[slim.a]

Quote:

BTW, does changing PLL settings bring the same results with V5 as older versions?
 
Is it possible to exchange the V4 against the V5, or send the V4 for a firmware upgrade?

I tried it very quicly yesterday night and it seems that changing the jumpers on the DSP1 bring the same effects on the V3 as it was the case on the V5. FauDrei has given a pretty accurate description of the effects of the DSP1 settings somewhere in this thread and they are still relevant in this case.

The only settings that are worth mentioning are:
PLL: when turned off, there was an increase in soundstage and in (fake or real?) resolution. However, I didn't like the sound and I felt that something was off like the whole reproduction lacked coherency.
Passband settings: Those who feel that representation of the V5 is too glossy or too pristine, can probably try the -90db and -50db settings. With those lower settings, the representation was smoother, less processed, more "analog like" but there was a definite loss in the sense of focus and 3D imaging.

I ended up returning to the stock settings very fast as it was the most neutral and balanced representation to my ears. I understand that with different preferences and with different gears, people might end up with different settings, but to my ears, the DSP1 V5 in its stock setting just sound right and fun to listen to with a wide variety of music.
 
Quote:

I just received an email from Audio-GD which will disappoint a lot of us - they will not upgrade existing DSP modules - so what you've got is it.
 
Presumably they may still sell you a completely new module = bigger profit.
 
On Tweak-fi, there is a thread on modding the DSP module - it should gain a lot of momentum with this news.

 
Quote:

I've just ordered a V5 board yesterday because I got the same reply. Pity I can't upgrade my V4, it'll end in the For Sale section here, if somebody wants it.

Too bad they are not offering an upgrade for those who already have DSP1 boards. Maybe that modding the older boards (as discussed here) will be the most cost effective solution?
 
 
As a more general observation, and because of the generalization of Computer as a transport, we should probably look for NOS/filterless DACs that can accept very high sample rates (24/384 or even 32/768). That way all the oversampling/filtering could be done in software in the PC/Mac Side and we could try different filters algorithms without touching the insides of the DAC.
The maker of XXHighend (the media player) is currently working on a 32/384 capable DAC (based on PCM1704 I believe) that rely on software (their media player) for the filtering side. To me, it seems like one of the most future proof and promising DACs out there.

 

[Black Stuart]

Choltsmeier,
see my comment on page 50.

 

[Pacha]

Quote:

 
As a more general observation, and because of the generalization of Computer as a transport, we should probably look for NOS/filterless DACs that can accept very high sample rates (24/384 or even 32/768). That way all the oversampling/filtering could be done in software in the PC/Mac Side and we could try different filters algorithms without touching the insides of the DAC.
The maker of XXHighend (the media player) is currently working on a 32/384 capable DAC (based on PCM1704 I believe) that rely on software (their media player) for the filtering side. To me, it seems like one of the most future proof and promising DACs out there.

Seeing how fast the things keep improving in the PC Audio market, I guess our devices will all be easily outperformed within 3 years at the max.

 

[bacardi]

do the V4 and V5 boards look different at all? Can someone post shots of those two side-by-side or something?

 

[Pacha]

I think they look the same.
 
I have V4 in my DAC-19 and have ordered a V5. I could take pics of both when I receive it if you want.

 

[bacardi]

Yeah sure, how much did you have to pay for the new unit by the way? Thanks

 

[slim.a]

For those who are interested, I posted my impressions on the DSP1 V5 here: http://www.tweak-fi.com/apps/blog/show/5527032-mini-review-dsp1-v5-upgrade-for-the-audio-gd-dac19dsp

 

[bacardi]

hm, interesting, i wonder how much better is it from the V4, since you compared to the V3, guess i'll see how much will i have to pay for it

 

[Pacha]

 
Quote:

Yeah sure, how much did you have to pay for the new unit by the way? Thanks

 The unit is USD 150. Paypal fees and shipping for the board bring the price to USD 172.6. That's quite expensive and too bad we can't do any more upgrade (the upgrade cost was USD 30 without shipping fees for go and return), but as many here say the improvement to be alike to a brand new DAC, I wanted to try that out. However, this was said for V3 or older to V5. But vlrn here compared V4 to V5 and found the V5 to be truly better, so I'll see. Plus if the bump in SQ is really nice, I think US 150 isn't that expensive for modularity of an easy upgrade.

