DAC based on the ESS9018 sounds fine to me 
Is it something you have heard about or just an idea to use what they already know about the interaction between the Buffalo and the ExaU2I? If it will be as good as the ExaU2I I will surely try it though I am working on my acko based DAC with Owen's D1 version with highly sophisticated PSU arrangement. I was planning to implant the Buffalo II I had on the Hiface Evo so it comes as a natural idea to do that but I guess designing the topology from scratch would be even better. But then comes the thing with the I/V which can kill or sky rocket any DAC, a whole Universe by itself...
The Exa guys obviosuly know what they are doing, if only the OSX drivers were available... There is no device that comes perfect and you are right the exa065 sounds a little too confident in his design decisions, as if there are no other routes but the ExaU2I sure sounds and behaves quite mature, you can never be certain how many iterations it had before and for me the design decisions are quite obvious for people who can read that kind of stuff. When I spoke with my friends who are good in that field they sure had other ideas and criticism(clocks for example are not fancy) but then they say that there are things that are not easily shared as there are always people stealing ideas and the ExaU2I already exceeds their expectations. You don't get the Hiface guys to answer questions here or any other manufacturer, everybody likes to let you think they thought of something that no one else had an idea how to implement. For me the biggest compliment is that RayCtech likes it and he sure knows more in electronics than most of the people I know, which is quite a compliment. Not affiliated to Exa team in any way apart from email exchange, just mighty impressed by RayCtech's stuff.
Is it something you have heard about or just an idea to use what they already know about the interaction between the Buffalo and the ExaU2I? If it will be as good as the ExaU2I I will surely try it though I am working on my acko based DAC with Owen's D1 version with highly sophisticated PSU arrangement. I was planning to implant the Buffalo II I had on the Hiface Evo so it comes as a natural idea to do that but I guess designing the topology from scratch would be even better. But then comes the thing with the I/V which can kill or sky rocket any DAC, a whole Universe by itself...The Exa guys obviosuly know what they are doing, if only the OSX drivers were available... There is no device that comes perfect and you are right the exa065 sounds a little too confident in his design decisions, as if there are no other routes but the ExaU2I sure sounds and behaves quite mature, you can never be certain how many iterations it had before and for me the design decisions are quite obvious for people who can read that kind of stuff. When I spoke with my friends who are good in that field they sure had other ideas and criticism(clocks for example are not fancy) but then they say that there are things that are not easily shared as there are always people stealing ideas and the ExaU2I already exceeds their expectations. You don't get the Hiface guys to answer questions here or any other manufacturer, everybody likes to let you think they thought of something that no one else had an idea how to implement. For me the biggest compliment is that RayCtech likes it and he sure knows more in electronics than most of the people I know, which is quite a compliment. Not affiliated to Exa team in any way apart from email exchange, just mighty impressed by RayCtech's stuff.
I can see that soundcheck just try to remove exa065 from every place (including this thread/forum because he just do not like him and/or his work. This kind of criticism is out of point mr. soundcheck! Have you done something better? Have you experment with this board and found it a better way, and came here with facts? Or is the problem that exa065 do not listen to you and make that changes you want/like for your own? Do not like, do not use! Very simple... Make your own and better, and that all. What should be this forum without these people who put the ideas in practice, produce something not only for themselves, but for others too.... For this work, the time they use and the component in this board, one have to pay for. So, what is your problem in all this? The show is not of exa065, but I can clearly see that you try to produce a one man show...
So? The show must go on? I think NOT in this way...
So? The show must go on? I think NOT in this way...
I second that!
BTW, let's just stop the bitching altogether... This is making the thread look like a bunch of school girls battling it out!
Let's bring in the ideas which in turn will create innovation, not put sticks in those turning wheels... For Christ sake, you don't like the product then don't buy it... It's that simple!
I don't own one but it sure looks like a promising product, enough that I'm interested in buying one.
SoundCheck, you say that TP does average work... Do you have a DAC project that sounds better than the BII/BIII? Would you care sharing with us? Dual mono BII that I own sounds fantastic... Again, I'm all ears!
