[Tony1110]

mmh my Octave MkI PSU is a 220V one and I plug it to my wall electrical outlet. No USB power . No USB intput at all

See picture below

I'm talking about the MKII.

 

[purrin]

   
Thats all I need to make my decision. I won't change my Octave mk I before finding and  hearing something really better . I don't really see in what the MkII could be a real upgrade since I use myself a transport for USB to SPDIF conversion.  I'd rather consider a transport upgrade maybe.  The audioGD DI-2014 eyes me up  with a lot of inputs & outputs and its inboard PSU.
 
@Purrin : You should put the Octave in your first page. I'm always very pleased ( aka touched by the finger of God ) when my personal gear is in the Messiah's favourites

.

 
Just put up there. Wanted to wait until I got more exposure to it.
 

   
Just a minor correction, Emotiva DACs (the XDA and DC series) used the AD1955 chip. DC-1 has two of them.

 
I like the AD1955, along with the AKMs. There seems to be a high correlation to the DACs I like and the chips which are used. Would be interesting if someone did an analysis.

 

[Clemmaster]

I confirm the Metrum Quad worked really great on my dad's stereo setup: Exposure 2010S + Focal 826W.
Vocals are really the highlight of this DAC!
 
The QuteHD + LPSU was the best in his setup.

 

[Sorrodje]

I'm talking about the MKII.

 

 
 
Sorry but I think the power for mkII neither come from USB  .

 

[Tony1110]

Sorry but I think the power for mkII neither come from USB  .

You're not understanding what I'm saying. I'm not trying to state that the DAC is powered by the USB input. I'm saying that the USB board inside the DAC takes its power from the computer as opposed to a dedicated power supply.

 

[TokenGesture]

The Octave is great DAC for the money I think.  I've paired it with the Metrum Aurix amp, the combination is wonderful - clear, musical, controlled, with great tone.  Not in your face but the detail is there.

 

[Sorrodje]

You're not understanding what I'm saying. I'm not trying to state that the DAC is powered by the USB input. I'm saying that the USB board inside the DAC takes its power from the computer as opposed to a dedicated power supply.

 
Oh sorry. I was sure there was something wrong in what I understood but I didn't know what...

 

[BournePerfect]

Yep-this is why even some of the heavy hitters can benefit from something like an iUSB. Wish I had tried it with my DP1 when I had it, as I heard great things about that particular pairing.

 

[thegunner100]

I can vouch for the DC-1 being an excellent dac for the price. It's $500 and you get tons of features for it: USB, Coax, Optical, AES, BNC input, Pre-amp functionality w/ RCA in, both RCA and XLR outs, well built, relatively small form factor, and a nice remote. I think it comes close to the Gungnir's performance but the DC-1 isn't as dynamically capable and the bass quality isn't quite as good.
 
Purrin's comment about liking the AD1955 and the AKM chips in the Schiit dacs makes sense to me, having done a brief comparison between the DC-1 and Gungnir.

 

[skeptic]

Yep-this is why even some of the heavy hitters can benefit from something like an iUSB. Wish I had tried it with my DP1 when I had it, as I heard great things about that particular pairing.

Someone on computeraudiophile posted a bunch of scope measurements of the iusb, and the switching wallwart is really noisy. Having to diy a linear supply for a device that is supposed to provide clean usb power seems wonky, but that's what the guy did. Big improvement in the measurements.

Edit - here's the thread: http://www.computeraudiophile.com/f6-dac-digital-analog-conversion/ifi-ipurifier-what-it-how-use-it-do-i-want-it-18206/index6.html

 

[purrin]

 
 
Includes a few not discussed in the thread - mostly the stuff I don't like.

 

[BournePerfect]

Someone on computeraudiophile posted a bunch of scope measurements of the iusb, and the switching wallwart is really noisy. Having to diy a linear supply for a device that is supposed to provide clean usb power seems wonky, but that's what the guy did. Big improvement in the measurements.

Edit - here's the thread: http://www.computeraudiophile.com/f6-dac-digital-analog-conversion/ifi-ipurifier-what-it-how-use-it-do-i-want-it-18206/index6.html

 
Yes I believe the remarks regarding the iFi/DP-1 used it's optional power supply. Makes sense.

 

[BournePerfect]

 
 
 
Includes a few not discussed in the thread - mostly the stuff I don't like.

 
Doesn't the Hugo justify it's own slice on the bottom pie yet?

 

[castleofargh]

again with the USB and the evil sources :'(
last time I tried giving my opinion by talking about how stuff work, but nobody cares about technical reasons (else I wouldn't see so many people with NOS DACs ^_^).
so maybe I can try basic human logic this time?
whatever is in a magic USB box or any crappy hub with an external power supply, it's made from available and relatively cheap components, and however you wanna see it, those components would work the same way if they were already inside a DAC. so why wouldn't your favorite DAC be already equipped with whatever is in the magic box to make the audio "better"?
to that I can see a few very logical options:
 
-1/ the manufacturers did just that, the DAC already has external power supply, super clock, and whatever trick available.
=  you're just adding redundant products in the signal path and probably making the signal worst.
 
-2/ the manufacturers of that DAC don't know what they're doing. they added USB input because people kept bothering them for it, but don't know much about USB and made a poor design.
= you bought the wrong DAC or at least you shouldn't use the USB input.
 
-3/ they know but decided to save money instead of using 40$ of components to make a clean USB signal and improve the DAC specs.
if it's a cheap product, well why not. but if it's some hifi stuff, you've been swindled.
 
-4/ they know and tested all configurations to realize it was making no significant improvement. so they decided to not add useless junk.
if they get great measured specs, then they were right not to bother. else goto -2/
 
 so from this very basic manufacturer's side thinking, and I don't think I went wild with imagination here, the only time where adding something to the USB cable might improve things will be with -2/. and even in that situation you have to take your time and think if you should go for another input, go for another DAC, or if you really want to keep this one DAC with a crappy usb input? then and only then, look for a magic box or a powered hub, or update your usb drivers on your computer or get a raspberry pi as dedicated audio source...
that's why I do believe that when a DAC has troubles with some source, most of the time the answer is to get a proper DAC instead of trying to patch things up. (and by proper I don't mean expensive, I mean proper for your own needs).

 

[BournePerfect]

I think I just went blind...