Xitel Analogue HiFi Link?

[taoster]

Anyone know if the Xitel Analogue HiFi Link is any good? At this price maybe its the best alternative to an inbuilt sound card!


http://www.minidiscaccessories.com/XitelHiFiLinks.html

 

[Joe Bloggs]

I posted a question on the same topic a while ago. It's still on the 2nd page here

 

[taoster]

yeahh.. looks like its not a very popular product.. but at that low price its very droolable..
notice there isn't a power supply attached to the product either which makes me question its quality and the most skeptical reason for its quality is the lack of information/contact on the xitel site. Looks to be nothing but a shiny marketing ploy..

 

[Joe Bloggs]

How much power can a USB port supply then

 

[aeberbach]

It is a very good product. I have some tenuous link with the people that make it (they sent me one each of analog and digital for my comments) and I like it a lot. I replaced my stereo-link at work with the hifi-link and since I use an external headphone amp (World Audio Design HD83 tube amp) I have not missed the stereo-link at all.

I can't tell the difference between the two. Internally they use the same USB-DAC chip, and it appears there is very little difference in the output stage. Best of all, at around $40 it's not much of a gamble. It certainly improves the sound I get from my work-supplied laptop.

If there is one problem it is that the recess where the mini stereo output plugs in is not quite big enough for cables that use oversized plugs. A cable like the Straight Wire short interconnect from Headroom will not plug in all the way, but it goes in enough for it to work.

(The maximum power available from USB according to the spec is 500mA)

 

[Joe Bloggs]

What can I say except... wow

What would the quality of the Xitel Hifi-link be compared to a pcdp line out?

 

[taoster]

if they only had some support, software or anything other than a few flash promo.
>>>

The HiFi-Link uses a precision 20-bit DAC with a frequency response of
20hz-20kHz and overall THD <O.02%. It's output has also been specifically
designed to feed into high fidelity audio amplification equipment with a
maximum of 1.5vrms. Because the design is totally exterior to the internal
environment of the PC, it is not effected by any latent electromagnetic
radiation that soundcards are subject to (and which soundcard manufacturers
often choose to ignore in stating their performance characteristics). We
would not recommend exceeding a cable distance of 10 meters in order to
maintain full frequency response and superior performance (ie to avoid high
frequency roll off).

 

[taoster]

Quote:

Originally posted by Joe Bloggs What would the quality of the Xitel Hifi-link be compared to a pcdp line out?

i purchased the xitel analogue hifi-link a few days back so i thought you might be interested with some thoughts on the product.

for a start, at around $50 its a real bargin, compared to other usb sound like stereo-link. The hi-fi link comes with usb and rca cords, nothing flashy but a nice long cord. the first thing you'll notice is the simplicity of the device and the size( and little info). a little shorter than a pen its very light and a little plasticly.. the analogue plug has a little recess for the mini to plug into but its a little too small for most high grade plugs. Installation is a dream, plug everything in and it worked straight away! unplug the usb and your sound goes back to your audio device.. very cool.

Using Exact Audio Copy I produced a few wav for comparison purposes with my cdp and onboard sound(Aopen 64pro PIII 120*5 mhz with 600mb ram) that it is replacing. Exact audio is meant to extract error free cds 100% error free by reading multiple times.

Right off the bat i noticed a huge improvement over my onboard hissing dac.. the hissing has now completely disappeared! the hifi-link has a very clean signal and i was immediately able to enjoy the music.

comparing with my cdp; both sources running to the PortaCorda and HD580 directly. It's pretty obvious the cdp sounded cleaner and better in all respect, treble, bass and midrange. the hifi-link wasn't bad sounding but it felt weak and with ranges reduced. I was also able to make it click by performing other heavy tasks on very seldom occassions.

Than i tried plugging into a vaio z505. i noticed lots of hissing, more than it really should.. i dont know why it was so but it sounded pretty bad.. maybe bcz the vaio was underpowered or the usb was flooded and/or lacking steady power. i didn't really bother with it much longer than few seconds or so.

unfortunately i wasnt able to compare it with a proper sound card like a fortissmio ii or a sb live at the same price range. i guess its not a bad buy but you do get what you pay for.

 

[Joe Bloggs]

Quote:

Than i tried plugging into a vaio z505. i noticed lots of hissing, more than it really should.. i dont know why it was so but it sounded pretty bad.. maybe bcz the vaio was underpowered or the usb was flooded and/or lacking steady power. i didn't really bother with it much longer than few seconds or so.

What did you plug into the Vaio--the Hifi-link or the Porta Corda? Hissing in the Hifi-link or directly out of the Vaio's headphone jack?

And what is your cdp?

 

[taoster]

the vaio test was vaio->usb hi-fi link->portacorda->hd580. I really didn't bother figuring out maybe a reboot would of solved the problem.. (mentioned in the manual)

the cdp is a mid-range sony cmt-sd1

 

[RMSzero]

I have used the Xitel analog USB converter for over a year on my computer. It's beautiful, well worth the money. I got one bundled with my minidisc recorder, and one evening when watching a DVD my girlfriend (she of the bionic hearing) complained of hissing. I figured "Hell, lets try this minidisc thing" and the hissing was GONE -- I could really crank my speakers to hear every nuance of dialogue without a shadow of hiss.

You get BEAUTIFULLY clean sound -- the problem is that it has very little power. I get significantly better powered sound out of my PMDP (5mW/channel) than I do out of my computer using this thing. I imagine that I could get a cheap little JMT-made amp built for me that would knock things up a bit, I'm thinking I should look into it now that my new good headphones are coming in the mail.

If you have ever been annoyed by hissing coming out of your soundcard, particularly from DVDs (which can have pretty low-level output sometimes depending) then you need this thing. Now.

 

[Joe Bloggs]

RMS, it's a line out, not a headphone jack, of course you need an amp / headphone amp

 

[gaineso]

Is there a US distributer/ dealer?

If not, I'll contact Mini-Disk.

 

[taoster]

mini-disco is the us distributor..

http://www.minidisco.com/xitelorder.html

 

[gaineso]

Is the Stereo-Link worth the $100.00 more than the Hi-Fi Link?

I like the idea that the Xitel unit is portable for traveling with my laptop. But, is the Stereo-Link really a better unit overall. Sound and built-in amp.

Help!!