applehead
Head-Fier
- Joined
- Feb 20, 2012
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Where does the Bifrost uber with Gen 2 usb fit into the list? I've seen you mention it before and it always seemed to be in a good light given the price.
I think it's rather interesting Schiit used to Schiit on how Schiity USB was on their webpages. They seemed to have backtracked. At least I can't seem to find those statements anymore.
First negative review of the TEAC UD-501 I have read. Every other source I have read on it says that it is an amazing DAC, besting DACs twice its price.
Looking at your more positive reviews, I wonder how the Schiit compares to the X-Sabre? We're only talking about a $150 difference in price. I guess if you need DSD/DXD the decision is obvious.
next 2 dacs that I would like to own are the lumin player and the auralic vega.
Gapless is now supported by jriver on the PWD bridge i believe. Not just elyric
Purrin, from memory, approximately where would you rank my DAC? I know the comparison was super brief but your ears are damn good.
next 2 dacs that I would like to own are the lumin player and the auralic vega.
Gapless is now supported by jriver on the PWD bridge i believe. Not just elyric
I have discovered (not that long ago) that most USB implementations suck. I only wish I had known (I should have known) sooner as I'm sure many of the DACs listed here could have benefited from a proper USB/SPDIF converter. It's frustrating because there are so many combinations to try out. And I can't but help think some of the DACs didn't get a fair shake - that they would have radically improved, especially if their built-in USB converters sucked.
And then there's the question of the effectiveness of USB/SPDIF converters. For example. I suspect the AP1 (at least without the PP PS supply) doesn't do anything. It sounded worse than the PWD2's built-in USB and Amos / Currawong said it sounded the same as his AGD M7's USB (which I felt sucked balls). The AP1 ain't cheap. It's even more expensive with the PP. At this price point, even if it did work, it's not viable for any DAC less than $2K. I would have liked to find out if the PP did anything, but the owner of the AP1 was already pissed that it didn't do jack and said "F that."
In terms of input differences with Gungnir - in order of goodness.
- USB Gen 2
- Coax from my PC (which sound better than the PWD2 USB implementation, which is already not bad)
- ...gap...
- USB Gen 1
I don't have my OR5 right now, it's on loan, but I will report back on it. The thing with the OR5 is that it's not worth it for the Gungnir. The OR5 as I have it configured is ~$1500. The Gungnir is $750. But cost aside, the Gungnir won't scale with the OR5 like the M7 or PWD2. The fact that the M7 or PWD2 will take i2s provides even another level of advantage. The USB Gen 2 option is $100, optimally scales with the Gungnir's inherent capabilities, and better matches the Gungnir's particularities. By this I mean the USB Gen 2 provides more clarity, really brings out the sweetness of the AKM chip, restores the soft sounds which were either dropped or compressed upward, adds more low level information. From memory, the OR5 only did a little bit to address the last three shortcomings. The OR5 mostly did what it does best: blacken the background, tighten up the sounds, making things more precise sounding, provide more clarity, etc. However, I'm not 100% sure at this point and will require more listening / testing. We are not talking about huge differences.
Well, it could mean "Super". Really depends upon personal preferences.
I have not tried the Short Block yet but I am in the process of making my own. I know that simply cutting the +5V on the USB line to the OR5 incrementally improved soundstage. The next steps would be to put a choke on the ground and a common mode choke on the D+ and D- lines.
The AP1 is admittedly expensive for what it does. With that you are definitely paying for features vs the AP2. The PP battery supply helps it tremendously but it is overpriced vs just using a 5V linear supply with a dual headed USB cable or using a USB power conditioner like the ifi iUSB Power.
A good asynchronous USB implementation should be better than any SPDIF converter. I think a lot of the benefit of some converters is just having another stage of isolation between the electrically noisy computer and the DAC board. It's no accident the better implementations of USB like Ayre, AMR, reportedly the newer Schiit and W4S all go through great pains to keep the USB receiver on a separate board and isolated from the rest of the DAC. I have heard the Berkeley Alpha USB (which is probably the consensus top converter) with several very nice DACs and there is not a single one that did not improve with the Alpha.
I have noticed substantial differences in playback between different computers and if other devices are plugged into the USB ports other than just the DAC/converter. Laptops are probably the worst offenders for having noisy USB ports and multiple devices taking turns on the bus. Playback from different computers could have a very big affect on the sound.
I have noticed substantial differences in playback between different computers and if other devices are plugged into the USB ports other than just the DAC/converter. Laptops are probably the worst offenders for having noisy USB ports and multiple devices taking turns on the bus. Playback from different computers could have a very big affect on the sound.