[Currawong]

Quote:

I can't believe there are over 80 posts in this thread and no one has touched on the most important characteristic that distinguishes good USB DACs from unlistenable USB DACs.
 
Asynchronous USB is inherently better than adaptive.  There is no conversation to be had on this point.  It just is.
 
If your primary source is going to be USB, there are only two brands that you should listen to:  Wavelength and Ayre.  Everything else is a waste of time.

So, tell us, are you an engineer of suitable experience in these matters who can explain to us, from actual knowledge (not just reading things off the web) why this is so?
 
By your logic I should just get a Halide cable (with async built in) and plug it into even the cheapest nastiest eBay DAC I can find (for $50 or whatever) and it should blow away everything that isn't async, even high-end DACs, just because it is async.
 
Your argument holds water like the Titanic. 

 

[3X0]

There are many schools of thought to audio appreciation. I have encountered individuals on some forums that insist that all DACs of recent memory sound exactly the same when their output stages are matched to the same volume levels. I have also read countless posts from other individuals that argue the effects of jitter and clocking with equal fervor. Some even go out and purchase USB cables costing hundreds of thousands of dollars in the pursuit of lower jitter.
 
 
Among these trends, I choose to trust only my ears. It saves me from having to follow the truckload of drivel that the partisans of any of these schools of thought might religiously believe.
 
I find the possibility that these believers might have their appreciation of products psychologically clouded by predispositions to be terrifying.

 

[haloxt]

If someone wants to buy a usb cable that costs thousands of dollars, I'll fly to their home and hardwire computer to dac for the same amount of money. No cable is surely better sounding than a cable.

 

[yococo96]

i'd like to only trust my ears. 
but I can't audition them . 
if only I had a shop near me that sells them, I would be able to write a review and, maybe, help Sam-Fi and those who are in the same situation.

 

[dogears]

I you can DIY or someone you know can do it for you, go for dddac: www.dddac.de. I highly recommend his USB>I2S>DDDAC.

 

[regal]

Quote:

So, tell us, are you an engineer of suitable experience in these matters who can explain to us, from actual knowledge (not just reading things off the web) why this is so?
 
By your logic I should just get a Halide cable (with async built in) and plug it into even the cheapest nastiest eBay DAC I can find (for $50 or whatever) and it should blow away everything that isn't async, even high-end DACs, just because it is async.
 
Your argument holds water like the Titanic. 

I was going to say the same,  you are much better off with a good USB transport and a DAC that has the best analog stage you can afford, IMHO.
 



 
Quote:

I you can DIY or someone you know can do it for you, go for dddac: www.dddac.de. I highly recommend his USB>I2S>DDDAC.

Built it and it is really sub-par for the investment.  
 
I recommend this for DIY: Pass D1 (a $5k DAC in its day):  http://www.fetaudio.com/d1v1/
more info http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/vendors-bazaar/97504-np-d1-dac-clone-enhancement.html,  Those in the know don't believe that audio DAC chips have gotten anything but worse since the PCM63K.
 
If money were no object the most famous DIY DAC was designed by a group of european engineer hobbiests.  Its a design I really want to build but I would improve on the tube stage.  The whole webpage is full of great insights into what makes a good DAC, the best digital side we have ever seen in a DAC short of a master/slave setup like LessLoss:  http://members.chello.nl/~m.heijligers/DAChtml/dactop.htm
 

 

[dogears]

^Which version did you build?
I'll look up on the info you mentioned. Thanks.

 

[yococo96]

I like the diy ones. 
I tried to find the name of the dac chips that are used in the tubadour and the tranquility but I didn't find anything. 
regal, what would you improve on the second dac? and is it better than the first dac?

 

[regal]

Use a 10 ohm I/v resistor and a quite phonotype tube preamp stage.   I'm planning on experiementing with it when I get the time.  Or you could use a sowter 1:10 steup up transformer designed for these DAC's but they are expensive,  the idea is lower I/V resistor = lower distortion.
Quote:

I like the diy ones. 
I tried to find the name of the dac chips that are used in the tubadour and the tranquility but I didn't find anything. 
regal, what would you improve on the second dac? and is it better than the second dac?

 

[Sam-Fi]

 
Quote:

I like the diy ones. 
I tried to find the name of the dac chips that are used in the tubadour and the tranquility but I didn't find anything. 
regal, what would you improve on the second dac? and is it better than the second dac?

If I may weigh in yococo the chip used in the Tubadour... well I will just quote Vlad, "You want to know the chips? I am using Xilinx, AD1865N-K, CS8416 and another Xilinx to control AD1865. Output is SRPP triode 6N1P which acts as a I to V converter and amplifies."
 
The output is tubes used as a I/V.
 
There is a cap in the output also. I am not sure which one.
 
Tranquility makes it a point not to reveal the parts inside. I am having a tubadour being made for me right now. I choose it because Vlad's longer experience in audio circuits and because I loved his DAC D1. I have a very good feeling I am going to love it.
 
Thanks,
Sam-fi

 

[regal]

Quote:

 

If I may weigh in yococo the chip used in the Tubadour... well I will just quote Vlad, "You want to know the chips? I am using Xilinx, AD1865N-K, CS8416 and another Xilinx to control AD1865. Output is SRPP triode 6N1P which acts as a I to V converter and amplifies."
 
The output is tubes used as a I/V.
 

 
 
One of the benefits of DIY is you can avoid the typical "throw an SRPP in it"  DAC designers.  My findings were that it is a very poor choice and others have found this also,   the reasons are explained in Boskies article on SRPP.
 
Here is the tube stage I used with the AD1865K that sounds wonderful,   much better thanSRPP 6N1P,  only disadvantage is it needs an amp with at least 30kohm input impedance:
 
 

 
 
The 270R should read 50R

 

[freakmax]

USB input?
Ayre QB-9.
I'm saving up for it.

 

[yococo96]

Quote:

 

If I may weigh in yococo the chip used in the Tubadour... well I will just quote Vlad, "You want to know the chips? I am using Xilinx, AD1865N-K, CS8416 and another Xilinx to control AD1865. Output is SRPP triode 6N1P which acts as a I to V converter and amplifies."
 
The output is tubes used as a I/V.
 
There is a cap in the output also. I am not sure which one.
 
Tranquility makes it a point not to reveal the parts inside. I am having a tubadour being made for me right now. I choose it because Vlad's longer experience in audio circuits and because I loved his DAC D1. I have a very good feeling I am going to love it.
 
Thanks,
Sam-fi

happy for you for the tubadour hope you'll love it. 

 

[yococo96]

regal, would build it for me? (I cannot do this I don't enough money now

, but maybe one day.)

 

[regal]

No I come to these forums to help people  learn how to build for themselves and avoid paying premiums for sub-par designs.  I suggest you follow the DacEnd threads at diyaudio and buy the kit if you want NOS,  or the kit for the Pass D1 if you want OS,  then post a want to buy thread in the classified to find a builder.