Thanks
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That's a reasonable suggestion, but if you examine the data sheets for several DAC chips, you'll find that many of them recommend that you NOT isolate DAC digital ground from DAC analog ground. It's counterintuitive, especially since many DAC chips have separate pins for analog and digital ground. The point is that inside the DAC chip there are both digital and analog circuits, so if the digital side is noisy then the analog side will be noisier, even if they're separated outside the chip. It seems that the best practice is to provide as clean a digital supply as possible to the DAC chip so that there is less noise crosstalk into the analog section. Then again, there are many DAC chip designs out there, and the data sheets do not all recommend the same schematic and board layouts.
I see your point, but the USB clock is not delicate. The entire USB specification was designed such that cheap electronics would work reliably. I suppose you're talking about the I2S Word Clock and not the actual USB clock?
That's a fine suggestion, but there will be no end of 'facts' because each DAC chip is different. I welcome people to test specific chips and report on the actual results; but please, everyone, rest assured that actual test results for one chip will not guarantee the same results with a different DAC chip.
There is no one single answer for all DAC chips on the question of "isolate or not"
The exaU2I is still the best sounding device to get audio out of a PC (soon also a Mac) that it is possible to buy at the time beeing!
From my experience it is possible to improve the audio quality by both improving the power supplies and by implementing galvanic isolation of the USB - this is nothing new or strange - it is mainly a cost / price issue.
If you have the "best" PC / Mac, DAC, power amplifier, cables and speakers you can buy I expect only a few will be able to "hear" any audible improvements by tweaking / upgrading the exaU2I.
The weakest link in the chain is the PC / Mac and thus I have built up my own fan less and battery driven systems. The cabinet with heatpipe / heatsink and powersupplies / batteries are 10 times more expensive than a standard cabinet with a standard PSU, and if the cost of the time used to do the building and tweaking are added - figure it yourself...
In my setup I have myself designed and built everything except the PC / Mac and the USB -> I2S units, but those units have been upgraded and tweaked to the maximum Fidelity.
Due to the still missing (expect they will show up soon) Mac OS X drivers I have been using another product than the exaU2I for some months, but it is a product that are not possible to buy.
If I in my setup should have been limited to standard engineering practices and measurements - I would have missed the Audio quality I have been able reveal and I would have been better of by buying some standard finished products and saved a lot of time and money
From my experience it is possible to improve the audio quality by both improving the power supplies and by implementing galvanic isolation of the USB - this is nothing new or strange - it is mainly a cost / price issue.
If you have the "best" PC / Mac, DAC, power amplifier, cables and speakers you can buy I expect only a few will be able to "hear" any audible improvements by tweaking / upgrading the exaU2I.
The weakest link in the chain is the PC / Mac and thus I have built up my own fan less and battery driven systems. The cabinet with heatpipe / heatsink and powersupplies / batteries are 10 times more expensive than a standard cabinet with a standard PSU, and if the cost of the time used to do the building and tweaking are added - figure it yourself...
In my setup I have myself designed and built everything except the PC / Mac and the USB -> I2S units, but those units have been upgraded and tweaked to the maximum Fidelity.
Due to the still missing (expect they will show up soon) Mac OS X drivers I have been using another product than the exaU2I for some months, but it is a product that are not possible to buy.
If I in my setup should have been limited to standard engineering practices and measurements - I would have missed the Audio quality I have been able reveal and I would have been better of by buying some standard finished products and saved a lot of time and money
Hi Alan,
In the player control panel you need to select exaU2I ASIO DB. DB stands for Dashboard. The DB version of the ASIO driver is installed by the Dashboard setup.
Hi Alan,
I don't think that Service Pack 3 is the problem. Are you using the Setip.exe or you are trying to install from the .msi file? You should use the Setup.exe. Please contact me from the support page on the exaDevices.com website. I can connect remotely to your computer to troubleshoot the issue.
I don't think that Service Pack 3 is the problem. Are you using the Setip.exe or you are trying to install from the .msi file? You should use the Setup.exe. Please contact me from the support page on the exaDevices.com website. I can connect remotely to your computer to troubleshoot the issue.
