As your generator (D/A in PC) and your receiver (A/D in UMIK1) will be running asynchronously (i.e. don't share the same clock), couldn't this be detrimental when it comes to accurate time-domain measurements?
Should be fine for simple measurements in the frequency domain, though - and you can also enjoy the ease of use it offers.
Thanks ds23man, I'll probably go with a similar external interface (TC Impact Twin if budget allows).
[I suppose you can use ASIO4ALL with UMIK!; though I've never really gave it a try.]
If your D/A is decent then you shouldn't be able to extract the clock from the analogue output signal =) This on top of that the physical distances will ensure that even if they were synced they aren't anymore. Ths shoulnd't be an issue though. The only way I can think of where it could possibly be an issue is if you want to build a feedback circuit where the latency must be super low, say motional feedback in a sub but in that case you probably are going pure analogue feedback anyway.
Last edited:
Do we have anything objective that tells us what is the cleanest and best measured way to connect a PC to the DLCP? If it's audible and matters.... My HTPC is fanless and uses a high quality PSU Meanwell adapter placed on the outside connected with a XLR cable.
- Professional Lynx/RME sound card using AES/EBU
- XMOS asynchronous USB to coaxial/optical converter or similar
Nice if either someone from Hypex or other qualified people can give their opinion on this topic.
- Professional Lynx/RME sound card using AES/EBU
- XMOS asynchronous USB to coaxial/optical converter or similar
Nice if either someone from Hypex or other qualified people can give their opinion on this topic.
If I'm not mistaken the DLCP reclocks anyway so any decent spdif source should do, async shouldn't be neccesary.
Haha, nope, that's not my issue.
Use FFTs To Time Align Asynchronous Waveforms | Test & Measurement content from Electronic Design
Seems to be a lot of different thoughts on this. I don't know much about this topic, but there seems to be a consensus among many that feeding a DAC with I2S from a USB card is the best way to avoid jitter when a PC is used.
DEQX has recently launched a XMOS based USB board with I2S connection. A subjective experience by someone tells it's a noticeable improvement over a Lynx and AES/EBU connection.
DEQX XS-1 Asynchronous USB Input Board | Acoustic Frontiers
Here's something from a debate which may have relevance:
Anyway, I hope someone with knowledge in the field can comment. I really don't know what to believe.
Yes it is, but the jitter of the source isn't an issue as long as we have a buffer big enough handle it. DAC designers know this so they usually reclock the signal to circumvent the issue, hypex included.
Yes it is, please send me a PM for more detailed information.
Correct
I think we're mainly concerned with the quality of the AES/EBU or S/PDIF signal than how it's made. Clock stability is the obvious #1 talking point. This depends more on how well it's designed than whether it's a sound card or a USB box. Lynx for instance certainly know their stuff (and listen to it!) so if you have one of those that's a perfectly fine. Good USB to SPDIF converters exist too: the Audiophileo merits a recommendation there. The quality is not so much hidden in the use of an XMOS chip (that would be like saying "Intel" computers sound good) but in the clock and the output circuit.
In short, there are no general rules. Well designed sound cards and well designed USB boxes are both fine, and examples of either exist.
I use the auxiliary of a smps400/180, decent price. Whats stranger is that this actually has a pretty significant influence on the sound quality. I've tried a lot of "old school" supplies up to an ultra expensive lundahl/mundorf LCLC setup which all sounded notably worse then the aux on the smps. wtf huh ;-)
To reduce costs
Yes, we are working on a dedicated DLCP supply. We did expect the DLCP customers to build/use their own supply's.
Thanks for the answers!
Whether € 550 or € 600 but would also have been no matter the price. Especially if you use the DLCP as a preamplifier are best quality digital inputs not much.
When can I order the power supply? Are there already pictures, price, technical specifications?
But where do you draw the line. You might find €50 more OK for a more expensive USB input ("better" is a harder question), but I might want, let's say, €50 more OK for more expensive power supply filtering, and someone else might find €50 more OK for more expensive analog circuitry. Suddeenly it is €150 more. And then someone wants...
The in built USB chip has only support for 16 bits so if you use that one then you cant do software volume management before the DLCP. You'd probably have to search for a modern SPDIF converter today that isn't 24 bit so if you a converter you won't have that problem.