DAC for Media Server

POIDOG · April 2009

Any opinions on this DAC? Looking to place between a Fireball SE-80 and RX-V2600. Could this be an improvment?

http://www.pacificvalve.us/LTDACAHM.html

ben62670 · April 2009

I just took a peak at it, and I don't care for the power supply section. For a little more you can get this which seems to be a good deal for the money. Hopefully others chime in.
http://www.pacificvalve.us/Yulongdah1.html
Ben

thsmith · April 2009

I should receive my PS Audio DAC III by Friday, I can let you know how I like by the weekend. B-stock is $599

Face · April 2009

Have you checked out Cambridge's DacMagic?

POIDOG · April 2009

Thanks for the input, I actually like all 3 alternatives. The Cambridge looks good because I could also run my Sqeezebox thru it also.

Would like to hear about the PS Audio DAC, do have a link thsmith ?

Any other ideas?

thsmith · April 2009

http://www.psaudio.com/ps/products/detail/digital-link-3-dac?cat=audio

POIDOG · April 2009

Thanks th! That's a nice unit, look forward to your thoughts.

Bill

POIDOG · April 2009

ben62670 wrote: »

I just took a peak at it, and I don't care for the power supply section. For a little more you can get this which seems to be a good deal for the money. Hopefully others chime in.
http://www.pacificvalve.us/Yulongdah1.html
Ben

Can you help me understand your concern on the power supply section?
I see this unit across the net with various mods.

Bill

adam2434 · April 2009

Do you already own the Fireball?

Also, what type of media will you be playing and what is the rest of your system?

This will help in determining how much benefit you will get from a DAC.

I owned the DAC in your original post. It had a fatal flaw of clipping on some passages in hot recordings. Also, it is a non-oversampling (NOS) DAC, which tend to have a very laid-back sound - may or may not be your cup of tea. In bright or overly detailed system, a NOS DAC could balance things out nicely though.

Pacific Valve also has another new NOS DAC called the Fathom.
http://www.pacificvalve.us/PVFathom.html

This is basically the same DAC as the VALAB DAC which has received a lot of favorable reports over at Head-Hi. I own the VALAB DAC and did some mods to the output stage.

POIDOG · April 2009

Yes Adam I have the Fireball. About 550 CD's installed. Mostly Rock, Alt. Country etc. Like Acoustic Guitars and vocals. Currently running the Fireball thru Yammie 2600 and pass thru XPA-3 to RTi 8's (looking to upgrade to the new 9's.) The Fathom I also looked at.
Laid back may be fine for me.

adam2434 · April 2009

Is your Fireball the 80 gb version? If so, you would have had to use pretty heavy compression to get 550 CDs on it, given that the average CD is about 500-600 mb.

My point is that if you are using high compression with a lossy format, you may not benefit as much from an outboard DAC, as your sound quality will be limited by the lossy compression. In fact, a higher resolution DAC may make compression artifacts more audible.

If you were using wav or lossless (like FLAC), I think the DAC would provide more benefit.

Nonetheless, you can always pick up a DAC from a vendor with a good return policy and return it if it doesn't do anything for you.

POIDOG · April 2009

Thanks Adam, I'm using 320kb on the 80 gb. Have room for about 60 more hours of space. If it doesn't improve much, i could move over to my sqeezebox classic/nas comb.

adam2434 · April 2009

POIDOG wrote: »

Thanks Adam, I'm using 320kb on the 80 gb. Have room for about 60 more hours of space. If it doesn't improve much, i could move over to my sqeezebox classic/nas comb.

Right. Do you use non-lossy files with your SB, like wav or FLAC?

In fact, I use my SB with the VALAB DAC for streaming FLAC files.

Just curious, why do you have a Fireball and SB?

POIDOG · April 2009

Cause I'm a freak! No, actually I bought the Fireball in 2005. Didn't really know what I was getting into. I use the SB mainly for Internet Radio at this point in time. Will eventually load the NAS with music purchased off the net.

POIDOG · May 2009

adam2434 wrote: »

Right. Do you use non-lossy files with your SB, like wav or FLAC?

In fact, I use my SB with the VALAB DAC for streaming FLAC files.

Just curious, why do you have a Fireball and SB?

