FauDrei
Been here a while!
Posts: 489
|
Post by FauDrei on Oct 4, 2009 21:33:23 GMT
FauDrei and Alex, Thanks for the replies, I've scrubbed that idea. I was hoping for a compact, one box solution in the same vein as the NG27 of this thread. Therefore, needing USB in with 'phones and/or line out. (ie full USB DAC) The Musiland and TaraLab that FauDrei kindly pointed out handle just the USB to standard digital out (as good as they may be). Anything recommendable out there? (on a budget ) EDIT, wrote the above just behind Mikes post. Not ignoring you Mike, just seeing if those already into digital from laptop (hence USB) had any insight... Sorry guys for hijacking this thread once again with the same idea... ...thing is - I went over NG27 specs just now... and realized that AUNE mk2 should, in any case, be better then NG27... ;D I mean, NG27 uses similar, if not even worse, USB receiver (PCM2702E vs. PCM2707), and since there is a general enthusiasm here about this NG27 thing, I reckon that AUNE mk2 should better it in almost every way (slightly better USB receiver, excellent SPDIF receiver, normal size RCA input/output sockets, decent DAC chip, 24/192, discrete headamp output stage...). Plus - there should also be many caps and at least one opamp inside to play with
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 4, 2009 22:10:24 GMT
FauDrei and Alex, Thanks for the replies, I've scrubbed that idea. I was hoping for a compact, one box solution in the same vein as the NG27 of this thread. Therefore, needing USB in with 'phones and/or line out. (ie full USB DAC) The Musiland and TaraLab that FauDrei kindly pointed out handle just the USB to standard digital out (as good as they may be). Anything recommendable out there? (on a budget ) EDIT, wrote the above just behind Mikes post. Not ignoring you Mike, just seeing if those already into digital from laptop (hence USB) had any insight... Sorry guys for hijacking this thread once again with the same idea... ...thing is - I went over NG27 specs just now... and realized that AUNE mk2 should, in any case, be better then NG27... ;D I mean, NG27 uses similar, if not even worse, USB receiver (PCM2702E vs. PCM2707), and since there is a general enthusiasm here about this NG27 thing, I reckon that AUNE mk2 should better it in almost every way (slightly better USB receiver, excellent SPDIF receiver, normal size RCA input/output sockets, decent DAC chip, 24/192, discrete headamp output stage...). Plus - there should also be many caps and at least one opamp inside to play with FauDrei I agree that this DAC shows great promise, and could also be much better if used with a good regulated 12-18V PSU. The only point stopping me, is that despite the use of a 24/192 DAC, the DIR9001 restricts use to 24/96 maximum. For many people that will not be a problem. SandyK
|
|
|
Post by PinkFloyd on Oct 4, 2009 22:12:45 GMT
FauDrei and Alex, Thanks for the replies, I've scrubbed that idea. I was hoping for a compact, one box solution in the same vein as the NG27 of this thread. Therefore, needing USB in with 'phones and/or line out. (ie full USB DAC) The Musiland and TaraLab that FauDrei kindly pointed out handle just the USB to standard digital out (as good as they may be). Anything recommendable out there? (on a budget ) EDIT, wrote the above just behind Mikes post. Not ignoring you Mike, just seeing if those already into digital from laptop (hence USB) had any insight... Sorry guys for hijacking this thread once again with the same idea... ...thing is - I went over NG27 specs just now... and realized that AUNE mk2 should, in any case, be better then NG27... ;D I mean, NG27 uses similar, if not even worse, USB receiver (PCM2702E vs. PCM2707), and since there is a general enthusiasm here about this NG27 thing, I reckon that AUNE mk2 should better it in almost every way (slightly better USB receiver, excellent SPDIF receiver, normal size RCA input/output sockets, decent DAC chip, 24/192, discrete headamp output stage...). Plus - there should also be many caps and at least one opamp inside to play with Well........... I've just pulled the plug and bought one so let's see how the two compare
|
|
|
Post by PinkFloyd on Oct 4, 2009 22:16:23 GMT
|
|
FauDrei
Been here a while!
Posts: 489
|
Post by FauDrei on Oct 4, 2009 22:18:57 GMT
Well........... I've just pulled the plug and bought one so let's see how the two compare My man Mike!
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 4, 2009 22:23:32 GMT
Mike Does your PC have SPDIF OUT from the motherboard, as I understand you don't use a soundcard.(with SPDIF OUT.) That won't stop you using it though, but would mean you can't compare the 2 inputs.
Alex
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 4, 2009 22:30:13 GMT
Getting busy with those amps Mike!
FauDrei, Thanks for extra info.
