[Lan647]

  Totally agreed...

 
Totally not-agreed 

 It's just that many DACs are bright, IMO.

 

[nicoch46]

the measurements  published by Stereophile we can see bad performance on digital noise garbage....only -55db

 

[jhwalker]

  the measurements  published by Stereophile we can see bad performance on digital noise garbage....only -55db

1st harmonic (@~25k) on 16-bit output only, headphone output only - audible in any way?
 
"Even without considering that it has to operate on the 5V supply available from the USB bus, Meridian's Explorer offers generally superb measured performance.—John Atkinson"

 

[nicoch46]

you need to look at stopband noise ie how the filter cut the digital noise out  , this ringing is very bad for some people
 
only -55db , good dac have min 80db  ,100db are the goal.....

 

[nicoch46]

Stereophile :
"It has less stop-band rejection than a conventional filter at higher frequencies: the red trace in fig.2, which is the wideband spectrum of a full-scale, 44.1kHz-sampled tone at 19.1kHz, shows that the 25kHz aliasing product is suppressed by only 55dB or so."

 

[GoSUV]

Ok, numbers are one thing, but what do these numbers do in real practice?
 
How relevant are they in real life use of this product, by playing music rather than test tones?
 
How will the sonics be affected, compared to other products with "better" numbers? How does "digital ringing" transfer to bad sonics?
 
Considering that the Explorer operates on the 5V USB bus power, do these numbers change if a better linear supply is used?
 
Do similar products who also use USB bus power exhibit similar results, or is the Explorer significantly, measurably, and listenably worse?

 

[nicoch46]

I not speak about sound,  I speak that your brain are exposed to digital noise, not a good thinks !
for a lot people is a problem ,  google is your friend ......
 
this is nothing to do to usb that is good on this dac ,is the use of second filter that bur braun dac have in hw  probabily this have more smooth sound but with the tradeoff digital noise  
 
the chips dac are commercial and cheaper one , the headamp is opamp and the price is very high , my opinion is that the arcam at half price have the right price, same dac chip and discrete ie better headamp  ,not the same usb but decent one.

 

[nicoch46]

good info http://www.wolfsonmicro.com/documents/uploads/misc/en/Ultra_High_Performance_DAC_whitepaper.pdf

 

[DoomForce]

Hey guys,
 
I have a pretty big issue on Mac OSX with the Explorer. Every time I unplug it, the sound on Chrome gets totally distorted when played on the speakers. It fixes if you quit Chrome and rerun it, but still, that's not something I want to do all the time. Has anyone had this issue and knows a workaround?

 

[ticos442]

Does it happen only when playing sound from Chrome?  Have you tested with other apps like iTunes, etc.?

 

[DoomForce]

  Does it happen only when playing sound from Chrome?  Have you tested with other apps like iTunes, etc.?

Yep, I think it only happens with Chrome, and then again not always. I'll come back after I have looked into it some more. Nothing to scare people so far.
 
Hey guys, do you think the Explorer would behave properly if plugged in on a powered USB hub (e.g. from Anker), or would you keep it separate? 

 

[ticos442]

If you are running multiple apps and other devices, I would keep it separate in order to avoid any possible glitches.  This of course depends on many factors like the speed of your PC, how many programs you are running, etc.
 
I have a fairly dedicated computer (Mac Mini) just for music purposes and plug the ME directly to the USB port and have not experienced any issues at all.  I actually recently switched to the Explorer older brother, the Director, which is truly exceptional.
 
I do use a USB powered hub in my mobile configuration with the Explorer, attached to my iPad through the CCK (separate thread on that configuration)
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/625493/ipad-with-24-bit-files-high-storage-capacity-portability-bit-perfect-configurations-that-work/105#post_10040125

 

[alejandro7]

Copy that AtillatheHun....lets just have a great portable dac without a built-in amp. I have glorious NICO V4 amp ready for great dac....rather not get a NANO...but may.  alex

 

[herbigava]

I just purchased the explorer and have a question about it. If you use the toslink out put in my case going into my Yamaha receiver. Is the receiver sill taking that signal and converting it? I guess I don't know how toslink works. Excuse me if this is the wrong place to post.

 

[alejandro7]

Probably not the wrong place herb, but def the wrong guy. Frustrated musician who flunked algebra. Seriously I think I'm here to learn the quickest way to audio nirvana via HPs. So far I am blessed with finding the Little Dot 1+ for main system via Meridian 508.24 cdp and HD650s or 420s through desktop aesus card and the V4. Certainly one of the tech minded can answer your toslink question. But your question does make me wonder about improvements to performance after that card if I get the Explorer or a "Dragonfly" type dac and run it in front of V4. Dragonfly, nicoch46, jh and others probably can weigh in easily on your question.  cheers