cel4145
Headphoneus Supremus
D'oh! I forgot all about their DAC/headphone amp. That or the Audio-GD seems your best bet.
Need RCA in on a dac. Whats out there?
- Thread starter Amish
- Start date
D'oh! I forgot all about their DAC/headphone amp. That or the Audio-GD seems your best bet.
Actually RCA refers to the plug and socket, so there is such a thing as RCA digital - more commonly known as "coaxial 75ohm SPDIF" - so-called because they were designed by RCA (kind of like how the S in that acronym is Sony). It became industry standard for home audio analogue interfaces, and later on, digital (although initially Sony CDPs used only optical/toslink; even now they tend to have only optical). Portable players with those digital output specs like the Fiio X3 use mini-TRS plugs since they're more compact, plus IEMs and headphones already use them.
In any case, if what you wanted was to integrate the tablet as a source for your system, have you checked the Android DACs thread if your tablet can output USB audio with an OTG adapter? Or if it can but may need other software tweaks, like upgrade to KitKat or rooting, or using USB Audio Player Pro player app? That way, as I assume your other source is a computer, if it has SPDIF output on the motherboard you can use that on the DAC's SPDIF input, then the Android can use OTG, provided that DAC doesn't need power through the USB interface (ie some DACs use the USB 5v to power some chips, like the USB receiver, maybe also the DAC, heck some run the analogue output stage off that too). This way you can avoid the tablet's integrated audio chip (which tends to have too many compromises between being an amped output and a line out altogether and both/all sources use the same DAC circuit.
Here's my Galaxy S3 on a 3rd party cradle, with a USB OTG adapter on the sync port and a USB cable after that, feeding a USB audio signal into the amp's USB input. I just had to get an A-Case Superleggera case so it's easy to remove without scratching up the phone.
I'm going to look into this. My tablet has the latest version of kit kat and I have micro USB and full sized USB.
Well my creative SB external is not supported so that is out. Now I could just buy a DAC that is on the support list and be done. If I buy another DAC it has to have all of the inputs/outputs to run everything I have and I think I could do this for <$500
My Oritek OMZ DAC is wonderful and transparent and my main gripe is it does not support USB in. I'm very torn as I am so happy with this DAC otherwise. To get a signal from my PC I use an external SoundBlaster Optical out to OMZ.
Parasound ZDAC & The Emotiva DC-1 are within my budget but I have to admit I wonder if they will be as transparent as my OMZ...
Well my Asus tablet does support USB audio out.
So now it's just a matter of picking up a new DAC.
I wasn't impressed with the SQ at all when running 3.5mm out of tablet to my amp.
So now it's just a matter of picking up a new DAC.
I wasn't impressed with the SQ at all when running 3.5mm out of tablet to my amp.
Actually RCA refers to the plug and socket, so there is such a thing as RCA digital - more commonly known as "coaxial 75ohm SPDIF" - so-called because they were designed by RCA (kind of like how the S in that acronym is Sony). It became industry standard for home audio analogue interfaces, and later on, digital (although initially Sony CDPs used only optical/toslink; even now they tend to have only optical). Portable players with those digital output specs like the Fiio X3 use mini-TRS plugs since they're more compact, plus IEMs and headphones already use them.
In any case, if what you wanted was to integrate the tablet as a source for your system, have you checked the Android DACs thread if your tablet can output USB audio with an OTG adapter? Or if it can but may need other software tweaks, like upgrade to KitKat or rooting, or using USB Audio Player Pro player app? That way, as I assume your other source is a computer, if it has SPDIF output on the motherboard you can use that on the DAC's SPDIF input, then the Android can use OTG, provided that DAC doesn't need power through the USB interface (ie some DACs use the USB 5v to power some chips, like the USB receiver, maybe also the DAC, heck some run the analogue output stage off that too). This way you can avoid the tablet's integrated audio chip (which tends to have too many compromises between being an amped output and a line out altogether and both/all sources use the same DAC circuit.
Here's my Galaxy S3 on a 3rd party cradle, with a USB OTG adapter on the sync port and a USB cable after that, feeding a USB audio signal into the amp's USB input. I just had to get an A-Case Superleggera case so it's easy to remove without scratching up the phone.
