[sanne]

Sorry guys I'm late to the whole party here and am having trouble keeping track of everything.
 
I have a Stello DA100, and I find the USB input to be very lacking in the SQ department.  I want to buy the M2Tech Hiface to go directly to the Coax input, which supposedly sounds much better.  The Stello only has an RCA Coax input, not the BNC input.
 
What should I buy?  The RCA M2Tech Hiface, or the BNC version and then get a BNC-RCA adapter?

 

[shawn_low]

Quote:

Sorry guys I'm late to the whole party here and am having trouble keeping track of everything.
 
I have a Stello DA100, and I find the USB input to be very lacking in the SQ department.  I want to buy the M2Tech Hiface to go directly to the Coax input, which supposedly sounds much better.  The Stello only has an RCA Coax input, not the BNC input.
 
What should I buy?  The RCA M2Tech Hiface, or the BNC version and then get a BNC-RCA adapter?

 
If you aren't going to get a DAC/Source that has BNC, save your $30 and get the RCA version.
 

 

[baka1969]

Hi,
Will the Hiface work with iTunes? Will it make a significant improvement while iTunes? I prefer the iTunes interface over Foobar. Yes I know. Foorbar is better. That's not my question though.

Thanks.

 

[upstateguy]

Quote:

Hi,
Will the Hiface work with iTunes? Will it make a significant improvement while iTunes? I prefer the iTunes interface over Foobar. Yes I know. Foorbar is better. That's not my question though.

Thanks.

My HiFace works with netflix and you tube, I would think it should work with any audio coming out of your computer.  Don't use itunes though.
 
USG

 

[DaveBSC]

I noticed over at Computer Audiophile that some people have started receiving their Hiface EVOs, and one was kind enough to open it up and post a shot of the guts. Jkeny I'd really like to hear your thoughts specifically on what you think can be done with it.
 

 

[mmerrill99]

It's too early to say much about it - I would need to get one into my hands to look at it's innards & listen to it's sound. You probably saw that I had a post over on CA asking the guy if he would identify some chip IDs for me. I didn't hear back.
 
I can say this:
- it uses a different Xilinx chip
- it uses this chip to output all it's outputs i.e no DIT4192 for SPDIF output
- it uses two MEC LARGE OSCILLATORS!!!! 
- it uses at least 3 on-board regulators that I can see
 
More than that I cannot say

 

[regal]

And one small oscillator  for a total of three.
 

 

[mmerrill99]

Yes, regal, that's a 24MHz clock for the Cypress USB chip & doesn't really have direct bearing on the audio quality, I believe (unless it's complete rubbish!). There's one of these in all the Hifaces too.
 
Can you see anything else noteworthy in that pic? I asked specifically about the buffer chip IDs that seem to be used between the FPGA & the outputs - they are probably 74HC types?

 

[DaveBSC]

I noticed in the manual its very clear that the EVO is using a 75Ohm BNC connector, so hopefully there will be no confusion there. Interestingly they also recommend several choices as far as powering it - a 9V power supply, a 7.2/10.8V lithium battery, or 9V alkaline. Running to the store for new Duracells all the time seems a bit impractical. Since its possible to power the whole thing without using the USB bus, would there be a need for specific power to the clocks as with the standard Hiface, or would just running the whole thing on batteries be all that is required to get the most out of it?

 

[mmerrill99]

Quote:

I noticed in the manual its very clear that the EVO is using a 75Ohm BNC connector, so hopefully there will be no confusion there. Interestingly they also recommend several choices as far as powering it - a 9V power supply, a 7.2/10.8V lithium battery, or 9V alkaline. Running to the store for new Duracells all the time seems a bit impractical.

Looks to me like the same BNC connectors as in the Hiface but I can't really tell, so I think the debate might rage on?
 
Yes battery operation - hmmm, a good idea perhaps? 

 But still using a regulator, hmmm?

 

[regal]

Nope,  the third clock is for synching to the external clock input.
 

 

[regal]

Quote:

I noticed in the manual its very clear that the EVO is using a 75Ohm BNC connector, so hopefully there will be no confusion there. Interestingly they also recommend several choices as far as powering it - a 9V power supply, a 7.2/10.8V lithium battery, or 9V alkaline. Running to the store for new Duracells all the time seems a bit impractical. Since its possible to power the whole thing without using the USB bus, would there be a need for specific power to the clocks as with the standard Hiface, or would just running the whole thing on batteries be all that is required to get the most out of it?

 
 
I would be very surprised if those 99 cent regulators outperform Jkeny's batteries. And you would have to bypass them to prevent them from degrading the sound. Plus And you would have to bypass them to prevent them from degrading the sound.    And you  An

 
 

 

[mmerrill99]

Quote:

Nope,  the third clock is for synching to the external clock input.
 

How does this synching work then & what is the point of an external clock if an internal clock is needed to synch to it? It would seem to me that this internal clock have some sonic role. I've never looked into external word clocks before so I don't know how they work but I assumed no other clock was needed for this function?
 
There should be a clock for the Cypress chip USB function & I'm pretty sure I can see the traces from this clock to the Cypress chip?

 

[regal]

You are thinking of the LessLoss method, ,  the way sound cards and studios accept an external clock is thru a PLL via a wordclock input at least they are using an oscillator and not a synthesizer to generate the master clock.  Google "Big-Ben digital clock" that home studios use
Quote:

How does this synching work then & what is the point of an external clock if an internal clock is needed to synch to it? It would seem to me that this internal clock have some sonic role. I've never looked into external word clocks before so I don't know how they work but I assumed no other clock was needed for this function?
 
There should be a clock for the Cypress chip USB function, no?

 

[mmerrill99]

Quote:

You are thinking of the LessLoss method, ,  the way sound cards and studios accept an external clock is thru a PLL via a wordclock input at least they are using an oscillator and not a synthesizer to generate the master clock.  Google "Big-Ben digital clock" that home studios use

 

But this isn't a Word Clock input as in Pro studio use - here's the extract from the manual:
 
 
Quote:

 
2) External clock in. Apply a clock source if you need higher precision and stability than 
provided by the internal oscillators. Please remember that a suitable clock (22.5792MHz or 
24.576MHz) must be provided depending on the sampling frequency of files to be played 
back. Please see the specifications section for absolute maximum ratings. This input is 
galvanically isolated by a pulse transformer. 75 Ohm female BNC connector.