[somestranger26]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sieg9198 /img/forum/go_quote.gif That further confirms my speculation. I've already contacted Marco about this and provided him with information about the problem. Marco reply that he already passed the information to his programmer and they'll see what they can do. Fingers crossed The problem will only occur with devices that uses asynchronous transmission like the hiFace. Most device on the market doesnt use this type of topology so a lot of people does not have complain with the SB700 family. AMD realizes this problem but they claim that there are no workarounds for it From the command I'm assuming it just disconnect and reconnect the device right?? Unfortunately in our case when the hiFace freezes, it takes the computer together with it. EDIT: Based on my guess, currently the only way to avoid this problem is by using another USB 2.0 PCI/PCIe card. However do note that I have not tested it personally and I cannot guarantee that it'll work. :O

Thanks for the suggestion but as the above states, resetting the device isn't the issue since it always freezes and basically takes your computer or atleast the audio with it.

I'm hesitant to purchase a USB expansion card just to see if the device will work with it, it should just work to begin with when we're paying $130+ for it. I'd also conjecture that the same problem will occur if it is a chipset incompatibility issue since the chipset's also controlling the PCI-e bus.

 

[Sieg9198]

It's been only 5 days since I emailed Marco. I've also sent an email to Asus asking if there's anything they can do about it. They passed the related information to their related department and will update me as soon as possible. I'm waiting for response from either side.

However if there arent any response in another week I'll get an USB expansion card and I'll report back if it works or not

 

[mmerrill99]

Hey slim.a, just wanted to tell you I bought a HiFace & you are correct in your evaluation between it & the Musiland - stock the HiFace is better than the Musiland I would reckon it's about equivalent to the sound of my modded Musiland. But when the HiFace is modded it soars - the sound of low jitter=very good analogue! I've put a report here M2TECH Hiface USB->SPDIF 24/192Khz asynch - Page 18 - diyAudio

some pics here: http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/digit...ml#post2040507
& if you go through the thread after this you will see Valeriano has also done this mod & confirms the sound

I hope this has shaken off the Musiland fan-boy image you had of me

 

[lgo51]

Of course, I have to ask... have you tried a similar PS mod to any of the Musiland's ? Found my Monitor01USD got better SQ just by replacing the cheap electro's w/ Panny organic's and R&R'n the zip cord to the connectors for 75R mini-coax. DIRC that the 5v and 3.3v regs were linear on that? Anyway, just curious to know how far you went with that toy.

Cheers

 

[rosgr63]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jkeny /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hey slim.a, just wanted to tell you I bought a HiFace & you are correct in your evaluation between it & the Musiland - stock the HiFace is better than the Musiland I would reckon it's about equivalent to the sound of my modded Musiland. But when the HiFace is modded it soars - the sound of low jitter=very good analogue! I've put a report here M2TECH Hiface USB->SPDIF 24/192Khz asynch - Page 18 - diyAudio some pics here: M2TECH Hiface USB->SPDIF 24/192Khz asynch - Page 13 - diyAudio & if you go through the thread after this you will see Valeriano has also done this mod & confirms the sound I hope this has shaken off the Musiland fan-boy image you had of me

John, we can't see your photos, can you please make it easier for us non DIYAudio members?

I am sure slim.a is not "branding" anybody!

 

[mmerrill99]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lgo51 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Of course, I have to ask... have you tried a similar PS mod to any of the Musiland's ? Found my Monitor01USD got better SQ just by replacing the cheap electro's w/ Panny organic's and R&R'n the zip cord to the connectors for 75R mini-coax. DIRC that the 5v and 3.3v regs were linear on that? Anyway, just curious to know how far you went with that toy. Cheers

Yep, I've modded the 01US as far as it will go - see here: http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/digit...nto-sabre.html
Quote:

