Javier
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Post by Javier on May 2, 2015 22:50:48 GMT
For a "real" upgrade the nano would be about the minimum I'd recommend, if that was out of budget I'd rather wait and save some more. There are some DIY options at around £100 but once you account for everything (PS, case, etc.) they end up costing as much as the nano.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 2, 2015 23:03:09 GMT
The thing is once you go up in price a lot of DAC's come with amps built-in & I don't need an amp. It would be a waste of money.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 12, 2015 17:13:46 GMT
Anyone got any views on Beresford DAC's? I know they come with an amp built-in & it's going to be surplus to requirements but I'm reading good things about the company. The prices are low too which is a bonus. In particular people seem to think Beresford's remove the glare in the treble which I'm definitely hearing with my ODAC.
Any thoughts anyone?
Gordon.
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Rabbit
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Post by Rabbit on May 12, 2015 18:26:55 GMT
The thing is once you go up in price a lot of DAC's come with amps built-in & I don't need an amp. It would be a waste of money. The thing is though that the Micro for instance is just SO versatile. The gain is massive so you can listen to the Senn HD650 in the garden, and it sounds brilliant. The gain is lowered with a switch so that it drives low impedance headphones like the hd598 with ease, which actually does improve on it. It'll even scale down to an iem. Then you have analogue in, digital straight from dap, digital straight from computer. I also use it for digital radio and tv sound. It also has a line out so digital into Polaris using it as a pre amp. Plus the bass boost which is very subtle and actually works plus the 3d effect which spaces the spund out very well most of the time. So for your money, you get one hell of a dac. I wouldn't change the IFi Micro because it really is versatile and sounds so good. it has converted me to music from PC; especially using DSD files. I've become hungry for more and more files because they teally do sound so good.
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solderdude
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Post by solderdude on May 12, 2015 19:23:11 GMT
If you want a cheap DAC the Schiit Modi 2 might be a good bet. It has another DAC chip (AKM4396) than the Sabre in the O2 (Sabre ES9023) which some claim sounds better.
As with the beresford all of these DAC's are Delta Sigma and won't perform much different technically.
All 3 DAC's can reach max 24/96 but none of them will manage that actual resolution. All 3 of them use DAC chips that cost just a few $.
The ifi supports more bitrates and is galvanically separated and uses a BB DSD1793 chip (also Delta Sigma)
There is of course the price difference.
For something similar in abilities you could build a DAC around the JLsounds PCB but adding a cabinet and power will increase the costs to over GBP 200.- easily.
Admittedly and fortunately for me I am DAC deaf which saves me spending loads of money on things like DAC's Having said that for DIY I would go the JLsounds way, if I were to buy probably the micro-DSD. If I wanted to keep the price low an ODAC, or Modi.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 12, 2015 19:49:48 GMT
I take your word for it about the iDAC guys but it's £400! Way out of reach for me. Im going to have to stick with the ODAC for now I guess. First world problems eh? ?
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solderdude
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Post by solderdude on May 12, 2015 20:18:57 GMT
You could try to use a player that uses SOX (software upsampling) to 24/96 or 24/88.2so even redbook is played as 24/96 and see if that helps. This way you 'move' the 44.1 hardware filtering to a higher range.
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Rabbit
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Post by Rabbit on May 12, 2015 20:22:51 GMT
What I'm saying really Gordon is don't get a cheapie and regret it. I have to admit that I felt £400 was a lot for a dac but once I heard the 'spaciousness' (in particularly better files), I never regretted it at all. The rest of it is just a bonus with all the connectivity but actually, it kind of helped me justify the cost in my mind.
I'd rather not bother than get something that isn't perhaps as good and continually wonder whether I should have got a decent one in the first place.
I wish I'd done the same with headphones because now, I'm just not inclined to listen to or buy cheap stuff unless it delivers. I've basically got down to just a few headphones and anything I get now won't be a chance that it 'may' be ok.
Hearing a really good quality file from computer through the Micro into the Senn 650 or Fostex 900 has totally changed my outlook tbh.
Of course, if there is no differrence for you then as Frans says, it's not a problem. Differences are very subtle so you are paying a lot of money for tiny improvements. I felt straight away that there was more acoustic in the sound; particularly from computer, not the Fiio players. They're not quite up to the sound I get from computer actually. I think also, drum attacks have just a fraction more of a bite on the attack and cymbals are very much defined. Mind you, some will also say that they don't know what I'm going on about, so the differences if they are there must be very tiny I guess.
