[Earwax]

Xitel PCLink AN-1

This thing really isn't too bad when you add an amp to it. This is the little gadget that was used to record MDs from a PC before NetMD came out. It's just a USB sound card. I'm sure some of you have one sitting in a drawer somewhere from your old MD units. Well, dust it off and try it -- amped! Without an amp the output is thin and lackluster, but add a decent amp and WOW. I actually think it's better than the AV-710, having better depth, soundstage and imaging than the Chaintech -- that's the area of I've always thought the Chaintech was weakest in.

 

[dsavitsk]

Xitel cards used to be discussed around here every so often. Most of the complaints about them was in relation to the m-audio sonicas. Most feel that the sonica betters the Xitel for analog output, the Xitel being fairly bass shy.

The best feature of the Xitels over the m-audio offerings is that they use native drivers, and thus will work under *nix. I use one of their other models as it has a coax digital output which is unusual in a USB card, and this sounds relatively good.

-d

 

[Earwax]

I found very few mentions of the PCLink in the archive here. I'm not sure if it's the same as other Xitel USB devices or not. It's hard to believe it would be too different but who knows.

What I do know is that this is the first device I've tried that has made me really want to listen to PC audio. I haven't tried to analyze the sound, I just listen. I've had it set up alongside the AV-710 for about a week and the PCLink is what I keep going back to.

 

[emphatic]

i bought the Xitel PCLink Pro a while back, and have been really impressed. I use it as my soundcard on a laptop, then digital coax -> monster digital coax cable -> my kenwood HT receiver.

it's great to circumvent the PC's sound card completely, and just let the receiver do it. i'm pretty surprised there are not more ppl who integrate their home system like this. i guess the headphone amp in the receiver is not super ideal (ala head-fi), but for pushing both my headphones as well as my speakers, it's a great setup.

 

[dsavitsk]

Quote:

Originally Posted by emphatic it's great to circumvent the PC's sound card completely, and just let the receiver do it. i'm pretty surprised there are not more ppl who integrate their home system like this.

I think lots of people do. I use a Xitel and plug it into the digital input of my Cary 303/200 which does the decoding. The problem is that the digital output from the Xitel is not bit perfect, and while my Cary upsamples, my sense is that the computer's upsampling capabilities are suspect. I do, however, use the computer as a transport more often that the one actually in the Cary.

-d