 

[Pacha]

 
Quote:

For those who are interested, I posted my impressions on the DSP1 V5 here: http://www.tweak-fi.com/apps/blog/show/5527032-mini-review-dsp1-v5-upgrade-for-the-audio-gd-dac19dsp

That was what I was looking and waiting for, thanks a lot.

 

[ulyses]

How can we identify dsp unit's version?  I have dsp 1 with jumper which Kingwa sent me after dac19 shipment and I sent the old one to him.

 

[Pacha]

 
Quote:

How can we identify dsp unit's version?  I have dsp 1 with jumper which Kingwa sent me after dac19 shipment and I sent the old one to him.

 IIRC what I read here, the V5 was shipped by the end of september, while the V4 was shipped within July. They're both jumpers version, older ones used dip switches.

 

[BrainFood]

Having read the whole 52 pages

, I've got a few questions:
 
It's not abundantly clear whether the C2 is an all-rounder working equally well with low and high impedance cans, or prefers one or the other.  Is it good with Grados, for example?
 
There was talk earlier about a small amount of channel imbalance with the stock Alps blue pot, most evident through high sensitivity headphones via ACSS.  Is this still potentially an issue?
 
Finally, everyone seems to link the C2 with the DAC 19.  Should it match the NFB 2/3 just as well?
 
Thanks

 

[slim.a]

Quote:

Having read the whole 52 pages

, I've got a few questions:
 
It's not abundantly clear whether the C2 is an all-rounder working equally well with low and high impedance cans, or prefers one or the other.  Is it good with Grados, for example?
 
There was talk earlier about a small amount of channel imbalance with the stock Alps blue pot, most evident through high sensitivity headphones via ACSS.  Is this still potentially an issue?
 
Finally, everyone seems to link the C2 with the DAC 19.  Should it match the NFB 2/3 just as well?
 
Thanks

I hope you didn't get a headache by reading the whole 52 pages

 
In my personal experience, I found the C2 a good all arounder. When I was looking for an "upgrade" for the HD-650, I auditioned a number of headphones using the C2 as an amp: K701, HD800, Grado RS1, Grado GS1000i and Beyer T1. I ended up getting the ALO recabled Beyer T1 but the Grados sounded very fine out of the C2. Actually, I subjectively preferred the GS1000i over the HD800 when I got to compare them side by side (and using a €3000 CD player as a source).
 
The website's description "straight wire with gain" is well suited for the C2 amp. So it should be paired with either slightly coloured headphones (HD650, Grados...) or if you use more neutral cans, you have to make sure the source (transport/dac) are very good and have a very good tone on their own.
I haven't listened to the NFB 2/3s so I can't say how the NFB 2/3 will sound like when paired with the C2. I suspect that the dac19dsp will do a better job but that is just a personal guess.

 

[bacardi]

Quote:

 
Quote:

Yeah sure, how much did you have to pay for the new unit by the way? Thanks

 The unit is USD 150. Paypal fees and shipping for the board bring the price to USD 172.6. That's quite expensive and too bad we can't do any more upgrade (the upgrade cost was USD 30 without shipping fees for go and return), but as many here say the improvement to be alike to a brand new DAC, I wanted to try that out. However, this was said for V3 or older to V5. But vlrn here compared V4 to V5 and found the V5 to be truly better, so I'll see. Plus if the bump in SQ is really nice, I think US 150 isn't that expensive for modularity of an easy upgrade.

Damn that IS quite a lot ... i'll have to think either buy it or a few CDs, tough choice