Yes I quoted you again. I just want to say that it worked. I kept messing around and sure enough the USB Audio app, USB hub and external Creative sound blaster card is now working through the optical in of my OMZ DAC and sounds much better than the analogue out did.
You man just saved me around $300-$500 bucks. Lucky for you you aren't in the same room as me because you'd be getting a big hug. Instead you have my heart felt thanks.
ProtegeManiac
Headphoneus Supremus
If you're happy with that DAC then instead of looking for DACs like it (and you might end up disappointed, considering how some brands dope the output stage; at least others give you options on what to put in) you can look for a digital converter. There are a lot of USB to SPDIF converters out there, many can run on the 1.5v or so coming out of a tablet. I've listened to an iPad Mini with the USB CCK adapter and instead of a $100 USB input on the Schiit DAC (which I'm not sure the higher models have as an option as on the Bifrost), the owner got a $100+ USB to 75ohm coax converter, which he can use with other DACs also.
EDIT: replied and posted this before I saw the reply directly above
ProtegeManiac
Headphoneus Supremus
You man just saved me around $300-$500 bucks. Lucky for you you aren't in the same room as me because you'd be getting a big hug. Instead you have my heart felt thanks.
You can try spending around $20 (maybe less) on a dock or some other type of cradle to hold up the tablet, and ergonomically, it'll feel like a genuine music server device now
Also check UPnP on USB Audio Player Pro, that way instead of buying SD cards you might be able to just get an NAS drive and use it as a music server storage (as well as back ups of your other files like photos and documents).
My tablet has a keyboard dock. Grabbed the pic off the web but this is my tablet:
ProtegeManiac
Headphoneus Supremus
Oh it works like a laptop, yeah no need to up the ergos on that one when you have a keyboard dock. I'm contemplating on whether my next portable computer though will be one of those Win8 Dell tablets - here's what its dock looks like from the rear:
Tidy cable management, large enough screen and powerful enough Intel i3 processor to replace my laptop for work (albeit no more light gaming on the go, using a 15in Acer with an AMD APU since 2012), touch screen so it replaces my tablet for light browsing and PDF reading, still works as a music server. Problem is, it along with my amp will occupy a wider space, and since I'll always have a serious desktop PC for gaming and photo editing, it'll seem redundant.
Then again if my S3 keeps on ticking I'll probably just retire it to music server duty by the end of next year, and I'll just get a Yoga 13 or similar when my Acer croaks.
nogaro
New Head-Fier
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I have it (Emotiva DC-1) and do like it quite a bit. It's a very nice DAC. Don't use headphones with it a lot, but the few times I have, it's worked great.
Edit: This was in reply to Amish's post "I was actually looking at this yesterday as a possible fix for my problem." I just clicked the wrong button!
Edit: This was in reply to Amish's post "I was actually looking at this yesterday as a possible fix for my problem." I just clicked the wrong button!
I have tossed around the idea of my next tablet being windows based. I currently have and love a windows phone. (Nokia Lumia 1020)
My Asus tablet is decently powerful enough for most things:
Keyboard dock adds extra battery and USB 3.0 as well as full sized SD card reader.
It performs better than my dual core Toshiba satellite laptop. (which is around 4 years old now) Might not perform as good in some functions.
My Asus tablet is decently powerful enough for most things:
Specs
- Display: 10.1-inch 2560x1600 LCD (300 ppi)
- Processor: Nvidia Tegra 4 quad-core 1.9GHz
- RAM: 2GB
- Storage: 32GB
- Cameras: 5MP Rear shooter, 1.2MP front-facing camera
- Ports: MicroSD, headphone jack, microHDMI
- Wireless: 802.11 b/g/n
Keyboard dock adds extra battery and USB 3.0 as well as full sized SD card reader.
It performs better than my dual core Toshiba satellite laptop. (which is around 4 years old now) Might not perform as good in some functions.
cel4145
Headphoneus Supremus
If you haven't yet, upgrade your Toshiba to an SSD. It'll be like a whole new machine.
Give it a year or two for Haswell Core i5 mobile chips to filter into the tablet market more, and the Windows tablets will be pretty fast machines
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