USB to S/PDIF high quality conversion

heiney9

My old Dell finally died, well the power supply did. At the time I was using Windows XP and I had trouble getting my new USB dac to work as the driver wasn't loading properly. So I gave up and set the dac aside and continued to use the optical out on the soundcard.

The new Dell uses Windows 7 and viola, hooked up the USB dac and it automatically installed the USB driver and the USB dac works. Great! Except I'm not sure the USB dac sounds as good as the AMC DAC-8 I've used for the past 5 years. Obviously the soundcard on the new Dell doesn't have a digital out so I have no way to hook up the external AMC dac.

So here's the question. Anyone have any experience or suggestions for a USB to S/PDIF converter, something that's audiophile quality? I've found a few.

Trends Audio
Tera Dak
Firestone

The dilema is I don't want to spend a whole lot of money and I want to have decent sound. I'm also not looking to add a soundcard to the new Dell that has a digital out unless that's a last option.

I am going to roll some op-amps in the USB dac I have to see if I can get it to sound closer to what the AMC DAC-8 sounds like but if that doesn't work out I need to be able to use a non-USB dac, but utilize the USB port on my computer.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Native-24-96-USB-Spdif-I2S-Converter-Upgrade-Power-/270687116178?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3f06359b92

http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/trends4/usb.html

http://www.audiophileproducts.com/usb-to-spdif

Discussion, suggestions, thoughts, experience's would be appreciated.

H9

drselect

H9, is the old/new computer a desktop or laptop? Could you pull the old soundcard out in put it in the new computer?

heiney9

drselect wrote: »

H9, is the old/new computer a desktop or laptop? Could you pull the old soundcard out in put it in the new computer?

Desktop and I've thought about that, but not sure it's compatible. Really like the idea of USB, but if the conversion to S/PDIF is poor w/ a reasonably priced converter then I'll abandon it. My office rig sounds so good I'm really not looking forward to upsetting that.

The thing with buying a new soundcard is all the other crap it comes with, like 7.1 and all the DSP modes, etc, etc..........have absoultely no need for that stuff.

The TeraLink X-2 looks promising and I can purchase an external linear power supply for it.

http://www.teradak.com/ProductsView.Asp?id=21

H9

coolsax

I've heard good things about the ARCAM RDac if you want to stay with going USB,.. its an ASYNC USB dac and computer Audiophile had a pretty good review on it.. not sure if its a wall wart PS or not, which I know you're not a fan of.

heiney9

coolsax wrote: »

I've heard good things about the ARCAM RDac if you want to stay with going USB,.. its an ASYNC USB dac and computer Audiophile had a pretty good review on it.. not sure if its a wall wart PS or not, which I know you're not a fan of.

Cost?

I have 2 dac's right now, not really looking for a 3rd unless it's <$300 and can best the (2) I already have. My other longer term option is to replace the Adcom GDA600 in the main rig and move it to the computer rig. But I just spent about $250 modding it and it really sounds fantastic. I'm afraid to better it I'd have to spend around $1K. Not going to do that.

H9

BlueFox

Here is stereophile's review of various digital items. The first item appears to be what you want, but at $450 it is not geared towards the Emo crowd who expect greatness for nothing.

http://www.stereophile.com/category/computer-audio-reviews

http://www.stereophile.com/content/halide-design-spdif-bridge-usb-spdif-converter

heiney9

Thanks for the links..........I see a Stello in there too, forgot about that one.

H9

dkg999

The Musiland 02 USB DAC that I have gets really good comments on headfi and other computer audio forums as a USB to S/PIDF converter and a lot of folks seem to use it to do that conversion ahead of another DAC.

coolsax

the RDAC I think is around 425 I think, so its a little more than your $300 mark, but the reviewer seems to think its bests the Cambridge DacMagic fairly easily. I've thought about going that route, If I decide to go PC/laptop as my source, the Async USB will allow for Hirez tranfers up to 24/96, which most USB DACs don't currently do but i'm sure will become more commonplace.

heiney9

dkg999 wrote: »

The Musiland 02 USB DAC that I have gets really good comments on headfi and other computer audio forums as a USB to S/PIDF converter and a lot of folks seem to use it to do that conversion ahead of another DAC.