I started my recording of mods to the Musiland 01US USB DAC board here: http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/digit...ml#post1955840 I first focused on getting the most from the internal PCM1793 DAC that's on this board so my mods involved: - external USB power - changed digital decoupling caps for Oscons - changed 24MHz crystal for low jitter 24MHz Crystek clock - bypassed op-amp output stage & went direct from PCM1793 DAc Vouts to transformer But somebody told me I should open a separate thread. Seeing as I have just done another round of mods, I decided now would be a good time. I decided to experiment with the power supplies to the board so I cut some traces to isolate sections that I could then supply separately: - First I wanted to isolate the PS to the PCM1793 DAC - this has two PS a 3.3V digital & 5V analog supply - The PCM1793 DAC is at the end of a 3.3V supply that feeds the Cypress USB chip, the Xilinx FPGA - so I cut the trace just before the decoupling cap to the DAC - The 5V supply is provided through a circuit that has a dc-dc converter chip (NCP3063) - I cut the trace feeding the USB power to this circuit - I also lifted the + & - PS pins on the OP275 output op-amp as I was using output transformers anyway. So now I have the complete out stages isolated & they can be powered off also. So now my total supplies to the board are: - external 5V through USB cable - 3.3V to clock - 3.3V to digital supplies of DAC - 5V to analog supplies of DAC This improved the sound some but I finally tried the cheap Sabre 2 channel Vout DAC (ES9022) board which I had tried before but found then that I had a lot of noise on it. Because I was now able to power off the output stage I was happier feeding I2S to the Sabre DAC. So I only need a 3.3V supply for the Sabre - I disconnected the 3.3V & 5V analog supply to PCM DAC. I don't believe I need an external USB supply anymore as it's only supplying the Cypress & FPGA chips - not as critically noise sensitive as the PCM DAC. This sounds far superior to the PCM1793 (not surprisingly, I guess) & there's no noise on it. It brings a much more natural, rich sound & there seems to be more resolution of detail which might have to do with the ESS jitter handling - hyperstream?. Sound now more divorced from the speakers. The output level is far higher than the Vout from the PCM1793 & The bass is now noticeably superior. So the Sabre is a good cheap DAC (I think it was $2-3?), I would recommend (not sure if you need a NDA though - I had one already for the ES9018). I'll be listening some more & will post some pics. In terms of bang for buck, I reckon this combo is dam good.

 

[slim.a]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jkeny /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hey slim.a, just wanted to tell you I bought a HiFace & you are correct in your evaluation between it & the Musiland - stock the HiFace is better than the Musiland I would reckon it's about equivalent to the sound of my modded Musiland. But when the HiFace is modded it soars - the sound of low jitter=very good analogue! I've put a report here M2TECH Hiface USB->SPDIF 24/192Khz asynch - Page 18 - diyAudio some pics here: M2TECH Hiface USB->SPDIF 24/192Khz asynch - Page 13 - diyAudio & if you go through the thread after this you will see Valeriano has also done this mod & confirms the sound I hope this has shaken off the Musiland fan-boy image you had of me

Thanks for your feedback jkeny, and I am glad you liked the m2tech. As for the mod, I believe that it can be further improved. I just don't have the skills to try the mod myself.

Concerning fanboyism, I guess that now, we can both be accused of m2tech fanboyism

 

[mmerrill99]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rosgr63 /img/forum/go_quote.gif John, we can't see your photos, can you please make it easier for us non DIYAudio members? I am sure slim.a is not "branding" anybody!

I'm sorry but too many photos to re-host & resize for this forum because of size limitations here

It was a joke to slim.a

 

[mmerrill99]

Quote:

Originally Posted by slim.a /img/forum/go_quote.gif Thanks for your feedback jkeny, and I am glad you liked the m2tech. As for the mod, I believe that it can be further improved. I just don't have the skills to try the mod myself.

Tell me more about how it can be improved - I'm interested!

Quote:

Concerning fanboyism, I guess that now, we can both be accused of m2tech fanboyism

I'm glad you got the joke

 

[rosgr63]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jkeny /img/forum/go_quote.gif It was a joke to slim.a

I know John!

 

[slim.a]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jkeny /img/forum/go_quote.gif Tell me more about how it can be improved - I'm interested!

Sorry, I wasn't clear in my statement. I wanted to say, that I believe that the stock hiface can benfit from modding. You have probably addressed many issues but I guess there is always room for improvement : better power supply, lower jitter clocks, better shielding, higher quality output transformer, better vibration control, ...

Empirical Audio is coming up with a new model based on the m2tech hiface. It will probably provide many improvements but at a very high cost. I wish someone offered a "lighter mod" with some of the stuff you already put in your mod in a commercial enclosure. But maybe, it is just wishfull thinking ...

 

[somestranger26]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jkeny /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm sorry but too many photos to re-host & resize for this forum because of size limitations here It was a joke to slim.a

Use imgur: the simple image sharer and copy the Forum codes. No size limits.

 

[mmerrill99]

Quote:

Originally Posted by somestranger26 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Use imgur: the simple image sharer and copy the Forum codes. No size limits.

OK, I'll try that - here's an image of the HiFace modded for I2S ][/url]

Edit: it seems to work fine - so what you see here is ESS DAC board at the top of the pic & HiFace with I2S socket glued to top of Xilinx chip.

 

[mmerrill99]

Underside of the ESS DAC showing the I2S socket

[/url][/IMG]

 

[mmerrill99]

HiFace with ESS DAC connected. I haven't got pics of the PS mods to show but you can see a red & black wire coming out of the USB connector for an external 5V supply