[dubleon]

Hi All,
 
I feel my setup should sound a bit better and wondered if I could get some advice:
 
My current setup is as follows:
 
flac/320k mp3+ from foobar-------->Bashed up Sony Vaio-------->USB Cable-------->iBasso D10 Cobra -------->Denon D5000 w/ 100+ hours w/ MarkL Mod without the driver damping topside step
 
 
The reason why I think it should sound better is that when I run this setup:
 
CD-------->Cambridge Audi CD Player-------->Optical Cable-------->iBasso D10 Cobra -------->Denon D5000
 
Things seem much better. Any thoughts why? I presume its my source? Do people use a squeezebox or something like that?
 
Thanks,
 
Leon
 
 
 
 

 

[NA Blur]

It sounds like it is either how your computer is feeding the DAC in the iBasso or the optical cable vs USB.  Many people feel, including Wes Phillips, that an optical out sounds better than USB.  I personally do not hear the difference.
 
http://www.stereophile.com/content/grace-design-m902-reference-da-headphone-amplifier-wes-phillips-grace-m902
 
 
As long as the iBasso is bypassing the DAC in your PC it should make a huge improvement, but in the end it is all about signal processing and noise reduction.  The CD player through optical cable is going to have less noise most likely due to some good signal processing within the CD player itself and the optical cable reducing the noise over the USB cable.
 
I run my uncompressed files through Foobar2000 into my m903 via USB I really think it sound amazing with a pair of AH-D2000's I use.
 
To test if it is simply the source material try playing the CD on your PC into the iBasso via USB again.  Then do the same test back on the CD player setup and make notes of any differences.
 
Another thing to make sure is that your PC volume is at 70% when it is feeding the signal into your iBasso vis USB.  You want to avoid clipping ( too much input volume ) and feed the iBass a strong enough signal.
 

 

[dubleon]

thanks so much for your help, I think part of the problem was clipping for sure and you have made a big difference. The Grace m903 looks fantastic but I really cant justify the price tag ( around 2k gbp here!). I am thinking of moving over to cheap non portable amp and DAC solution as I think it would make a decent difference, still unsure on source, I think I need to read up on what a DAC actually does!