock power supply. Possible to "over-feed" the VDAC by giving it 6 times more amperage than the stock power supply?

hukkfinn, sorry to respond so late, I was away. A power supply does not “feed” or “force-feed”, to be precise, amperes into an electronic device. The power supply does “feed” volts into the device but, in contrast, it is the device that draws (“sucks,” so to speak) amperes out of the power supply. The amperes drawn (or sucked) out of the power supply constitute the amount of power or electric energy that the device consumes as it works (affecting your electric bill)…hopefully very little at idle and increasing as the work-load demands on the device increase. The maximum demand would be the device’s rated wattage which is calculated by simply multiplying the rated voltage by the rated amperage requirement of the device, that is, in the V-DAC's case, 12 volts X 0.500 amps = 6 Watts (please notice that the V-DAC’s rated amperage of 500 milliamps is the same as the 0.500 amps shown in the calculation). Now, for the electronic device to work properly, the capacity of the power supply, also measured in amperes, has to be at least as large as the rated amperage of the device. So, having a power supply with a rated amperage larger than the rated amperage requirement of the device is not a problem at all…it actually provides you with a power reservoir or head room for extreme dynamic peaks, and also avoids stressing the power supply. Yes, the issue here is to decide how much head room you need. In any event, the problem with the V-DAC's stock power supply is basically two fold: 1) it appears to be severely unregulated and 2) it also appears that its capacity is too close to the rated V-DAC’s amperage requirement. These two issues have as a result the stock wall-wart getting extremely hot, as well as causing the regulators in the V-DAC’s internal portion of the power supply to work even harder (severely increasing working temperature of that internal portion of the power supply). All the preceding are pure electric performance considerations….the audio quality considerations are the ultimate ones and are left to the V-DAC owners’ ears…

The power supply that you are considering is physically large but that is a function of the size of the transformer required by the capacity and the linear nature of the regulated power supply. Anything larger than 1 ampere (1000 milliamps) in the regulated-linear power supply domain requires a desktop or a bench-type power supply (too heavy for wall-warts unless some fastening tabs are used to fasten power supply to the screws of the plate covering the wall electric outlet). The cost of the one you are considering is the same as any of the higher capacity switching power supplies that other users are buying (remember, the website selling it has a money-back return policy). Besides, the power supply you are considering can be readily used to power a couple more 12 volt DC devices! Not easily done with any of those switching power supplies. I believe in one of my previous posts I provided a link where the advantages of regulated linear over switching power supplies are discussed in detail…most likely there is a valid reason why top audiophile DIYers go a long way to remove switching power supplies from their electronics and replace them with regulated linear ones.

Cheers………………..dr.larkos