[freakydrew]

okay, I read the sticky first and the links are very outdated.

I received my Zero 09 version today. I am using the optical out of my pc to the optical in on the zero then the RCA out to the RCA in on my Darkvoice 336i and then to my not fully burned in 702's. I use winamp pro as my player and am playing flac. My soundcard is whatever the onboard one is with new Dell machines.

Immediately I could notice a difference from when the DAC was not there and the DV was plugged in to my Logitech z5500 pod via mini to RCA.

Just for laughs, I connected the mini to RCA directly in to the mic out in the front of my pc. When there is no music, there was definite static sound, but when I pressed play I was surprised there was any music at all, and that it really did not sound that bad.

Therefore, the onboard soundcard must have a basic DAC built in. With the DAC the static goes away and the sound does improve, but is it enough to justify all the extra equipment? If I upgrade my soundcard will I be blown away? Or is it just the lack of burn in on the 702's?

steep learning curve ahead!

 

[freakydrew]

up

 

[jenneth]

Quote:

Therefore, the onboard soundcard must have a basic DAC built in.

All computer systems that's capable of producing sound must have a DAC in them (on-board or otherwise).

Quote:

With the DAC the static goes away and the sound does improve, but is it enough to justify all the extra equipment? If I upgrade my soundcard will I be blown away?

I'm not too familiar with the Zero, so I can't say how capable they are as a DAC. But recalling from my personal experience, I noticed a noticeable jump in quality when I went from my on-board soundcard to the Claro Halo. The difference is less so when I made another jump from the Halo to the DLIII (but it was too good of a deal to pass up).

 

[Phelonious Ponk]

A drop in the noise floor and a subtle, if audible, increase in quality is about all you should expect when getting the digital to analog conversion out of the noisy environment of your computer and into an outboard DAC. You should expect an even less dramatic improvement moving up from a modern, well-implemented, but inexpensive DAC to more "high-end" examples.

Improvements have always been incremental and expensive in high end audio. They are even more so in the digital age, when properly designed modern sources, without colored output sections (and, sadly, too many "high-end" DACs do not fit this description), even very modest ones, enjoy much lower noise and distortion, flatter frequency response and greater extension and dynamic range than many of the recordings that precede them and all of the transducers that follow. The bottlenecks in audio reproduction are before and after sources and amplification. There's no doubt that the performance of these components can be improved above the quality of "good" consumer electronics (Yamaha, Denon, Cambridge Audio, etc...). It is very doubtful that it is significant, if it is even audible. At least that's what MHO and the numbers say.

This is a very unpopular point of view on audiophile forums, though, and will no doubt be challenged. So don't take my word for it. Take a cd you know well to your neighborhood consumer electronics retailer. Plug your AKGs into any Yamaha AV receiver. Push the blue "pure direct" button and play your cd.

Let me know your thoughts.

P

 

[freakydrew]

i will try this
thanks

 

[Amrit]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Phelonious Ponk /img/forum/go_quote.gif A drop in the noise floor and a subtle, if audible, increase in quality is about all you should expect when getting the digital to analog conversion out of the noisy environment of your computer and into an outboard DAC. You should expect an even less dramatic improvement moving up from a modern, well-implemented, but inexpensive DAC to more "high-end" examples. Improvements have always been incremental and expensive in high end audio. They are even more so in the digital age, when properly designed modern sources, without colored output sections (and, sadly, too many "high-end" DACs do not fit this description), even very modest ones, enjoy much lower noise and distortion, flatter frequency response and greater extension and dynamic range than many of the recordings that precede them and all of the transducers that follow. The bottlenecks in audio reproduction are before and after sources and amplification. There's no doubt that the performance of these components can be improved above the quality of "good" consumer electronics (Yamaha, Denon, Cambridge Audio, etc...). It is very doubtful that it is significant, if it is even audible. At least that's what MHO and the numbers say. This is a very unpopular point of view on audiophile forums, though, and will no doubt be challenged. So don't take my word for it. Take a cd you know well to your neighborhood consumer electronics retailer. Plug your AKGs into any Yamaha AV receiver. Push the blue "pure direct" button and play your cd. Let me know your thoughts. P

Well put.

In my (albeit limited compared to a lot of you) experience, the most gains I've had have been when I've upgraded my speakers/headphones, compared to amplification.

But the most important part is what your ears say - it's your money after all.