Adam, thinks for your input. I decided to give the Fathom a try. It is on sale for $229.00. I'm looking to take some of the "brittle" sound out of the Fireball.
I purchased the Fireball basically for CD ID. I hope I'm a little smarter now :rolleyes:

adam2434 · May 2009

Good luck, hope you like it. Report back when you get it burned in.

olilugo · May 2009

Hi all, Don't want to de-rail the thread, but do you have a picture as to how do you integrate an external DAC into your system?
I would appreciate if somone can shrare a drawing including a PC and another with other components?
I am curious as to what other components you will need in between your source - external DAC - ... eventually speakers.

adam2434 · May 2009

olilugo wrote: »

Hi all, Don't want to de-rail the thread, but do you have a picture as to how do you integrate an external DAC into your system?
I would appreciate if somone can shrare a drawing including a PC and another with other components?
I am curious as to what other components you will need in between your source - external DAC - ... eventually speakers.

Not 100% sure what you are asking, but there are several many ways to integrate an external DAC with a computer, depending on what you want to achieve.

Here are a couple scenarios:

1) If your audio equipment is in a different room than your computer:

Computer > ethernet or Wi-Fi > Squeezebox or Sonos or Airport Express, etc > digital coax or optical cable > DAC > analog interconnect cables > preamp or receiver or integrated amp etc.

2) If your computer is in close proximity to your audio equipment:

Computer > USB cable > USB DAC > analog interconnect cables > preamp or receiver or integrated amp etc.
or
Computer > digital coax or optical cable from sound card > DAC > analog interconnect cables > preamp or receiver or integrated amp, etc.
or
Computer > USB cable > USB-SPDIF converter > digital coax or optical cable > DAC > analog interconnect cables > preamp or receiver or integrated amp etc.

POIDOG · May 2009

POIDOG wrote: »

Adam, thinks for your input. I decided to give the Fathom a try. It is on sale for $229.00. I'm looking to take some of the "brittle" sound out of the Fireball.
I purchased the Fireball basically for CD ID. I hope I'm a little smarter now :rolleyes:

Ok, for any interested, received this on Firday.It was a yin & yang thang!

First, no power cord.Not a serious issue, ran to the Rat Shack and picked up a cheapie

. Will look into an upgrade if I keep the DAC.

Second, up and running. Sounded smooth, just what I was lookin' for

then in about 20-30minutes it began to stutter on the digital lock. WTF?

Move it over to the SB, same problem. Not a high recommedation for Pac. Valve :mad:

Does anybody have an idea why this would happen? Sent e-mail to Pac Valve, but will have to wait for Monday business for response. Main concern at this point, don't want them to try and pull a fast one.:rolleyes:

adam2434 · May 2009

Hmmm, haven't heard about that issue on the VALAB DAC, which is essentially the same model.

Sounds like a faulty unit.

Pacific Valve should take care of you. I've dealt with them in the past and they seemed OK.

POIDOG · May 2009

adam2434 wrote: »

Hmmm, haven't heard about that issue on the VALAB DAC, which is essentially the same model.

Sounds like a faulty unit.

Pacific Valve should take care of you. I've dealt with them in the past and they seemed OK.

My thoughts also! I tried it today with my Denon 2910 and only had one speaker

Hooked the Denon back up as before and everything is fine now:rolleyes:

adam2434 · May 2009

Just curious - what type of cable/connection are you using?

POIDOG · May 2009

adam2434 wrote: »

Just curious - what type of cable/connection are you using?

Good question, for the Analog, Audioquest Copperheads; for the Digital, Audioquest optical, all 1 meter. It did occur that the optical could be bad, so I tried 4 different sets, which included a Monster and 3 Audioquest. The same result with all cables, The digital bitstream locks on for 20-30 minutes and then starts stuttering (extreme jitter?).

As stated also tried on SB and Denon. Always the same issue. A clock problem? :mad:

First foray into external DAC and frustrating to say the least.:rolleyes:

adam2434 · May 2009

Maybe an issue with the digital receiver chip?

Did you try a coax, to rule out an optical-specific issue?

Nonetheless, sounds like it has an issue and needs to be returned. Has Pacific Valve gotten back to you yet?

