[RickG]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lan The USB connection on this unit supports up to 16bit and 48khz. If you have manipulated your sound and are outputting 24bit then optical/coax will allow you to use 24bit as well as up to 96khz .

Ahh, I did not know that! Thanks for the input, Ian.

akwok, ignore my above post...

 

[mkozlows]

Quote:

Originally Posted by KenW Also, why didn't you go for the Desktop Portable with the DAC option instead of this the micro line? The size is right although not as portable as the micro. Just curious as the price is same anyway.

The price isn't the same. It's an extra $250 to add the DAC to the $599 Desktop Portable.

 

[RickG]

BTW, I had a couple of short optical cables built by these guys. They turned out very nice.

 

[akwok]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RickG BTW, I had a couple of short optical cables built by these guys. They turned out very nice.

THANKS so much! Canadian retailer = happy!

 

[Lorenzo]

Quote:

The Micro DAC uses a Mini Optical In - if I purchase something like a Glass TOSLink do I need a Mini convertor? If so, where can I get one?

Well, there are two kinds of TosLink connectors. There are the "square" kind which fit in a square jack, and there's a mini toslink that resembles a 1/8" jack. I think this is probably what fits for the Micro DAC, judging from pictures?

But from the looks of things, the jack says it supports mini toslink and coax (which has an RCA connection on the end).

You can get a toslink to mini adapter just about anywhere that sells A/V gear.

 

[akwok]

So.. how do I go about getting the square kind of TOSLink to a mini?

Square from sound card => mini on the DAC

Thanks a lot for the reply!

 

[Oski]

Has anyone tried using Micro DAC with the optical out on a CD or DVD player? I'm considering getting a toslink cable to try out in my stereo rig.

 

[mariowar]

Oski, it would defeat the purpose of portability. It would be like jogging with an Ipod and a pair of Sennheisers 650......

 

[Lorenzo]

Quote:

So.. how do I go about getting the square kind of TOSLink to a mini? Square from sound card => mini on the DAC Thanks a lot for the reply!

They make cables that are built like that already, or you can just buy a toslink cable and ask for an adapter, which should be available at the same place.

I would suggest going online, since cables at retail store prices = not cheap. Just google for toslink cables.

But if you must, you can just go to Best Buy (or whatever your crazy Canadian equivalent is, eh?) and specifically ask for a "Toslink to mini-Toslink cable". If they're any good, they will know what you want. LOL.

 

[rab10]

Quote:

Originally Posted by akwok So.. how do I go about getting the square kind of TOSLink to a mini? Square from sound card => mini on the DAC Thanks a lot for the reply!

Just get any digital toslink cable that you like and get a toslink to mini stereo adapter that looks like this

They are widely available, check out ...
http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/pshow...number=180-968

or your local Radioshack, or electronic store and ask for a "Toslink to Optical Mini Adapter."

 

[Oski]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mariowar Oski, it would defeat the purpose of portability. It would be like jogging with an Ipod and a pair of Sennheisers 650......

I actually use my Overture/Coda stack as a desktop setup for my headphones using the USB out from my laptop. But was just wondering about the possibility to use the Overture (essentially the same as the Micro DAC) as an outboard DAC with my DVD/CD player in my stereo rig as I stated previously. It may actually improve the sound since the Overture/Micro DAC does use the flagship TI/Cirrus CS4398 DAC that I can only assume is better than what's inside my DVD/CD players. But I was wondering if anyone had tried this before spending the money on a toslink cable.

 

[lan]

I've tried the Overture with my portable CD player and computer soundcard and it should work just fine from your CD or DVD player. If you're using a DVD player, make sure it's set to output PCM (not bitstream) on it's digital output if you're watching movies.

 

[mkozlows]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oski I actually use my Overture/Coda stack as a desktop setup for my headphones using the USB out from my laptop. But was just wondering about the possibility to use the Overture (essentially the same as the Micro DAC) as an outboard DAC with my DVD/CD player in my stereo rig as I stated previously. It may actually improve the sound since the Overture/Micro DAC does use the flagship TI/Cirrus CS4398 DAC that I can only assume is better than what's inside my DVD/CD players. But I was wondering if anyone had tried this before spending the money on a toslink cable.

It'd work fine, I have no doubt; the main awkwardness would be with the cabling -- you'd need a Toslink-to-mini adapter on one end, and then a 1/8" to RCA plug on the other end.

I suspect it'd work pretty well, too -- there aren't a lot of DACs out there in the $300 price range, and the Micro DAC is undoubtedly competitive with whatever does exist.

 

[Oski]

Thanks Ian and mkozlows for the advise.

Quote:

Originally Posted by mkozlows I suspect it'd work pretty well, too -- there aren't a lot of DACs out there in the $300 price range, and the Micro DAC is undoubtedly competitive with whatever does exist.

That's exactly the reason why I'm contemplating having the Overture serve double duty in my headphone and the speaker rigs. Outboard DACs of this quality and price are really non-existent in the speaker world. I suspect the Overture will really bring about a positive change in sound, though the cabling issue as you mentioned will be a bit unruly.

 

[Jamey Warren]

The Micro DAC should work just fine with a Home Stereo DVD or CD player. To use the optical input, you can use a regular Toslink cable with a mini adaptor like the one shown by rab10. If you want to use the coaxial connection, you could use a mini to RCA cable and connect the Left RCA connector to the Coaxial output of your DVD or CD player, satelite or cable box, squeezebox 2, and many more. If your computer has a digital coaxial output on a mini connector, you can use just a regular 1/8" mini to mini cable.

As Ian suggested, you can achieve higher bit depth and sample rates when using the optical or coaxial output of your computer instead of the USB.

Cheers,
Jamey