Hi Guys
I am a new bee in this DAC issue. I have a home theater setup with the below devices. You can see the photo of the system.
A htpc with AMD HD6750 vga
Sony STR-DN 840 AVR
7.2-channel 4K Wi-Fi Network A/V Receiver - STRDN840 Review - Sony US
Heco Victa 601 floorstanding speakers
http://www.amazon.de/Heco-Victa-3-W...qid=1397319917&sr=8-2&keywords=Heco+Victa+601
As you can imagine I make the connection between htpc to AVR via hdmi output on AMD vga to get the HD sound formats. For the movies and games, the sound quality is quite OK for me. But I want to improve the music performance.
Last week I made a trial. I hook up my other pc which has a ASUS Xonar DX sound card to AVR's analog cd input. Then I was shocked. The quality, details and depth of the sound stage has improved so much. Then I decided to add a discrete sound or a DAC like HIFIMEDIY's.
I don't know which chip is better because of that I need your help about the below DACs. Also my budget is up to 50-60 $. My aim is to improve the quality of analog outputs, so optical or coaxial output is not important for me. Because of that I focused on USB input and Analog output.
So I found below dacs.
1- SMSL SD 022, which is based on TE7022
SMSL SD 022 USB Mini DAC 96K 24bit USB Input Analog Output Supports Asio | eBay
2- Muse Mini
Muse Mini 24bit 192kHz Coaxial Optical USB Input DAC Headphone Out Black | eBay
3- HifiMeDiy Sabre (1st version)
HiFimeDIY Sabre USB DAC ES9023 96Khz/24bit
4- HifiMeDiy Sabre U2
HiFimeDIY Sabre U2 Asynchronous USB DAC
5- If the metal box improves the sound quality, this one can be the limit pricewise.
HiFimeDIY Sabre USB DAC 2 (external PSU)
I need your opinions about these DACs. Any kind of help will be appreciated.
Addition: I have another three question.
1- If I make digital connection to the AVR from these DAC's optical output. Will it be so different than the current vga's hdmi connection?
2- Will there be a quality difference in musical performance between analog and optical connection when I use this DAC? If there is no difference I can eliminate the 1st SMSL and I focus on the others.
3- And are these DACs will perform better than my Asus Xonar DX sound card which has a cirrus logic CS4398 chip?
Asus' Xonar DX sound card - The Tech Report - Page 1
I am a new bee in this DAC issue. I have a home theater setup with the below devices. You can see the photo of the system.
A htpc with AMD HD6750 vga
Sony STR-DN 840 AVR
7.2-channel 4K Wi-Fi Network A/V Receiver - STRDN840 Review - Sony US
Heco Victa 601 floorstanding speakers
http://www.amazon.de/Heco-Victa-3-W...qid=1397319917&sr=8-2&keywords=Heco+Victa+601
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
As you can imagine I make the connection between htpc to AVR via hdmi output on AMD vga to get the HD sound formats. For the movies and games, the sound quality is quite OK for me. But I want to improve the music performance.
Last week I made a trial. I hook up my other pc which has a ASUS Xonar DX sound card to AVR's analog cd input. Then I was shocked. The quality, details and depth of the sound stage has improved so much. Then I decided to add a discrete sound or a DAC like HIFIMEDIY's.
I don't know which chip is better because of that I need your help about the below DACs. Also my budget is up to 50-60 $. My aim is to improve the quality of analog outputs, so optical or coaxial output is not important for me. Because of that I focused on USB input and Analog output.
So I found below dacs.
1- SMSL SD 022, which is based on TE7022
SMSL SD 022 USB Mini DAC 96K 24bit USB Input Analog Output Supports Asio | eBay
2- Muse Mini
Muse Mini 24bit 192kHz Coaxial Optical USB Input DAC Headphone Out Black | eBay
3- HifiMeDiy Sabre (1st version)
HiFimeDIY Sabre USB DAC ES9023 96Khz/24bit
4- HifiMeDiy Sabre U2
HiFimeDIY Sabre U2 Asynchronous USB DAC
5- If the metal box improves the sound quality, this one can be the limit pricewise.
HiFimeDIY Sabre USB DAC 2 (external PSU)
I need your opinions about these DACs. Any kind of help will be appreciated.
Addition: I have another three question.
1- If I make digital connection to the AVR from these DAC's optical output. Will it be so different than the current vga's hdmi connection?
