Rega dac upgrade

[calacoe]

Hi all,
 
I'm currently thinking of upgrading my dac. I love the sound of the Rega, however, I primarily listen to my music on a hp envy (beats audio, lol)  laptop, through the usb which is 48kHz. I notice that when I switch the source, to my Denon dcd-f100 cd player, the sound improves significantly. I had considered the rega dac-r as an upgrade which has USB Asynchronous Isolated (24bit 44.1/48/88.2/96/176.4/192kHz), (whatever that means), but was also looking at the benchmark dac 2, wired4sound dac2 or the ayre qb9 dsd, which I will be looking to purchase on the 2nd hand market. I'm not looking for critical detail but something that can I fall into love with the music.
 
Can anyone who has had experience of the Rega recommend a dac of similar ilk, but with more detail. I'm sick of reading the audiophile reviews, which all seem to be written and recommended by the same reviewers under different guises and sister websites. I'm sure many of them are good, but i've been perusing this site for a long time and have come to appreciate the opinions of the members here.
 
The rest of my system is a Little dot mk3 with Voshkod 6ZH1P-EV tube upgrades from yenaudio and Grado RS1's and Grmpy Mrs
 
Although thinking of dropping the latter as introduces interference in listening pleasure.

 

[ProtegeManiac]

If the difference between the HP Envy and the CD transport is that large, what you need is a laptop upgrade, and this isn't just because of the resolution via USB output/input. Beats Audio does a number of crap to the audio signal, like how it actually doesn't work any differently but if you go into Windows and disabled it, it applies an EQ profile to deliberately screw up the sound. I wouldn't be surprised if it does this using digital output also. Basically, if you want good sound, just stick an efficient enough headphone/IEM into the earphone jack with Beats "On," because you've basically paid the Mob for protection.

 

"Ya need to pay us for protection...Protection from what?...FROM US!" *brandishes baseball bat and smashes store display

 

[calacoe]

You might be right but i'm hoping it's not the laptop as its only a year old and cost the same as an apple mac.

 

[ProtegeManiac]

Quote:

Originally Posted by calacoe /img/forum/go_quote.gif

You might be right but i'm hoping it's not the laptop as its only a year old and cost the same as an apple mac.

 

What other devices do you have? You can just use an easy to drive headphone/IEM with the laptop (browsing, transportable, etc) and then use that other device as a server for a reference system, as long as you can get a compatible DAC and necessary accessories.

 

Like an Android smartphone as a USB audio server; just get a USB-OTG adapter and a dock if you want it upright on the desk, like my Squeezebox-ish Note3 here.

 

[calacoe]

I have a galaxy note 4 and an  I pad 2, however, I'm looking to get the best sound that I can afford. I'm not interested in IEM, if I am going to be getting new heaphones, it will be the Audeze LCD3 which I am seriously thinking about. And if I was to get a compatible Dac to do this, would I not be better spending my money on something like the benchmark dac2? Which would get me round the problem of the usb connection on the Rega Dac or are you implying I can get round this with the USB-OTG adapter?
 
Soz I'm relatively new to this, appreciate your time
 
THX
 
Calacoe

 

[ProtegeManiac]

Quote:

Originally Posted by calacoe /img/forum/go_quote.gif

I have a galaxy note 4 and an  I pad 2, however, I'm looking to get the best sound that I can afford. I'm not interested in IEM, if I am going to be getting new heaphones, it will be the Audeze LCD3 which I am seriously thinking about. And if I was to get a compatible Dac to do this, would I not be better spending my money on something like the benchmark dac2? 

 

First, I suggested the IEM only as something you can use with your laptop when you take it out of the house, like if you bring the laptop to work, as quoted below, emphasis added, and then when you get home, you use a smartphone or Android as a musc server to get around possible software issues with Beats Audio.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ProtegeManiac /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 

You can just use an easy to drive headphone/IEM with the laptop (browsing, transportable, etc) and then use that other device as a server for a reference system, as long as you can get a compatible DAC and necessary accessories.

 

Basically, what I'm saying is that, as in my case, these...

 

 

..typically get used together when I have to stuff them both in something like this...

 

...even though, en route to work, I would actually be using these...

 

...alternately, even when I don't have the laptop, I still pack those IEMs with me (black case to the left)...

 

 

...but when I get home, I still use this...

 

...which is what you'll end up using with the LCD-2 at home, the difference being that with me it's purely out of cleaner ergonomics (cables to the rear, phone has a touchscreen kept upright by the dock, etc), but in your case, it's to get around Beats Audio since you're noticing clear differences between your Beats Audio-equipped laptop vs a CD transport.