This one?

http://cgi.ebay.com/USB-Digital-Sound-Card-Musiland-Monitor-02-US-/260545115814?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3ca9b2f6a6

Looks like I have about 5 solid choices all ranging from $35-319.

I think rather than rush into it I will explore a few op-amps for my current USB dac. I think it has potential. Not looking for world class performance, but atleast as good as the AMC DAC8 or close.

Keep the discussion going, but so far some great choices.

H9

dkg999

Yes, that one. There's a thread over on headfi with lots of info.

TG Meat

Check out the Hiface, ordered one, but got a Logitech Touch instead.

dkg999

TG Meat wrote: »

Check out the Hiface, ordered one, but got a Logitech Touch instead.

Wow! That's pretty crappy service when you don't get what you ordered :rolleyes:

zingo

I use the Musiland 01USD in my system and haven't considered upgrading it. It is USB powered and has a maximum rate of 24/192 unlike many devices which is why I picked it. Plus, I like it because it only does USB to S/PDIF conversion with digital coax/Toslink/BNC output; no analog output. I've done some A/B testing between it and the digital output on my MOBO, and it does sound better. I have not had the opportunity to test it verses the digital output on my Musiland sound card with used similar architecture, but the 01USD feeds my NFB-7 DAC a good signal on any of its outputs and I have no complaints. At $71.95 with free shipping on ebay, its a great deal and a nice digital transport.

Face

I may be biased but: http://www.tweekgeek.com/_e/Portable_Computer_Audio/product/HiFace/M2Tech_HiFace.htm

http://www.google.com/search?source=ig&hl=en&rlz=1G1GGLQ_ENUS310&=&q=hiface&btnG=Google+Search&aq=f&oq=

heiney9

Mike, I've been reading up on the HiFace and it seems to do a good job. $150 is really more than I want to spend as that's more than the DAC is worth on the used market.

The other options are the Musiland 02 and the TeraLink X2. All roughly 1/2 the cost of the HiFace. Still have to do some research because some think the Teralink has horrible standard drivers. I'm fairly new to how the conversion from USB to S/PDIF works and what all the protocals are and what is available in Windows 7 for audio drivers and how they can be manipulated. I don't want to use Windows Kmixer type drivers, etc.

It seems Kernal streaming, ASIO or Asyncrounus are all what I'm looking for, but not sure all these apply when doing the conversion from USB to S/PDIF, etc.

H9

heiney9

My current dilema is I really like the way the AMC DAC8 sounds, but I have no way to get a digital signal to it from the new computer at this time. The Pop Pulse, which is USB capable, doesn't sound as good (to my ears) as the AMC DAC8 but it has the ultra convenience of being hooked up via USB.

So do I spend $75-150 to allow me too hook up the AMC DAC8 via S/PDIF with a converter or do I look around for another USB DAC and hope it sounds as good as the AMC DAC8? Current used value of the AMC is about $100. I was thinking of upgrading to a used Monarchy 18B so I'd have the same issue of having to convert USB to S/PDIF.

Then that begs the question if the conversion is poor then I'm not getting the full potential of the DAC and on top of that this is a secondary rig so I like to keep costs down while still have very good sound.

H9

dkg999

Brock - can't get to the website from work, but doesn't Parts Connection offer a USB to S/PDIF converter module you can install in the AMC DAC? It seems like it was a Burson unit IIRC.

Face

Speaking of Burson, this would fix all your problems. http://bursonaudio.com/HA_160D.html

heiney9

Face wrote: »

Speaking of Burson, this would fix all your problems. http://bursonaudio.com/HA_160D.html

Very sweet looking piece of gear, but no tubes and a bit more than I want to spend

H9

98Badger

heiney9 wrote: »

It seems Kernal streaming, ASIO or Asyncrounus are all what I'm looking for, but not sure all these apply when doing the conversion from USB to S/PDIF, etc.

I know you already said the Hiface is more than you want to spend, but it will do all three of the things listed above. I used one for a while with a Cambridge Dacmagic (kernel streaming) and it was definately an improvement over the Cambridge USB.

heiney9

98Badger wrote: »

I know you already said the Hiface is more than you want to spend, but it will do all three of the things listed above. I used one for a while with a Cambridge Dacmagic (kernel streaming) and it was definately an improvement over the Cambridge USB.