2- Will there be a quality difference in musical performance between analog and optical connection when I use this DAC? If there is no difference I can eliminate the 1st SMSL and I focus on the others.
3- And are these DACs will perform better than my Asus Xonar DX sound card which has a cirrus logic CS4398 chip?
Asus' Xonar DX sound card - The Tech Report - Page 1
As an addition, I have another question.
I will put the USB dac behind the htpc. And there are lots of cables behind the htpc and the middle drawer, like power cables, antenna cables, hdmi cables, ethernet cables and switch. As you can imagine, there can be a magnetic field because of these cables. If I bought the hifimediy plastic USB dac, will the sound quality effected so much? Because of that, should I have to prefer a metal box dac?
I will be really happy if you can help about the issue.
Best Regards
I will put the USB dac behind the htpc. And there are lots of cables behind the htpc and the middle drawer, like power cables, antenna cables, hdmi cables, ethernet cables and switch. As you can imagine, there can be a magnetic field because of these cables. If I bought the hifimediy plastic USB dac, will the sound quality effected so much? Because of that, should I have to prefer a metal box dac?
I will be really happy if you can help about the issue.
Best Regards
Living in England, I make it a point to hear very best orchestras in the world.
I can confirm the fact that the Hifimediy U2 and ES9023 gives results that gives me virtually the same enjoyment of the music as the orchestra does in the better seats, and much better than the less expensive seats.
No DAC, no matter how expensive, will be significantly better.
I also think the less expensive DAC will be a waste of money.
Also, beware of reviews that favour a "more aggressive” DAC, unless, you like distortion products, which many listeners apparently prefer.
The U2 works right out of the box, is extremely portable, and can be modified later by adding better power supplies and USB isolation.
Out of the box it is probably better than the Asus Xonar.
I can confirm the fact that the Hifimediy U2 and ES9023 gives results that gives me virtually the same enjoyment of the music as the orchestra does in the better seats, and much better than the less expensive seats.
No DAC, no matter how expensive, will be significantly better.
I also think the less expensive DAC will be a waste of money.
Also, beware of reviews that favour a "more aggressive” DAC, unless, you like distortion products, which many listeners apparently prefer.
The U2 works right out of the box, is extremely portable, and can be modified later by adding better power supplies and USB isolation.
Out of the box it is probably better than the Asus Xonar.
Dear Cornelis, thanks for your answer
As I can understand, this sabre U2 DAC gives the best price/performance ratio. So I shouldn't run through the cheap SMSL 7022 DAC and buy the Sabre U2? Am I right?
Also I am especially listenning jazz and blues. And sometimes for the memory of old childhood days some old rock stuff pink floyd, deep purple, hardest tone as guns'n rose
. I think sabre u2 suits me better.For acoustic instruments, the U2 gives great results.
I use it on Linux in a bit perfect setup. Acoustic instruments are the only thing I listen to.
I find that extended listening to jazz very boring. There is only so much you can do with a limited number of instruments. Expand your musical tastes!
I use it on Linux in a bit perfect setup. Acoustic instruments are the only thing I listen to.
I find that extended listening to jazz very boring. There is only so much you can do with a limited number of instruments. Expand your musical tastes!
I have received the U2 DAC yesterday. Yesterday I tried it on my htpc (1st pc) with USB 3.0 port and there was no problem.
After that I decided to move the DAC to my other pc (2nd) which has a Asus Xonar DX sound card, to compare the performance of each item. The DAC was connected to the USB 3.0 port and there was no problem again. In both pc sound was really good, I like the sound of the DAC.
But today when I started my 2nd pc, I have seen that windows was not recognizing the DAC. So I tried to plug the DAC on the other USB ports. Dac didn't work with any of them, additionally when I re-plug the on the USB 3.0 port, my pc got a blue screen. To be sure I restarted the pc for few times more, when I plug the DAC on usb 3.0 port, pc got a blue screen. I couldnt understand why it doesnt work on next day. I shut down the pc when the DAC was working and started on next day without any change.
After that I decided to give a second chance to the DAC with the htpc (1st pc). I think there can be a handshake issue with USB 3.0 ports and firstly I plug the DAC on usb 2.0 ports. I have 6 different usb 2.0 ports. But the DAC doesnt work with none of them.
