[lee730]

Quote:

If I may interrupt the current conversation, for which I can offer no contributions...
 
I recently ordered this aluminum heat sink on which to rest my DACport LX while using it.  
 
Without using any type of fan, the heat sink alone has greatly reduced the felt temperature of the DACport LX case.  It's no longer as warm to touch.
 
 

 
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0050MR8CG
 
If you want your DACport LX to last a few years longer before the capacitors dry out from getting cooked, rest it on this heat sink during use - it makes a huge difference in running temperature.
 
Just make sure to position your cables so that the full length of the DACport LX (or DACport) is in contact with a couple of fins along the middle of the heat sink.  I say this because when I first put my DACport LX on the heat sink, the cables had it was tipped high at one end and low at the other - preventing heat exchange.  When I positioned the cables so that the full length of the DACport LX was making good contact with the heat sink fins, the temperature of the case quickly fell across perhaps 5 minutes while still listening to music - and it stays cool thereafter, of course.
 
Mike

 
Hey Mike I wanted to thank you once again for recommending that heatsink. My LX was giving me some issues recently where I couldn't get it to power on. I was able to revive it by opening it up and moving things around a bit and the put it back together. It's working fine now and the heatsink makes it run cool to the touch, opposed to molten lava. I really think this will extend the life of the unit and I highly recommend the heatsink guys. I'm gonna run my unit into the ground, it's served me well and has been with me the longest out of any of my gear .
 
Thanks once again Mike,
 
Aloha.

 

[zilch0md]

Hey lee730,
 
Quote:

 
Hey Mike I wanted to thank you once again for recommending that heatsink. My LX was giving me some issues recently where I couldn't get it to power on. I was able to revive it by opening it up and moving things around a bit and the put it back together. It's working fine now and the heatsink makes it run cool to the touch, opposed to molten lava. I really think this will extend the life of the unit and I highly recommend the heatsink guys. I'm gonna run my unit into the ground, it's served me well and has been with me the longest out of any of my gear .
 
Thanks once again Mike,
 
Aloha.

 
That's great news. It's nice to see someone else tried the heat sink.  It still amazes me how much cooler the DACport LX runs just sitting on top of the fins, with no fan or any other source of air movement.  
 
And good job on the DIY fix - even though it's kind of mysterious how it came back to life.  I sold one DACport LX, and ended up buying another one - the only piece of gear I've ever done that with (so far).  I'm going to hang onto this second one.
 

 
Mike

 

[morpheusx]

Quote:

Hey lee730,
 
 
That's great news. It's nice to see someone else tried the heat sink.  It still amazes me how much cooler the DACport LX runs just sitting on top of the fins, with no fan or any other source of air movement.  
 

Very nice tips
I'm using old CPU heat sink. And now my DACport LX runs much cooler. My DACport LX sitting on the tops of the back of the HSF

 

[zilch0md]

Sweet!  
 
I should probably flip my heat sink upside down - to rest the flat surface of the LX on the back side of the heat sink - for greater surface contact, instead of resting it on the up-turned fins.   
 
I'll try it, for sure. 
 
It still amazes me how effective a heat sink can be in the absence of a fan.  I've worked with PCs for many years - have seen many a heat sink, just like everyone else has, I'm sure - but I've never experienced so dramatic a demonstration of passive cooling, as when resting the DACport LX on a heat sink.  
 
Bam! - it's almost instantly cooler - and that just has to be good for prolonging the life of the Class A circuits within.
 

 
Mike

 

[morpheusx]

Quote:

Sweet!  
 
I should probably flip my heat sink upside down - to rest the flat surface of the LX on the back side of the heat sink - for greater surface contact, instead of resting it on the up-turned fins.   
 
I'll try it, for sure. 
 
It still amazes me how effective a heat sink can be in the absence of a fan.  I've worked with PCs for many years - have seen many a heat sink, just like everyone else has, I'm sure - but I've never experienced so dramatic a demonstration of passive cooling, as when resting the DACport LX on a heat sink.  
 
Bam! - it's almost instantly cooler - and that just has to be good for prolonging the life of the Class A circuits within.
 

 
Mike

 
yes indeed very much cooler

with good surface contact the DACport and HSF have about approximately same temperature

 

[lee730]

Quote:

Sweet!  
 
I should probably flip my heat sink upside down - to rest the flat surface of the LX on the back side of the heat sink - for greater surface contact, instead of resting it on the up-turned fins.   
 
I'll try it, for sure. 
 