I've gone for the NG27, the feature that clinched it was size. It will fit in the laptop bag with the other gumph. If I'd gone for the Aune at nearly twice the size, it would not travel with the laptop, therefore of less value/use to me.
|
|
FauDrei
Been here a while!
Posts: 489
|
Post by FauDrei on Oct 4, 2009 22:36:13 GMT
The only point stopping me, is that despite the use of a 24/192 DAC, the DIR9001 restricts use to 24/96 maximum. For many people that will not be a problem. Alex - don't tell me that you have more than few samples of 24/192? I mean - do you rip DVD-As or SACDs? If you do, and your ripping procedure does not include DA+AD conversion, please teach me how to do it. For all rest of us mortals 24/96 flacs/wvs are just about enough. ;D
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 4, 2009 23:02:33 GMT
The only point stopping me, is that despite the use of a 24/192 DAC, the DIR9001 restricts use to 24/96 maximum. For many people that will not be a problem. Alex - don't tell me that you have more than few samples of 24/192? I mean - do you rip DVD-As or SACDs? If you do, and your ripping procedure does not include DA+AD conversion, please teach me how to do it. For all rest of us mortals 24/96 flacs/wvs are just about enough. ;D FauDrei I have 3 24/192 DVD-As that I have ripped to the HDD using the freeware DVD Audio Explorer. ("Carly Simon-No Secrets", Linda Ronstadt-What's New" and "The Eagles-Hell Freezes Over")There is also a relatively cheap DVD-A creation program called DVD Solo, which is recommended by Linn Records, which you can use to create your own DVD-As , but with SPDIF Output enabled. However, if you make your own compilations from ripped DVD-As, the Digital ID will still be present, and some DVD-A players will stop after a few seconds if they see the digital ID. Linn records has 24/192 .flac downloads available,and Reference Recordings,as well as others, has 24/176,400 downloads available. The 24/192 DVD-A "Carly Simon-No Secrets" clearly shows the potential of 24/192, even to these 70 year old ears. I can upload a track if you are interested , but it won't be quite as good as I can currently rip, as a friend has borrowed that DVD-A to rip for himself,after he heard it via my PC. (He also has a LG BR writer and 3M tape 2552 ) As for SACD, I wish !!! IF there was a program available to rip them, I would certainly grab more of them. Unforunately PCs won't play SACD , although I seem to remember the most expensive soundcard in the X-FI series having the capability. SandyK P.S. I am told that the MAC version of DVD-Audio Explorer has major problems, and most MAC users go to the Windows version to get the .wav files, as that version gives them .mlp files which they are unable to handle.
|
|
FauDrei
Been here a while!
Posts: 489
|
Post by FauDrei on Oct 4, 2009 23:25:55 GMT
Thanks, will give a look at this Audio Explorer thing.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 4, 2009 23:48:06 GMT
RE : DVD-Audio Explorer
FauDrei I have saved the files to my "Backup Files" folder. To use the program, I click on the "BIN" folder, then on "DVDAExplorer". In the DVD-A Explorer 2008 Windows version, there is an option right at the top to"Convert to .wave" (Just below the "Output Directory") in the File>Extract stage.The 2nd group of files are normally the L + R stereo files. Sound Forge 9 verifies that the.wav files are indeed 24/192 or 24/96.(or occasionally 24/88.2 e.g. The Corrs)
SandyK
|
|
|
Post by PinkFloyd on Oct 5, 2009 20:00:52 GMT
FauDrei and Alex, Thanks for the replies, I've scrubbed that idea. I was hoping for a compact, one box solution in the same vein as the NG27 of this thread. Therefore, needing USB in with 'phones and/or line out. (ie full USB DAC) The Musiland and TaraLab that FauDrei kindly pointed out handle just the USB to standard digital out (as good as they may be). Anything recommendable out there? (on a budget ) EDIT, wrote the above just behind Mikes post. Not ignoring you Mike, just seeing if those already into digital from laptop (hence USB) had any insight... Sorry guys for hijacking this thread once again with the same idea... ...thing is - I went over NG27 specs just now... and realized that AUNE mk2 should, in any case, be better then NG27... ;D I mean, NG27 uses similar, if not even worse, USB receiver (PCM2702E vs. PCM2707), and since there is a general enthusiasm here about this NG27 thing, I reckon that AUNE mk2 should better it in almost every way (slightly better USB receiver, excellent SPDIF receiver, normal size RCA input/output sockets, decent DAC chip, 24/192, discrete headamp output stage...). Plus - there should also be many caps and at least one opamp inside to play with Faudrei..... bollocks to "specs and