Good to know............I am leaning that direction based on what I've read. I'm going to see if I can get my current USB dac to sound a little better. It's pretty bass shy right now compared to the AMC. Hopefully rolling an op-amp or two will change the sound more to my liking.

H9

Bobsama

Any number of solutions to your problem are available.

#1 way would be to buy an expansion-card sound card with digital-out. (PCI-E x1 most likely; Asus Xonar DX is an option. For old PCI, there's quite a few more choices too.)
#2 way would be to buy a USB-to-S/PDIF adapter (or, rather, a USB sound card with digital-out).
#3 way would be a USB DAC.

Regardless of your method, make sure you're bypassing Windows' drivers & especially KSound/KMixer. I'd recommend you use ASIO4All drivers. The drivers can be a PITA to get working but I managed to do it.

On a side-note, sometimes, Toslink is available via the 3.5mm port. You can then get a Toslink-to-mini-Toslink adapter.

strider

I've been eyeing the HiFace for a bit now, but haven't bought one. I like the fact that there is a solid base of successful mods done to them. Here's 38 pages of posts to make your head go numb. The Musiland looks attractive as well, I really like having the BNC connector as an output option.

Currently using Hagerman's converter, but it's limited to 44.1k. If your DAC can handle higher sampling rates, don't let your converter be the limiting factor in the equation. Hi res files sound way too good to not be able to hear them.

ken brydson

heiney9 wrote: »

This one?

http://cgi.ebay.com/USB-Digital-Sound-Card-Musiland-Monitor-02-US-/260545115814?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3ca9b2f6a6

Looks like I have about 5 solid choices all ranging from $35-319.

I think rather than rush into it I will explore a few op-amps for my current USB dac. I think it has potential. Not looking for world class performance, but atleast as good as the AMC DAC8 or close.

Keep the discussion going, but so far some great choices.

H9

I have one of those that I won in a drawing at last years Seattle GTG that I've never used. I'd be happy to let you try it out if you want.

heiney9

strider wrote: »

I've been eyeing the HiFace for a bit now, but haven't bought one. I like the fact that there is a solid base of successful mods done to them. Here's 38 pages of posts to make your head go numb. The Musiland looks attractive as well, I really like having the BNC connector as an output option.

Currently using Hagerman's converter, but it's limited to 44.1k. If your DAC can handle higher sampling rates, don't let your converter be the limiting factor in the equation. Hi res files sound way too good to not be able to hear them.

Thanks Ben, I'll read it.

So far I've read this which is 40pp

http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/468872/teradak-teralink-x2-released-19-1-10

Right now it's between the above Teralink V2 with seperate power supply

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=270687116178&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

or the HiFace

H9

heiney9

ken brydson wrote: »

I have one of those that I won in a drawing at last years Seattle GTG that I've never used. I'd be happy to let you try it out if you want.

That would be awesome, because I'm not sure how the USB conversion will sound.

PM with details and we can work something out. I'll certainly pay shipping both ways.

H9

ken brydson

heiney9 wrote: »

That would be awesome, because I'm not sure how the USB conversion will sound.

PM with details and we can work something out. I'll certainly pay shipping both ways.

H9

Just PM me your info and I'll ship it right out

strider

One of the mods that interested me WRT the HiFace was seperating the power supplies for the various stages in it. Not relying on the USB connection to power the HiFace makes sense to me in terms of a sonic upgrade. Downside is that it looks like a real PITA to do without damaging the unit.

The external power supply of the Teralink is a nice feature, IMO. Definitely would be a plus one in it's favor, for me, compared to the HiFace. It's got a BNC, too.

Damn, that thing outputs I2S as well. Nice.

strider

Gigaworks, an Ebay seller, has the Teralink for less and with free shipping. They're in Hong Kong, but the stuff I've bought from them has always arrived in a reasonable amount of time and in good condition.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Upgrade-Power-Native-24-96-USB-Spdif-I2S-Converter-/120658624355?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1c17d07f63

praedet

For a REALLY cheap solution, you can use this...

I have played with one and it is better than the digital out on the same computer...

But, I am getting a HiFace modified by John Kenny soon enough...