[Stephen Murphy]

Just a follow-up to my Yulong U18 experience. I had posted earlier that I got a U18 to convert USB output to SPDIF for my DAC and take advantage of different sampling rates since my existing unit could only do 44 and 96 kHz. The Yulong does 44, 48, 88, 96, 176, 192. My DAC is an NOS Havana which I use mainly for hi-res audio at 88 and 96 kHz.
 
My main software player for years has been cMP/cPlay and I was disappointed to find that cPlay and the Yulong could not get along. I could not even get ASIO4ALL.DLL to play along with the Yulong. I contacted Yulong directly and they said there would not be another driver version for several months and that I should try a different player. I had already tried the Yulong with foobar2000 and found no problems at all. Same thing with JRiver. The only problem is the sound was not up to what I was getting with cPlay. Over the last few weeks I tried several other players including JPlay and HQPlayer. They both worked perfectly with the Yulong but still the sound was a notch below what I was getting before.
 
Finally, I gave one more player a shot: xxHighEnd. Again, it worked perfectly with the Yulong but this time, the sound surpassed what I was getting with cPlay. After a few days of getting used to the horrible interface I sent the man $100 and bought a license. It is just that good. The best digital I have heard with my system. xxHighEnd takes the same minimalist approach as cPlay where processes are shut down, music is loaded to memory, video is disabled and the music plays. When you get rid of all the hash and interference, it can sound like you are sitting in the control room of a studio listening to the master tape. I am running it under a minimal Windows XP install with Kernal Streaming. (I also tried it via ASIO under Windows 7 and it worked fine, but I prefer the XP sound.)
 
I don't know how much the Yulong contributes to the final sound, but I can say it is an excellent facilitator in making the whole process happen without glitches, pops or snags. The little driver app dutifully reports the current sample rate if it is open on the screen. I am using a simple USB cable with it's positive power contact tab removed and an external power supply plugged into the Yulong. It works great and lowers the noise floor a little more than using straight USB power. As it turns out, I am very happy I bought the Yulong unit. It is a winner.

 

[mrcasey]

Just a follow-up to my Yulong U18 experience. I had posted earlier that I got a U18 to convert USB output to SPDIF for my DAC and take advantage of different sampling rates since my existing unit could only do 44 and 96 kHz. The Yulong does 44, 48, 88, 96, 176, 192. My DAC is an NOS Havana which I use mainly for hi-res audio at 88 and 96 kHz.

My main software player for years has been cMP/cPlay and I was disappointed to find that cPlay and the Yulong could not get along. I could not even get ASIO4ALL.DLL to play along with the Yulong. I contacted Yulong directly and they said there would not be another driver version for several months and that I should try a different player. I had already tried the Yulong with foobar2000 and found no problems at all. Same thing with JRiver. The only problem is the sound was not up to what I was getting with cPlay. Over the last few weeks I tried several other players including JPlay and HQPlayer. They both worked perfectly with the Yulong but still the sound was a notch below what I was getting before.

Finally, I gave one more player a shot: xxHighEnd. Again, it worked perfectly with the Yulong but this time, the sound surpassed what I was getting with cPlay. After a few days of getting used to the horrible interface I sent the man $100 and bought a license. It is just that good. The best digital I have heard with my system. xxHighEnd takes the same minimalist approach as cPlay where processes are shut down, music is loaded to memory, video is disabled and the music plays. When you get rid of all the hash and interference, it can sound like you are sitting in the control room of a studio listening to the master tape. I am running it under a minimal Windows XP install with Kernal Streaming. (I also tried it via ASIO under Windows 7 and it worked fine, but I prefer the XP sound.)

I don't know how much the Yulong contributes to the final sound, but I can say it is an excellent facilitator in making the whole process happen without glitches, pops or snags. The little driver app dutifully reports the current sample rate if it is open on the screen. I am using a simple USB cable with it's positive power contact tab removed and an external power supply plugged into the Yulong. It works great and lowers the noise floor a little more than using straight USB power. As it turns out, I am very happy I bought the Yulong unit. It is a winner.

