[ExtraNice]

Is it easy to switch between ASIO and Window's DirectSound?

And will I need Otachan if I use the commercial ASIO solution?

 

[bjorn]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hottuna_ /img/forum/go_quote.gif The nice thing about super mode is you don't need to choose one or the other of those options. You can do both simultaneously. Just did it on mine.

That's true! One more plus for the Compass.

 

[Patu]

My friend ordered Compass a while ago and received it shortly after it. Now he was kind enough to borrow it for me. After one day... I'm blown away. I've been mostly using the DAC-section in my speaker setup and it performs amazingly well. Compared to AudioNemesis, basses have more slam and punch, sound is livelier and more detailed. Headphone amp section is very good also. I quickly compared it to Lehmann and I think I slightly prefer Lehmann for now but I have to do more comparisons. Amazing performance for $258 unit.

Any thoughts of DAC200? It interests me even more.

 

[squall343]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ExtraNice /img/forum/go_quote.gif Is it easy to switch between ASIO and Window's DirectSound? And will I need Otachan if I use the commercial ASIO solution?

u mean the media monkey?

yes..it is easy to switch..just use the option

and yes you still need otachan for the asio out dll

Quote:

Originally Posted by Patu /img/forum/go_quote.gif Any thoughts of DAC200? It interests me even more.

I quote from Kingwa
"DAC200 sound like Compass but has a bit upgrade and less digital sound."

I guess if u need the usb input, i would recommend u jump straight to dac19 mk3

 

[mbd2884]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ExtraNice /img/forum/go_quote.gif Is it easy to switch between ASIO and Window's DirectSound? And will I need Otachan if I use the commercial ASIO solution?

Otachan is just a plugin as are the Foobar and WinAmp versions. They are just interfaces that connect the player to the ASIO drivers. ASIO4All as said before is just an emulation, it isn't real, it's not real ASIO.

Otachan, while sounds the best, and works the best, it just does the simple things automatically, does not let you access control panel of ASIO driver. You can select which ASIO drivers, if you have both drivers for your Compass or other hardware or ASIO4All. Which is why I have both the WinAmp and the Otachan on my Media Monkey. I use Otachan, but when I go into Options/Output, I click configure on the WinAmp version as it lets me go into the ASIO configuration.

Media Monkey is great cause it adapts to your changes on the fly. You don't have to restart the player like you do with Foobar often.

 

[Patu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by squall343 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I quote from Kingwa "DAC200 sound like Compass but has a bit upgrade and less digital sound." I guess if u need the usb input, i would recommend u jump straight to dac19 mk3

I don't need USB input. "Less digital sound" sounds good though.

DAC19Mk3 would use PCM1704UK which should be one of the best DAC chips out there (right?). Then again, the sound description says it's very neutral and monitor like sounding. I'm not sure if that's what I'm looking for.

 

[haloxt]

If you don't need the headphone amp section I'm sure the power purifying circuit in the DAC-200 is worth the tradeoff if its effect is anything like my power conditioner on my compass. I'm guessing to take full advantage of the higher fidelity of the DAC19mk3 you'd have to have pretty detailed speakers/headphones so the musicality added by the earth/moon may be preferable.

 

[Patu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by haloxt /img/forum/go_quote.gif If you don't need the headphone amp section I'm sure the power purifying circuit in the DAC-200 is worth the tradeoff if its effect is anything like my power conditioner on my compass. I'm guessing to take full advantage of the higher fidelity of the DAC19mk3 you'd have to have pretty detailed speakers/headphones so the musicality added by the earth/moon may be preferable.

I think I'm good with my Lehmann. It's really hard to beat when using Sennheisers. Compass isn't quite on its level but it gets close.

You can see my speaker setup in my signature. Bel Canto + ProAc is extremely detailed and fast combination. That's why I'd like my DAC to maybe add some smoothness in the mix (without sacrificing details and speed). That's what AudioNemesis does at the moment but now when I tried Compass with its lively, punchy and highly dynamic sound, I'm not so sure about AudioNemesis anymore.