It still amazes me how effective a heat sink can be in the absence of a fan.  I've worked with PCs for many years - have seen many a heat sink, just like everyone else has, I'm sure - but I've never experienced so dramatic a demonstration of passive cooling, as when resting the DACport LX on a heat sink.  
 
Bam! - it's almost instantly cooler - and that just has to be good for prolonging the life of the Class A circuits within.
 

 
Mike

lmao you weren't using it on the flat surface?

 

[zilch0md]

No, I had it resting on the upturned fins for what I perceived would be better airflow. Cooling has been very effective, but perhaps it will be more so with the fins down, improving contact between the LX and the heat sink, while reducing airflow around the fins. I guess I should break out my laser thermometer and take som comparison measurements. Then you can laugh all the harder.

 

[lee730]

Yep the concept is the same as heatsinks on CPUs. The better the contact areas the more heat it will be able to dissipate .
 

 

[namaiki]

This might have been covered, but anyone notice any sound quality difference when having the DACport connected to a USB hub that is powered externally by a wall power adapter?

Somewhat curious as I believe one of my laptops has somewhat weak USB power.

 

[zilch0md]

Quote:

This might have been covered, but anyone notice any sound quality difference when having the DACport connected to a USB hub that is powered externally by a wall power adapter?

Somewhat curious as I believe one of my laptops has somewhat weak USB power.

 
I can't answer your question directly, as I've never tried using the DACport LX on external power, but Mike Mercer (formerly of CEntrance and currently a writer for Postive Feedback) and a friend of his (Steve Leftkowitz) have accepted a challenge of sorts that I posed via PM about a week ago.  There's a lot of buzz in the Meridian Explorer thread about a $199 external 5V power supply called the iFi iUSBPower - which was very positively reviewed by one of my favorite audio writers, Michael Lavorgna (see links below.)
 
Mike and Steve will be independently testing their iFi iUSBPower with their DACPorts to see if they can be "improved" in any way using the external power vs. USB power.
 
Their results will, of course, vary with just how "dirty" the power is on the USB ports they test with, but I'm eagerly awaiting their results as I consider the power management circuits in the DACport to be as good as any USB-powered DAC ever made.  Seriously - CEntrance knows what they're doing in this regard.  
 
The $50 Stoner Acoustics UD100 (which is essentially nothing more than a USB receiver chip plus the ESS9023 DAC chip and a 3.5mm TRS jack), would be a much better candidate than the DACport for actually "needing" something like the iFi iUSBPower.
 
Anyway, you might want to take the plunge and order one yourself, or wait for me to report Mike Mercer's findings, here (but he will probably be posting about it elsewhere, so I will provide a link when I hear back from him.)
 
 
http://ifi-audio.com/en/iUSB.html
 
http://www.ifi-audio.com/en/sales.html
 
http://www.audiostream.com/content/ifi-iusbpower-taking-audioquest-draginfly-dac-notch
 

 
Mike

 

[lee730]

I'm curious to hear more about this "clean power" source and if indeed it does make a difference on the DACport. I did however notice a difference between USB powered vs using a dedicated power hub. The DACport LX on the power hub does sound better overall (cleaner sounding).
 

 

[zilch0md]

That's interesting lee730 - it makes me all the more curious what Mike Mercer discovers.  I suppose that no matter how well-designed a USB-Powered DAC is, it's got to sound better with really clean power vs. dirty power.

 

[morpheusx]

Quote:

I'm curious to hear more about this "clean power" source and if indeed it does make a difference on the DACport. I did however notice a difference between USB powered vs using a dedicated power hub. The DACport LX on the power hub does sound better overall (cleaner sounding).
 

Interisting
btw what is the cheapest price of dedicated power hub?
i also want to try dedicated power hub with lx if the price is reasonable

 

[lee730]

Quote:

Interisting
btw what is the cheapest price of dedicated power hub?
i also want to try dedicated power hub with lx if the price is reasonable

I didn't spend much on it at all. But also keep in mind I was having issues connecting directly to my Alienware machine. With the DACport cutting in and out. So that may also have some  bearing on things (the powered USB hub solved that issue). I didn't spend much at all on the power hub. Probably not much more than $20.00 from amazon.com

 

[morpheusx]

Quote:

That's interesting lee730 - it makes me all the more curious what Mike Mercer discovers.  I suppose that no matter how well-designed a USB-Powered DAC is, it's got to sound better with really clean power vs. dirty power.

 
I guess it's possible to get better sound with DACport with more clean power
 

for example Kingrex UD384 DAC sound much more better with it's Upower supply
http://www.headfonia.com/black-holes-and-revelations-kingrex-ud384-dac-and-upower-psu/