[Andrew_WOT]

Quote:

Originally Posted by slim.a /img/forum/go_quote.gif As far as I know, the hiface should work fine streaming music without the need of foobar with windows XP, windows vista and windows seven 32 bits. If there is support for DS with your OS (you can look it up here), it should work like any other sound card. As for the EMU 0404 usb, I used to have the same problem where the spdif out would work only with ASIO. That is one of the reasons I bought the Musiland 01 usd.

Correction, only on XP.

 

[slim.a]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andrew_WOT /img/forum/go_quote.gif Correction, only on XP.

Thanks for the correction. The description of the drivers in their website is a little bit misleading. I just wrote an email to Marco (from m2tech) to suggest to him to update the description of the drivers in order to indicate that DS works only with XP.

 

[digger945]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andrew_WOT /img/forum/go_quote.gif There is one for last.fm foo_lastfm_radio - Hydrogenaudio Forums

Thanks for that, I appreciate it Andrew. I have foobar now, but had no idea it could be used in this way. I never would have guessed.

Quote:

Originally Posted by slim.a /img/forum/go_quote.gif As far as I know, the hiface should work fine streaming music without the need of foobar with windows XP, windows vista and windows seven 32 bits. (Edit -- as of 29/12/09, it works only with XP) If there is support for DS with your OS (you can look it up here), it should work like any other sound card.

I should have mentioned that I am using two different laptops with Vista home premium on one and Vista Business on the other. I have 7 Ultimate, but have decided to wait a bit to upgrade until I have tried a few converters out.
Quote:

As for the EMU 0404 usb, I used to have the same problem where the spdif out would work only with ASIO. That is one of the reasons I bought the Musiland 01 usd.

Funny you should mention that, I just purchased a Musiland 02 to try. I'm using the analog out on the 0404 until it arrives.

Quote:

Originally Posted by slim.a /img/forum/go_quote.gif While I wouldn't personally use a pace care with a $200 nos dac, I totally understand the reason behind it. If someone likes the sound of their dac and finds that a better transport provides positive benefits to the sound (and not just sideways moves) why shouldn't they be able to do so ? My guess is that the person finds that a pace car + $200 nos dac is more musically satisfying than a cheap transport with a higher priced (and different) dac. However, if understand correctly what Dan Lavry said, if the money spent outside the ($1200 for a pace car reclocker) were spent inside the same dac, it would yield greater benefits. Anyway, it is too bad that many "musical" and "nos" dacs don't have proper jitter reduction inside. It would avoid the issue of finding good transports.

I have some NOS dacs here that sounded pretty good when I used the Gamma 1/2 as converter with them. Both Gammas are gone now, so I decided to look for something different for a change, and hence the question about the hiFace. I listen to Grooveshark and Last.fm more than anything lately, and enjoy then both very much, and that's where the fun ends wrt the 0404, no conversion for streaming internet listening.

EDIT: I just check the M2tech website using the link slim provided, and the version 1.02 driver description says that it supports DS with W7. I assume direct sound is what you want for internet streaming.

 

[slim.a]

Quote:

Originally Posted by digger945 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I just check the M2tech website using the link slim provided, and the version 1.02 driver description says that it supports DS with W7. I assume direct sound is what you want for internet streaming.

Yes, direct sound support should make internet streaming work. And the website says :

Latest version: 1.02
Compatibility extended to Windows 7 64bits
Direct Sound operation mode enabled
Fixed some minor click when going into play
Stability increased with Windows 7 32bits
Driver certification

I think they should better indicate that : Direct Sound operation mode enabled for windows XP only.
Some prospect buyers might make the same mistake I did in interpreting their text and they will probably get disappointed when they find out DS doesn't work (yet) with their OS.
As I said earlier, I already sent m2tech an email about DS support but I haven't heard from them yet. They are probably on holiday.