suppositions" I prefer to actually BUY an item then use my ears as judge. The NG27 is a bloody great little component and I couldn't give a flying fig if there appears to be better "on paper".... there is always better and if we could all afford the best we would buy it. The NG27 is not a device that should be overlooked because there appears to be "better" out there.... this little thing has made me consider getting rid of my CD players because, to my ears, it does a MUCH better job of reproducing music... It has bass to die for, superb mids and a silky smooth treble... it also makes the music "sound" like music! The NG27 has made me want to import all of my CD collection into itunes.... I never thought I'd say it but I now believe computer based audio is THE way to go! No spinning discs, no interconnects, no huge power supplies or any other crap to contend with, just plug and play. If you could hear what I'm hearing right this minute you wouldn't be so quick to judge the NG27.... never before have I heard my Yello albums sound SO natural.... My CD17KISig, or CD52MKllSE can't hold a candle to this SQ.... Plenty of people (including me) have been "dissing" PC based audio for years claiming it's the end of the world as we know it.... nope, it's the beginning of a new era in high quality sound reproduction.... my ears tell me this is the case. Again, I really, wish you were here right now to listen to this, your jaw would drop to the floor (It's THAT good) Maybe it's that good because it's so "simple".... it's a no-nonsense design and only uses the parts it needs and is not a bloat fest of stacked buffers, diamond buffers, Black Gate capacitors, gold plated circuit board blah blah blah..... it does what it has to do, end of story. Having said that I will be stacking a couple more buffers on top to see if I can extrude even more performance out of this little beauty The AD8620 and extra 2200uF of capacitance certainly have helped matters, especially in the bass / soundstage dept. I have ordered an "Aune" (AUNE HIFIDIY.NET) £94 GBP shipped and will let you know how it stacks up to the NG27 after I've "heard" it..... if it's a LOT better then I REALLY have been missing a lot with this PC based audio ;D No doubt about it though, there will shortly be 1 x Marantz CD17KI Sig, 2 x Marantz CD52MKllSE and a truckload of amps up for sale on ebay..... it's foolish to keep hold of all these behemoths when I can get better sound quality out of my computer!
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 5, 2009 20:46:51 GMT
Mike
What Motherboard is your new PC using ?
Alex
|
|
|
Post by PinkFloyd on Oct 5, 2009 20:53:53 GMT
Mike What Motherboard is your new PC using ? Alex According to the blurb it's an Asus P7P55D Evo (P55 Chipset, SLI/Xfire, 4x DDR3)
|
|
FauDrei
Been here a while!
Posts: 489
|
Post by FauDrei on Oct 5, 2009 21:11:56 GMT
The NG27 has made me want to import all of my CD collection into itunes.... I never thought I'd say it but I now believe computer based audio is THE way to go! No spinning discs, no interconnects, no huge power supplies or any other crap to contend with, just plug and play. Welcome to the club Mike. Still have to rip and archive 200+ CDs of my own (gone through about 400 so far). Being picky ba*tard that I am it takes aaaaages (classical CDs are real bi*ch to tag), when it really should not - iTunes should do it for you. But since I've set up ripping and archiving procedures and standards for my purposes - I will just stick to them till the end. Anyhow, if you need any help in "archiving of your CD collection" - just ask. If you could hear what I'm hearing right this minute you wouldn't be so quick to judge the NG27.... never before have I heard my Yello albums sound SO natural.... My CD17KISig, or CD52MKllSE can't hold a candle to this SQ.... Well, can't really hear your Yello albums - but sure can mine. Right now, "La Habanera" goes creamy sweet through my Paradisea+, X-Can V2 and K701 - "velvet" valve computer setup. Glad you are enjoying yours. I have ordered an "Aune" (AUNE HIFIDIY.NET) £94 GBP shipped and will let you know how it stacks up to the NG27 after I've "heard" it..... if it's a LOT better then I REALLY have been missing a lot with this PC based audio ;D Having played for quite some time with different USB DACs, think I have approximate idea what to expect from certain components. Never said that NG27 is c*ap, just noted that some of its components are pretty much standard in entry to mid level USB DACs. That AUNE thing offers quite a few upgraded parts and it really should sound better. How much better - it depends on implementation of those nice parts. BTW, once you get this new toy - do compare USB and SPDIF inputs on it. My money is on SPDIF...
