[bosiemoncrieff]

If I had to take a wild guess, this "desktop changer" coming in a few weeks is either:

a) A new digital audio computer interface using eithernet

b) A direct streaming device where it has wifi/ethernet built in, yet is controlled by your computer via USB.

The issue has always been either clean up USB audio or go around it. My guess is a go around solution, same as you are doing with other devices.

It is just too bad that USB 3 and/or USB-C is pretty much just as bad with higher power rails. And also too bad Firewire/IEEE-1394 did not take off more. Apple abandoned it once they could no longer make money on licencing anymore and the market was pretty happy with USB 2.

All that said, I do agree that any DAC can have an improvement by using external powered devices to convert the USB into S/PDIF. For one, you are not supplying power or signal to that USB receiver chip, but also a dedicated device usually does it more efficiently because it does not have to worry about power consumption or other things.

I use a Wyrd hooked into a Peachtree X1 that then outputs S/PDIF. I has an XMOS chip just like my X3 II, but the X1 sounds better. Besides, the X3 II is limited to 24 bit output - fine for most I suppose.

Why not Firewire's successor—thunderbolt?

 

[rtaylor76]

Why not Firewire's successor—thunderbolt?

One again, proprietary and there is not a Windoze alternative like there was in IEEE-1394. So adoption has been slow, although some home studio interfaces have been surfacing of late with T-bolt. It makes more sense as they can get more channel throughput with way low latency and at higher sample rates. Almost no need for hardware direct monitoring. Almost.

Still waiting on this Schiit desktop game changer.

 

[bosiemoncrieff]

Apparently USB-C and Thunderbolt 3 use the same port shape. That could help adoption?

 

[rsnblmn]

  Apparently USB-C and Thunderbolt 3 use the same port shape. That could help adoption?

 
Thunderbolt 3 is supported on many new high-end Windoze laptops, such as:
 
https://www.asus.com/us/Notebooks/ASUS-ZenBook-Pro-UX501VW/
 
It's an Intel thing, not an Apple thing, even though Apple tried to market it that way, as they like to do.

 

[rtaylor76]

If the world adopts T-bolt. Right now it is still not as popular as FireWire used to be. Very limited devices (other than Apple), even fewer devices to use with it.

USB is still more common and winning. So like I said, only time will tell of adoption happens. So far adoption is very slow.

 

[rsnblmn]

I agree about the adoption rate. And I would also argue that part of the reason the adoption rate is so slow (other than cost, obviously) is that most people just don't need the throughput that Thunderbolt offers. You certainly don't need it for audio bandwidth in today's market.
 
The "killer app" for Thunderbolt 3 in my opinion would be for things like a high resolution video display that you could plug into your laptop, which would run off of a high performance discrete video card that is inside the display, rather than the laptop, so even a modest laptop could drive the high end display no problem. For that kind of bandwidth, the advantage of Thunderbolt is obvious.
 
Maybe I'm just lucky or maybe my ears are too far gone to hear the difference, but I am honestly totally fine with USB 2.0 for audio at present.  (At least, Schiit's implementation seems just fine to me.)

 

[valtopps]

i need help guys, i have a uber w/2nd gen usb and with the driver from schiit it works great, i just got a multibit and plugged it in and windows wont recognize it. is there a special driver for multibit? it does a light show for me and then clicking???

 

[theveterans]

You wait at least 45 seconds after you turn it on. It's doing some "housekeeping" stuff.

 

[valtopps]

nope waited longer than that and still wont recognize it, it stops on the usb light though?

 

[theveterans]

It stops to where an input is detected. If it's coax then will stop at coax. Same for USB.

 

[valtopps]

i think there's something major wrong , i plugged in a opt cable and still nothing? but the light stops on the opt light on the dac?

 

[rtaylor76]

I agree about the adoption rate. And I would also argue that part of the reason the adoption rate is so slow (other than cost, obviously) is that most people just don't need the throughput that Thunderbolt offers. You certainly don't need it for audio bandwidth in today's market.

Not entirely. For just playback, that kind of throughput is not needed. However, for recording, you NEED that throughput. For low latency monitoring and real time effects processing.

The only way they get around it now is proprietary hardware monitoring an PCI cards that plug right into the FSB. This requires more proprietary expensive hardware and more wall power.

Processors now can handle it much easier that 10 years ago, but that is still how things operate. PCI or PCI-X is best solution, but untrainable on a laptop. FireWire can do things OK, but still the latency requires direct hardware monitoring and latency compensation. Thunderbolt has this capability, but adoption is slow.

There is a Zoom box that looks nice and Focusrite just came out with the Clarett line that uses Thundetbolt. Them boys at Avid/Digidesign better be working on something.

All this is pro audio and I am sure most you guys don't care. I don't know if it would be any worse than USB other than there would not be 1000 different chips to contend with.

 

[valtopps]

HELP PLEASE!!

 

[theveterans]

You probably got a dud if both optical and USB doesn't make a sound. I'll try plugging in a different amplifier with a different cable and see if you get music.

 

[valtopps]

thanks for the help but its not the amp or cables. i think your right its a dud