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oldson
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Post by oldson on May 17, 2015 10:32:49 GMT
What I'm saying really Gordon is don't get a cheapie and regret it. I have to admit that I felt £400 was a lot for a dac but once I heard the 'spaciousness' (in particularly better files), I never regretted it at all. The rest of it is just a bonus with all the connectivity but actually, it kind of helped me justify the cost in my mind. I'd rather not bother than get something that isn't perhaps as good and continually wonder whether I should have got a decent one in the first place. I wish I'd done the same with headphones because now, I'm just not inclined to listen to or buy cheap stuff unless it delivers. I've basically got down to just a few headphones and anything I get now won't be a chance that it 'may' be ok. Hearing a really good quality file from computer through the Micro into the Senn 650 or Fostex 900 has totally changed my outlook tbh. Of course, if there is no differrence for you then as Frans says, it's not a problem. Differences are very subtle so you are paying a lot of money for tiny improvements. I felt straight away that there was more acoustic in the sound; particularly from computer, not the Fiio players. They're not quite up to the sound I get from computer actually. I think also, drum attacks have just a fraction more of a bite on the attack and cymbals are very much defined. Mind you, some will also say that they don't know what I'm going on about, so the differences if they are there must be very tiny I guess. look for a used one. i paid £325 for mine. i reckon there will be more around when ifi release their desktop dac/amp.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 17, 2015 12:13:21 GMT
What I'm saying really Gordon is don't get a cheapie and regret it. I have to admit that I felt £400 was a lot for a dac but once I heard the 'spaciousness' (in particularly better files), I never regretted it at all. The rest of it is just a bonus with all the connectivity but actually, it kind of helped me justify the cost in my mind. I'd rather not bother than get something that isn't perhaps as good and continually wonder whether I should have got a decent one in the first place. I wish I'd done the same with headphones because now, I'm just not inclined to listen to or buy cheap stuff unless it delivers. I've basically got down to just a few headphones and anything I get now won't be a chance that it 'may' be ok. Hearing a really good quality file from computer through the Micro into the Senn 650 or Fostex 900 has totally changed my outlook tbh. Of course, if there is no differrence for you then as Frans says, it's not a problem. Differences are very subtle so you are paying a lot of money for tiny improvements. I felt straight away that there was more acoustic in the sound; particularly from computer, not the Fiio players. They're not quite up to the sound I get from computer actually. I think also, drum attacks have just a fraction more of a bite on the attack and cymbals are very much defined. Mind you, some will also say that they don't know what I'm going on about, so the differences if they are there must be very tiny I guess. look for a used one. i paid £325 for mine. i reckon there will be more around when ifi release their desktop dac/amp. Yeah, that's an idea. The thing is I just want a DAC. I don't need a built-in amp & I don't need it to be portable. I do want it to be affordable though. I mean, if iFi (stupid name btw, imo) were to release the DAC component in the iCan as a stand-alone unit I'd be all over it.
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oldson
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Post by oldson on May 17, 2015 19:19:10 GMT
it is a very versatile unit as Ian says. i only wish it would charge while in use under usb power.
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oldson
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Post by oldson on May 17, 2015 19:26:08 GMT
does it have to be a usb dac?
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 17, 2015 20:52:44 GMT
does it have to be a usb dac? Not necessarily, and freeing up one of my 4 USB sockets is appealing. I've never used optical though since my Minidisc days so I can't comment on the relative merits of it quality-wise. Gordon.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 31, 2015 10:29:08 GMT
What are people's experiences with 'audiophile' usb cables? Do you find them to offer an appreciable difference or think they are purely snake oil? I recently bought a new DAC and decided at the same time to also order a new usb cable, purely out of curiosity. Nothing too extravagant just a Supra 2.0 for around £20. Although apparently it won a What Hifi award a few years back so must be good! Is it better than the cheapo Lindy cable I have for the printer? Erm....possibly. If push came to shove I might say I perceive the Supra to be fractionally smoother and fuller sounding. However, if didn't know which cable was plugged I'm not entirely convinced I could tell them apart
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Rabbit
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Post by Rabbit on May 31, 2015 10:52:31 GMT
Personally, I don't hear differences. Same with audio cables tbh. I do find it funny how this kind of thing really divides audiophiles up and they all get bothered with each other. To me, it doesn't really matter and even if it sounds better in your head, then that's fine. Psychologically, you've improved your set up so I think that's a viable option, although it can be very expensive. I'd be happy if people sprayed their headphones red and it improved the sound for them!!! I made an expensive mistake with a headphone cable once and my hd650. Result is, I'd never waste my money again. In fact, recently, I bought a short mobile cable for my spare HD650 so that I can use it in the garden without cable falling everywhere. It cost all of £13. Can I hear a difference compared to the standard cable ..... Not at all. When I mentioned this cable on HF, some smart Alec kid came out with 'the HD650 deserves better'. I never answered, but honestly .... I can't hear any difference. If someone does hear a difference, then good for them. I have not one bit of a problem with it. Digital cables send numbers...... What part of the number gets changed by a cable? Dodgy ground but nothing to get too bothered with really. I think some get a bit too over excited about it!!! Getting the wife to swap them soon reveals that it's pretty much impossible to tell. Even Hi res files are suspect I think. I wonder whether I'm hearing a different mix rather than better files!! Not sure.
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