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 5, 2009 21:42:49 GMT
Mike Very nice motherboard. They sell from AU$200 to AU$270 Downunder. I agree with FauDrei. Unless you have the latest USB 2.0 DACs using special Jitter reduction software,(e.g. Benchmark USB DAC) SPDIF should outperform a normal USB DAC, but it still comes down to how well they are implemented. I understand that the latest and greatest with DACs is Firewire input. Seems that your motherboard has that covered too ! Alex
|
|
|
Post by PinkFloyd on Oct 6, 2009 12:18:25 GMT
Mike Very nice motherboard. They sell from AU$200 to AU$270 Downunder. I agree with FauDrei. Unless you have the latest USB 2.0 DACs using special Jitter reduction software,(e.g. Benchmark USB DAC) SPDIF should outperform a normal USB DAC, but it still comes down to how well they are implemented. I understand that the latest and greatest with DACs is Firewire input. Seems that your motherboard has that covered too ! Alex I'd need a cable with the RCA type connector on one end and the standard toslink connector on the other, do they make such a beast?
|
|
FauDrei
Been here a while!
Posts: 489
|
Post by FauDrei on Oct 6, 2009 13:05:02 GMT
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 6, 2009 14:14:49 GMT
As FauDrei said. Toslink and spdif don't talk to each other without a converter ( Toslink being optical and spdif not ).
That Musiland he pointed out is also being well received.
|
|
|
Post by PinkFloyd on Oct 6, 2009 14:23:28 GMT
As FauDrei said. Toslink and spdif don't talk to each other without a converter ( Toslink being optical and spdif not ). That Musiland he pointed out is also being well received. Sooooooo.... the socket on the back of my computer which says "SPDIF" is actually "toslink" and the socket on the back of the Aune amp / DAC that says "SPDIF" is more like an RCA connector...... erm, what a load of bullshit why didn't they just fit a toslink socket on the Aune amp / DAC?
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 6, 2009 14:50:15 GMT
OK, S/Pdif is actually the method that Sony/Philips came up with for digital transfer. The coaxial being more Philips and the Toslink optical being more Sony.
They are both doing the same thing, digital transfer of data, for these two reasons they carry the same generic name.
General concensus is that the coaxial is superior. That I can't comment on as I only use them, at the mo, for CD to MD copies and cannot tell the difference between them under that circumstance.
|
|
|
Post by PinkFloyd on Oct 6, 2009 14:54:45 GMT
Well..... I wish they both used the same bloody connector it would make life more simple!
|
|
Will
Been here a while!
Ribena abuser!
Member since 2008
Posts: 2,164
|
Post by Will on Oct 6, 2009 18:18:30 GMT
Mike, Is this your motherboard? asus.com/product.aspx?P_ID=YhNWZrOT1OWycIgo&templete=2If so, just make a rca coax up, and plug it into the yellow rca socket (marked 2, below), which is the spdif coaxial output. The toslink is just below, and you should not sully your system with it, as it is only used by lesbians and Mac users from the motherboard manual, which you can download from them website above, if you don't have it. Your motherboard also has a spdif header on it, near the last PCI socket, which you could also use, but would need to do wires and stuff to use it.
|
|
|
Post by PinkFloyd on Oct 6, 2009 18:59:32 GMT
Mike, Is this your motherboard? asus.com/product.aspx?P_ID=YhNWZrOT1OWycIgo&templete=2If so, just make a rca coax up, and plug it into the yellow rca socket (marked 2, below), which is the spdif coaxial output. The toslink is just below, and you should not sully your system with it, as it is only used by lesbians and Mac users from the motherboard manual, which you can download from them website above, if you don't have it. Your motherboard also has a spdif header on it, near the last PCI socket, which you could also use, but would need to do wires and stuff to use it. Holy crap Will! I never noticed that there Just had a good look at the rear of the computer and, yes, it does have the RCA coax output..... awesome!
|
|
|
Post by PinkFloyd on Oct 6, 2009 19:37:17 GMT
I've stuck one of my Little Pinkie V power supplies on the end of the NG27 and, yes, there are very audible improvements. The most "immediately" noticeable improvement is the added sense of air and space around instruments... everything just feels so palpable now, as if you could reach into your head with your fingers and pluck out an instrument of your choice.... nice My favourite component "the BASS" has also benefitted from the regulated supply, it seems to extend down to the floor and is a lot more musical / tight. I'll leave it a couple more days to get used to the presentation and then go back to the stock SMPS (switched mode power supply) to see what I lose. I'm still over the moon with the NG27 and cannot BELIEVE that lossless files can sound this good.... as I said earlier, my reference recordings have never sounded this good played on any of my CD players.... this is truly a revelation for me and I'll never again say that computer as source is "crap".... this is a real eye opener I can tell you. I hope to start stacking buffers any day now and will keep you posted..... I'm pretty much tuned in to the sonic signature of the NG27 now (running AD8620 and extra 2200uF capacitance in the spare bay) so can detect any "real" improvements pretty easily.... Headphones I am using for this one are Beyer DT-770, Senn HD-25/1 and Grado SR-225
|
|