POIDOG · May 2009

adam2434 wrote: »

Maybe an issue with the digital receiver chip?

Did you try a coax, to rule out an optical-specific issue?

Nonetheless, sounds like it has an issue and needs to be returned. Has Pacific Valve gotten back to you yet?

Thanks Adam. I will try the coax. I've concentrated on the optical, because this is what the Fireball offers.

Still waiting for PV to get back. Did talk to CS and they said someone will call from "that department". Their site claims call back or response in 24 hours.

debussyj · June 2009

My final thoughts on DACS. I own both the PS Audio DL III and the Cambridge Dacmagic. I'm using the PS Audio on my serious 2 channel listening system with the Wadia ITransport and a Classic IPod. I'm using the Dacmagic on my surround system with my Macmini as a music server. I like both DACS for different reasons. First off, the PS Audio has greater bottom end extension and is more articulate. I'm hearing more layers to the music, which is interesting to me. It's built like a brick and runs very cool. I think it's a good match for my 2 channel system. The Dacmagic build quality is okay. I'm not fond of the power supply and the unit runs warm/hot, which doesn't thrill me. It offers greater bass extension, but not like the PS Audio. It's more laid back and offers an overall improvement straight across the board. I like the ability to change the filter on the fly and find myself listening to minimum most of the time, because it offers warmth (I love the sound of tubes), and then using the linear for more articulation with vocals, etc. The steep filter leaves me cold. I think the Dacmagic was a good compromise for my surround system server. Hope this helps others make their choices. DJ

mightymouse · June 2009

I think I read somewhere that the PS Audio DL III has some design issues that introduces extra noise into the signal, hence most of the "never heard that before with my old system" comments on the net. I think there is a picture of the inside of the PS Audio DAC floating around somewhere on the net. The whole inside stuff actually only takes up half the space of the external case, the rest is just empty space inside, not very flattering.

thsmith · June 2009

mightymouse wrote: »

I think I read somewhere that the PS Audio DL III has some design issues that introduces extra noise into the signal, hence most of the "never heard that before with my old system" comments on the net. I think there is a picture of the inside of the PS Audio DAC floating around somewhere on the net. The whole inside stuff actually only takes up half the space of the external case, the rest is just empty space inside, not very flattering.

Could you provide some links to back this up please. I find the PS AUdio III to have no noise, however it sounds much better with a digital cable than optical IMO. But I am using a Kimber Kable D-60 digital cable and a PS Audio AC-3 power cable.

mightymouse · June 2009

Picture of the inside of the PS Audio DAC on this page, scroll down.

http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/psaudio6/cullen.html

And about the distortion comment, I remember I did some search on this PS Audio DAC several months ago because I was seriously considering making a purchase at the time. I came across some reviewer comments on distortion on of the forums, which for the life of me I cannot remember where I read it right now.

mightymouse · June 2009

I think I should have made myself clearer in my earlier comment, it's not noise, but rather some kind of high harmonic distortion someone commented on about this particular DAC.

okiepolkie · June 2009

debussyj wrote: »

My final thoughts on DACS. I own both the PS Audio DL III and the Cambridge Dacmagic. I'm using the PS Audio on my serious 2 channel listening system with the Wadia ITransport and a Classic IPod. I'm using the Dacmagic on my surround system with my Macmini as a music server. I like both DACS for different reasons. First off, the PS Audio has greater bottom end extension and is more articulate. I'm hearing more layers to the music, which is interesting to me. It's built like a brick and runs very cool. I think it's a good match for my 2 channel system. The Dacmagic build quality is okay. I'm not fond of the power supply and the unit runs warm/hot, which doesn't thrill me. It offers greater bass extension, but not like the PS Audio. It's more laid back and offers an overall improvement straight across the board. I like the ability to change the filter on the fly and find myself listening to minimum most of the time, because it offers warmth (I love the sound of tubes), and then using the linear for more articulation with vocals, etc. The steep filter leaves me cold. I think the Dacmagic was a good compromise for my surround system server. Hope this helps others make their choices. DJ

Are you using an optical out on the MacMini(if it is new enough), or the usb jack?

Just wondering, as some of noticed a benefit to using the optical input versus the usb.

DAC for Media Server

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