I'm afraid that DAC19 would make the combo sound too "hifi" and lose the musicality and easiness. By description, DAC200 should be what I'm looking for (with the Moon OPA maybe). Still I'm interested of DAC19 because of the PCM1704UK.

 

[haloxt]

I think the DAC-200 might be better than DAC19 for you but best to ask Kingwa, he can probably give much better advice on how to achieve the sound you want. Heck maybe he can color the DAC19 with a moon/earth if you want

.

 

[Currawong]

Patu: If it's any help, the Reference 1, with the PC1704UK x8, has no "sound" -- that is, no colouration at all. As haloxt suggested, I'd ask Kingwa directly about the DAC19MK3. Generally though, what he says of his products is exactly what they are.

 

[Patu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Currawong /img/forum/go_quote.gif Patu: If it's any help, the Reference 1, with the PC1704UK x8, has no "sound" -- that is, no colouration at all. As haloxt suggested, I'd ask Kingwa directly about the DAC19MK3. Generally though, what he says of his products is exactly what they are.

Yes I've been e-mailing with him. He says pretty much like it says on the pages. Monitor like and clean sound. Bad recordings sound bad and good ones sound good. It's just that I don't know what it means in my system.

Well I'll think about it.

 

[sarathcpt]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Currawong /img/forum/go_quote.gif sarathcpt: I think the preamp switch just switches between the headphone socket and the RCA jacks at the back. Are you sure the Super button at the front is off? If the switch is busted, however, then you wont get sound output except through the DAC in super mode I'm guessing.

Super button was off. Thats what I am thinking as well..the connection between DAC & HP socket/RCA is broken since the switch is broken. I don't have RCA analog cables to try out just the DAC section..moreover the only other amp I have is the Bithead which I don't think can take RCA-in.

Had emailed Kingwa with the pics..but seems he didn't get it because he replied to a previous mail and not this one.

 

[K3cT]

I have recently tried the venerable Otachan plug-in compared to the standard WASAPI output available in Vista. All tests done via Foobar and using USB of my Compass.

To be honest, I cannot discern between those two.

 

[ScottieB]

K3cT - was just testing between foobar and mediamonkey with their 2 different ASIO plugins and could not hear a difference, either. There was some debate about the sound level control in Foobar suggesting that its ASIO was doing something wrong, or that foobar was affecting its sound... I could not hear this, and some research brought me to this page for anyone who's interested:

Computer Audio Asylum - You nailed the volume control functions Lynn...(long) - Presto - December 03, 2007 at 12:10:26

For the lazy (

) here's the most relevant part:
Quote:

"The Foobar volume control should work for ASIO and Directsound. The Windows volume control will usually not work work with ASIO, but will with Directsound." YES! Software player levels have nothing to do with "post player" level controls. Even some ASIO output plugins allow Winamp to retain level control. In these cases, you only need to ensure you have the volume set to 0dbfs - which for me was 50% slider for Winamp. For Foobar, 0dbfs is always 100% slider, which is why you get 0dfs when the Foobar level control is bypassed by the Otachan ASIO output plugins. Otachan plugins for Winamp also bypass, by in doing so, you get 200% (+6db gain) - at least you do on the audio interfaces I have. Even with ASIO, software levels and SOUNDCARD mixer levels will still work. It has nothing to do with kmixer.

I think the important distinction here is soundcard mixer vs windows mixer. With my Xfi- I can control the various levels - even ASIO separate form the rest of my system sounds. Only thing that gets affected is if I'm playing a 96khz track, any other windows sounds (which are being fed thru my XFI mixer) will sound very slow and low pitched, as they do not match the current clock of the sound card (which would be changed to be bit-perfect).

Sorry - should add I'm using XP, not Vista.

 

[mbd2884]

Yeah I know that's what Foobar says, but if you experiement with Foobar's volume control and replaygain, it doesn't sound as good. It's easier to leave it on full volume and just change volume on the Compass. Even better IMO, ditch Foobar and use WinAmp/Media Monkey with Otachan instead. There is definitley a difference between Otachan and Foobar ASIO, at least for me and a few others I have talked to when we listen with Compass. I don't know or care why, I just know Foobar is not the best sounding solution anymore for me.