Which, unfortunately, I cannot take up - all the LAN services, along with just about everything else, are stopped on my cMP2 - it has not seen the Internet for a few years!!That's what I call customer support
I`ve been playing for a few days now with Exa installed to my Buffalo II dac.
My first impression was ,,,WOW,,,,what`s going on here ?
My system: Pc : Fujitsu/Siemens- Windows 7
Dac: Buffalo II, with bal and se outputs, ( for sub )
Power amps: 2x McIntosh 275
Speakers: Silverline Lafolia II
Sub : Velodyne 18 DD
Cables : Oblivion Energetic ( from RayCtech )
Well, back to Exa and my listening impressions. It seems clear tha Exa is doing something very right. The only component in my system during the years who can be compared to Exa when it comes to improve the sound and musical satisfaction is, Buffalo II.
I`ve been very satisfield with my setup after Buffalo II arrived, and have been playing a lot of music, and not really miss something. What lead to Exa, was a visit to Leif Christensen, and his fantastic system. I was blown away by the realism and musical engagement from his system. Much of this can be related to Eca, according to Leif.
With The sound from Leif`s great system in mind, I decided to go for Exa too. I don`t regret a second, and can Warmly recomend this great product.
best
"the dancer"
My first impression was ,,,WOW,,,,what`s going on here ?
My system: Pc : Fujitsu/Siemens- Windows 7
Dac: Buffalo II, with bal and se outputs, ( for sub )
Power amps: 2x McIntosh 275
Speakers: Silverline Lafolia II
Sub : Velodyne 18 DD
Cables : Oblivion Energetic ( from RayCtech )
Well, back to Exa and my listening impressions. It seems clear tha Exa is doing something very right. The only component in my system during the years who can be compared to Exa when it comes to improve the sound and musical satisfaction is, Buffalo II.
I`ve been very satisfield with my setup after Buffalo II arrived, and have been playing a lot of music, and not really miss something. What lead to Exa, was a visit to Leif Christensen, and his fantastic system. I was blown away by the realism and musical engagement from his system. Much of this can be related to Eca, according to Leif.
With The sound from Leif`s great system in mind, I decided to go for Exa too. I don`t regret a second, and can Warmly recomend this great product.
best
"the dancer"
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Have to check the current then.
Don`t be cheap,,,,It`s worth every penny.
Windows Playback Enabled / 8 channels / VAC
Hi exa065,
I'm trying your great exaU2I and my CUDA software FIR channel divider now. and I have some problem. (on my side)
If you could please help
My configuration:
(1) foobar 2000, to output Virtual Audio Cable "Line 1"
(2) My channel divider records from "Line 1" for L/R, 2ch.
(3) My channel divider playbacks to "Line 2" for L/R x 4 way = 8 channels.
(4) exaU2I Dashboard looks like reading 8 channels. but, please see attached, channel 3,4,5,6,7,8 shows same signal as channel 1,2.
This program was used for Emu ADAT (ASIO 8ch) before, it's OK. but now it outputs through VAC.
And you should tried 7.1 channel playback - VAC 8ch cable - exaU2I already.
So I think "How to use VAC" should be the problem.
I'm using PortAudio library, and it does not allow to use DS / ASIO at same time. So I have to use "Line 2" VAC from me to exaU2I.
thank you for great product! regards,
Hi exa065,
I'm trying your great exaU2I and my CUDA software FIR channel divider now. and I have some problem. (on my side)
If you could please help
My configuration:
(1) foobar 2000, to output Virtual Audio Cable "Line 1"
(2) My channel divider records from "Line 1" for L/R, 2ch.
(3) My channel divider playbacks to "Line 2" for L/R x 4 way = 8 channels.
(4) exaU2I Dashboard looks like reading 8 channels. but, please see attached, channel 3,4,5,6,7,8 shows same signal as channel 1,2.
This program was used for Emu ADAT (ASIO 8ch) before, it's OK. but now it outputs through VAC.
And you should tried 7.1 channel playback - VAC 8ch cable - exaU2I already.
So I think "How to use VAC" should be the problem.
I'm using PortAudio library, and it does not allow to use DS / ASIO at same time. So I have to use "Line 2" VAC from me to exaU2I.
thank you for great product! regards,