 

[paaj]

I just received the HiFace and am hearing short frequent 'pops'. Never had this problem with the optical input. Using 1.83Ghz Mac Mini. Should be powerful enough right? Tried different cables but they're all popping. Anyone has a clue what it could be?

 

[rosgr63]

paaj, I am on a Mac using the 1.03.3 driver at 32bit/192kHz without any pops.
Try to lower your sample rate to 96kHz and see what happens

 

[slim.a]

Quote:

Originally Posted by paaj /img/forum/go_quote.gif I just received the HiFace and am hearing short frequent 'pops'. Never had this problem with the optical input. Using 1.83Ghz Mac Mini. Should be powerful enough right? Tried different cables but they're all popping. Anyone has a clue what it could be?

paaj, have you tried different usb ports ? In my experience (with PCs), I get sometimes crackles and pops with a specific usb port while the rest of them work fine on the same computer.

Also, you can try lowering the sample rate as rosgr63 suggested.

 

[slim.a]

I have just got word from Marco who gave a little update/explaining about the drivers :

First, according to Marco (and some quick research I made), there is no native support for Direct Sound in Windows Vista and Seven.
So when he mentioned Direct Sound support, it should have been obvious that he they were speaking about Windows XP only.

Also, they are still working on the Vista/Seven drivers to extend the functionality of the hiface. So an equivalent of XP's DirectSound for Vista and Seven is definitely on their roadmap.

 

[ironmine]

Has anybody tried these devices:

ESI - Dr. DAC nano

Device Type

1. digital to analog converter
2. USB audio interface
3. optical S/PDIF transmitter
4. headphone amplifier

Key Specifications and Features

1. S/PDIF optical output via 3.5mm mini plug optical transmitter
2. 16bit/24bit, 44.1kHz, 48kHz, 96kHz bit-perfect support
3. NON-PCM (Dolby Digital/dts) Pass Through support
4. AKM AK4421 192kHz 24-Bit Stereo DAC, 103dB dynamic range, analog playback support up to 24bit/96kHz from TE7022L I2S interface
5. Tenor TE7022L USB streaming audio controller with 12MHz USB Full Speed operation
6. Analog Devices AD8397 High Output Current Amplifier
7. 16 ohm ~ 300 ohm headphone driving capability
8. combo S/PDIF & analog output jack / up to 24bit/96kHz output capable
9. Standard USB audio driver in Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Mac OS X
10. Max. 3 Vrms analog output level
11. National Semiconductor LM2663M Switched Capacitor Voltage Converter
12. Precision +-5ppm 12.000MHz TCXO for lowest clock jitter
13. Low ESR Tantal capacitor
14. High quality 4 Layer PCB
15. USB bus powered operation
16. 3.5mm Miniplug-Toslink optical converter included
17. dimensions: 60mm x 45mm x 17mm