Good news that the U18 is working out for you. I am going to definitly try out xxHighEnd. It sounds like an excellent player.

 

[rmp459]

Does the U18 utilize all of the outputs simultaneously?

I was hoping to isolate my PC power from my sources and consolidate to a single output device.  I wanted to run AES to one and optical to the other, should be no problem right ?

 

[mrcasey]

Quote:

Does the U18 utilize all of the outputs simultaneously?

I was hoping to isolate my PC power from my sources and consolidate to a single output device.  I wanted to run AES to one and optical to the other, should be no problem right ?

 
I am away from home right now but can try it out in about a week if nobody beats me to it.

 

[Sonic54]

Hi
I use a Mac-mini to a U18 with a separate p/s. The coax o/p goes to a D18 and then to my main speakers. The AES/EBU o/p goes to a digital equaliser (acting as a low pass filter) and then to the sub-woofer. So, both outputs are used simultaneously. This works perfectly. Hope your split works as well.

 

[Jamesdeandoa]

Does the external power supply just plug into the yulong p18 digital section or do I just plug it into the wall? Serious question.

 

[Bmac]

I've replaced my U18 which I believe was defective. After much fiddling including wiping and re-building my laptop the U18 never worked properly. It did work sometimes, but at other times it stopped working completely no matter what I tried and I was at its mercy as to whether I would have any sound at all. I sent it back to Tam audio at considerable expense and after several weeks received a refund. I know many feel differently but this was my first experience with Chi-fi and it was not a pleasant one.
 
I replaced it with a SOTM dXD-USB HD which I installed last night and it works without any problems. I bought it used and it still cost much more than the U18, but it works properly and the build quality is in another class compared to the Yulong. The SOTM may not have been my first choice if I didn't need optical out, but if you do need optical there aren't many options.

 

[DefQon]

The Tenor chip is just plain bad.

 

[JWahl]

I'm kind of surprised they didn't throw in an Amanero board like their newer DAC. Though it is nice that it can be USB powered. For those on a budget or just high value minded, I am currently using a USB power supply to my Modi using a split USB cable. 15,000 mAh capacity and 2A max current. More than enough clean DC current for any USB powered device. And it cost me all of $50 on Amazon. Only thing is that it's marketed as a USB charger for mobile devices rather than audio so there is not an excessive price markup. And much simpler than the DIY route. The most DIY involved is placing a small peice of tape over the USB power pin coming from the computer.

 

[Kane Williams]

In what way is the chip bad? Driver issues? With all platforms/OS? Is this still the case or are drivers solid now?
 
 I am considering either this or the Matrix X-SPDIF and simply want the one that results in the lowest jitter and best SQ.
 
Thanks

 

[Kane Williams]

The specs suggest SPDIF/ AES/EBU jitter for the U18 is 150ps which seems quite high. Not stupidly high, but not 'audiophile' grade. Any thoughts?

 

[leongiu]

The Driver of my U18 does not work with the upgrade to Yosemite. Grant Fidelity i wrote this: "Yulong factory advised that the IC chip manufacturer has stopped production i know the chip cannot support system upgrade to Yosemite at this moment. This is not what Yulong can control as they only buy IC chip from supplying manufacturer. Without the IC chip source code, Yulong cannot make it work with the new operating system." What can I do ?
 
 

 

[Sonic54]

I have recently upgraded to Yosemite and also find the U-18 no longer works. Please advise how this can be fixed. Thanks.

 

[Dreaming Jester]

Has this Yosemite problem been resolved?! And one more - does the U18 support DoP (DSD64) through SPDIF Coax / AES/EBU?

 

[ryanougrad]

Has anyone had success using this with an Android device, either a tablet or phone? Thinking of utilizing this in car, due to it's 12vdc power, to send an SPDIF signal to my DSP.