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by calacoe /img/forum/go_quote.gif

 

Which would get me round the problem of the usb connection on the Rega Dac...

 

I wouldn't really think it's the USB on the Rega that's the problem, and more likely Beats Audio funking up the audio - like how if you disabled it on Windows, it applies an EQ to screw with the sound, so "enabled" Beats Audio sounds better, the same way that you pay "protection" money to the mob so they themselves won't smash your store. If it was just the USB on the Rega that' the problem then the easy fix is to get a USB to SPDIF converter like a NuForce uDAC or Fiio E10K (with a coaxial digital output) or an Asus Xonar U3 (which has a 3.5mm optical audio output, adapter included or sold separately).

 

Still, if you're willing to experiment with $50 to $100, get either the Xonar U3 or Fiio E10K (whichever kind of output your DAC has), use it with your Beats Audio laptop, then use it to send an SPDIF signal to the DAC. IF the sound is still very different vs the transport, Beats Audio is screwing it all up to punish you for not using Beats Audio straight out of the laptop, and that's why I suggested getting a different source (or using one you already have, like the Note4) as opposed to changing the DAC and still ending up with the same problem since the problem precisely is the laptop with Beats Audio.

 

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by calacoe /img/forum/go_quote.gif

...or are you implying I can get round this with the USB-OTG adapter?

 

First, you can get around Beats Audio on your laptop by not using your laptop, and you can use a device you already have, like the Note4 (just get the OTG adapter and a large microSD card, and maybe a dock).

 

Second, the USB-OTG adapter isn't just one way to get around it on its own, it's a requirement for enabling USB audio on the Samsung smartphone (and not all of their smartphones are capable of that). Basically, you get around the problem by using the smartphone isntead of the laptop, and the USB-OTG adapter is what will make that possible, since no other cable will allow USB audio out of the Samsung unless you're using a DAC designed to work with just a sync cable.

 

[calacoe]

Ok, things are making sense, I had previously thought about a usb to spdif converter, however I was more steering to the dac upgrade. But it could be the way to go to see if it rules out the beats audio as the issue. The other reason for the upgrade which I should have mentioned earlier was that I listen to Tidal for most of my music and the 48k usb transfer rate is lower than what tidal offer. Have you used any of these converters and have you found them to make a difference.

Thanks again for the previous post.

 

[ProtegeManiac]

Quote:

Ok, things are making sense, I had previously thought about a usb to spdif converter, however I was more steering to the dac upgrade. But it could be the way to go to see if it rules out the beats audio as the issue. The other reason for the upgrade which I should have mentioned earlier was that I listen to Tidal for most of my music and the 48k usb transfer rate is lower than what tidal offer. Have you used any of these converters and have you found them to make a difference.

 

I don't use any converters because most of the music I listen to isn't available on 24/96 anyway, although compress them below 320kbps (or even at that level) and the drums begin to sound a little hollow. However I know at least one guy who used a $50 USB to SPDIF converter for his iPad to feed a Gungnir, but that's for casual listening as he has a CD transport for serious listening. AFAIK the iPad only does 48khz. In your case there are some that will upsample, but apart from that process adding noise, the computer would have lowered it to 48khz already anyway, so what you need is a converter that will take the 96khz and 192khz stream straight out of the computer.

 

Personally what I'd do is just use a cheap converter first and figure out if Beats Audio is going to muck it up. Use regular 16/44.1 files for the test - if you don't have to strain to hear a difference, Beats is screwing it up; otherwise, it can be placebo. Still, even if Beats isn't screwing it up, if your goal is to get high-res out without downsampling or any similar process, then it will really depend on the DAC, but at least you can figure out first if Beats is doing something to the signal or if the USB input of your DAC is that bad.

 

Personally, the only time I heard a difference was on the SuperPro 707, but that was the opposite - initially USB sounds better, but I got listening fatigue quickly. Turned out that when using USB it uses power from the USB of the computer to run the entire digital section, and then pours all power from its power brick into the analogue section, at which point it outputs a line signal at 6volts. That's as much as my car receiver, which also sends that signal through 5ft++ of cable to the amp in the trunk.

 

[calacoe]

Sorry for taking so long to reply. ​Really appreciate the help. I do think there is an issue with the beats audio as the cd is far superior. After looking into this, it seems to be a common problem with beats audio and that you need to go into the file registry to fix it permanently. Still looking to upgrade the Dac though so that I can get  24/96