ESI - Dr. DAC prime

Device Type

1. digital to analog converter
2. USB audio interface
3. headphone amplifier

Key Specifications and Features

1. max. 24bit/192khz S/PDIF input: coaxial & optical combo receiver module
   - S/PDIF input => S/PDIF output bypass support
   - S/PDIF input => line & headphone output support
   - S/PDIF input => computer recording support
2. max. 24bit/96khz bit-perfect S/PDIF output: coaxial & optical combo transmitter module
   - USB input => S/PDIF output support
   - AC-3/DTS non-PCM pass thru support (Windows Vista / 7)
3. 24bit/192kHz upsampled S/PDIF output (optical & coaxial)
   - USB input => 192kHz S/PDIF output
   - coaxial input => 192kHz S/PDIF output
   - optical input => 192kHz S/PDIF output
4. 2 3.5mm mini plug-toslink optical adpters bundled
5. TI SRC4382 high-end combo sample rate converter: 32kHz ~ 192kHz input support
6. S/PDIF & USB input bypass, 192kHz upsampling support with SRC4382
7. +-1ppm 24.576MHz TCXO for S/PDIF input
8. Tenor TE7022L USB audio controller
9. +-1ppm 12.000MHz TCXO for USB input to S/PDIF / I2S output
10. 2 channel line input with RCA connectors
    - line input => line output & headphone output support
    - AKM AK5386 24bit/192kHz ADC (S/N ratio 110dB)
    - 1pc 8pin DIP opamp (S4580P) with socket
11. 2 channel line output with RCA connectors
    - anti-pop circuit support
    - Triple opamp fully differential output: 3pcs 8pin DIP opamp (LME49860NA) with socket
    - TI / Burr Brown PCM1796 24bit/192kHz 123dB DAC
12. stereo headphone output
    - 6.3mm / 1/4" headphone jack
    - 3.5mm / 1/8" headphone jack
13. volume control gain knob
    - fixed line level output - FIX
    - variable line level output - VAR
    - high-quality analog volume potentiometer
    - aluminum cut volume knob
14. line output switch for fixed (FIX) or variable (VAR) output volume
15. source selection (USB-ANALOG-DIGITAL switch): 3 position toggle switch with LEDs (green)
16. line output mute on/off switch (has no effect on headphone output)
17. standby/power on switch
    - standby (red)
    - power on (blue)
18. S/PDIF & USB input bypass / 192kHz upsampling: 2 position toggle switch
19. multi-colored LED display
    - MUTE (red)
    - NO SIGNAL (orange)
    - NON-PCM (pure green)
    - PCM (pure green)
    - 192kHz upsampling (pure blue)
20. DC 9V~12V wide range power input
21. 12V / 1.5A DC adapter included

 

[Andrew_WOT]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ironmine /img/forum/go_quote.gif Has anybody tried these devices: ESI - Dr. DAC nano ESI - Dr. DAC prime

Tenor TE7022L USB receiver, same as tested here Teralink-X. It's adaptive, isonchronous, you'd really better off with something async.

 

[doctorcilantro]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andrew_WOT /img/forum/go_quote.gif Tenor TE7022L USB receiver, same as tested here Teralink-X. It's adaptive, isonchronous, you'd really better off with something async.

And no BNC, and you need a USB cable.

 

[doctorcilantro]

Newest HiFace driver, Windows 7 x64. Tried ASIO4ALL but MC14 doesn't work with HiFace.

I did get it working on Windows 7 32bit with ASIO4ALL.

It doesn't show up at all as a device in Windows 7 for me so no directsound and I haven't tried KS in Foobar.

 

[dszabi]

Is there any simple way to find out the bitrate/sample rate at the output of the HiFace?

I am using a PC with foobar, but I don't trust in my computer skills and I'd like to know if the output is really the same as the source file (e.g. no down-sampling occurs with a high def audio file). Unfortunatley my DAC doesn't indicate this information.

 

[slim.a]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dszabi /img/forum/go_quote.gif Is there any simple way to find out the bitrate/sample rate at the output of the HiFace? I am using a PC with foobar, but I don't trust in my computer skills and I'd like to know if the output is really the same as the source file (e.g. no down-sampling occurs with a high def audio file). Unfortunatley my DAC doesn't indicate this information.

Hi dszabi,

As far as I know, there is no control panel (or any indication) for the hiface that let you know which sample rate is being played.

If you are using Foobar with Kernel Streaming plugin and you disable any DSPs, I see no reason why there would happen sample rate changes (downsampling, ...). However, if you use the DS output there are changes that the source file is getting messed with.

 

[regal]

Quote:

Originally Posted by slim.a /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hi dszabi, As far as I know, there is no control panel (or any indication) for the hiface that let you know which sample rate is being played. If you are using Foobar with Kernel Streaming plugin and you disable any DSPs, I see no reason why there would happen sample rate changes (downsampling, ...). However, if you use the DS output there are changes that the source file is getting messed with.

Just run the DTS test.