So as a last chance I pluged the DAC on the front USB 3.0 ports. Suddenly the DAC has started to work. I couldnt understand why it behaves like that. And to be sure I unplugged the DAC and tried with the other usb 2.0 ports, again it didnt work. But when I replug to the USB 3.0 port, it started to work. Now it is working with his dedicated USB 3.0 port.
I couldnt understand why the DAC reacted so differently with these pcs. Both pc has windows 7 Ultimate (64bit). And both USB 3.0 chip is from NEC on both pc. And I installed the same driver on both pc's which is provided on your webpage.
I wanted to learn if someone had a problem like that.
Best Regards
After that I decided to move the DAC to my other pc (2nd) which has a Asus Xonar DX sound card, to compare the performance of each item. The DAC was connected to the USB 3.0 port and there was no problem again. In both pc sound was really good, I like the sound of the DAC.
But today when I started my 2nd pc, I have seen that windows was not recognizing the DAC. So I tried to plug the DAC on the other USB ports. Dac didn't work with any of them, additionally when I re-plug the on the USB 3.0 port, my pc got a blue screen. To be sure I restarted the pc for few times more, when I plug the DAC on usb 3.0 port, pc got a blue screen. I couldnt understand why it doesnt work on next day. I shut down the pc when the DAC was working and started on next day without any change.
After that I decided to give a second chance to the DAC with the htpc (1st pc). I think there can be a handshake issue with USB 3.0 ports and firstly I plug the DAC on usb 2.0 ports. I have 6 different usb 2.0 ports. But the DAC doesnt work with none of them.
So as a last chance I pluged the DAC on the front USB 3.0 ports. Suddenly the DAC has started to work. I couldnt understand why it behaves like that. And to be sure I unplugged the DAC and tried with the other usb 2.0 ports, again it didnt work. But when I replug to the USB 3.0 port, it started to work. Now it is working with his dedicated USB 3.0 port.
I couldnt understand why the DAC reacted so differently with these pcs. Both pc has windows 7 Ultimate (64bit). And both USB 3.0 chip is from NEC on both pc. And I installed the same driver on both pc's which is provided on your webpage.
I wanted to learn if someone had a problem like that.
Best Regards
How about this. It could be even better...
In case XMOS+ES9023 Asynchronous I2S USB to fiber coaxial 192K-24BIT USB power | eBay
In case XMOS+ES9023 Asynchronous I2S USB to fiber coaxial 192K-24BIT USB power | eBay
I have seen that unit also, seems to be a better implementation with XMOS, better case, etc. Someone needs to buy one and report back!!!
About sound difference???
I was also in the same route, was considering the sabre dac but now confused with either SB Z or DX with Hifimediy sabre dac; what is the difference with the Sabre Dac and DX sound card when you both compared, which sounds better???
I was also in the same route, was considering the sabre dac but now confused with either SB Z or DX with Hifimediy sabre dac; what is the difference with the Sabre Dac and DX sound card when you both compared, which sounds better???
Need some advice here.
Trying to connect A/V receiver (Yamaha RX-Z9) to PC. I want to use the DAC section (very HQ) in the receiver but it has no usb input.
I own the non-asynch U2 with the SA9023 USB receiver. How much difference would there be using my PC's motherboard audio SPDIF (toslink) vs the SA9023...or something higher end such as an XMOS receiver.
Also, would there be any difference in optical vs coaxial in this application?
Thanks in advance for any input!
Trying to connect A/V receiver (Yamaha RX-Z9) to PC. I want to use the DAC section (very HQ) in the receiver but it has no usb input.
I own the non-asynch U2 with the SA9023 USB receiver. How much difference would there be using my PC's motherboard audio SPDIF (toslink) vs the SA9023...or something higher end such as an XMOS receiver.
Also, would there be any difference in optical vs coaxial in this application?
Thanks in advance for any input!
More details please.
Did you run your DAC from a 12V battery through a 5V regulator? Please give more details. The idea sounds really good.
Did you run your DAC from a 12V battery through a 5V regulator? Please give more details. The idea sounds really good.
I run my U2 HFMDIY DAC from a Teralink USB isolator, separates signal AND power. Mine is powered by a 12v Li-ion. Google "Teralink USB Isolator" I posted this a while back on the forum. Huge improvement in sound. The HFMDIY USB isolator, not the same as it still uses the 5v from the USB input cable.
Thank you satwilson.
In Google I found a board that needs an external power supply.
I just ordered a Teralink ADuM4160 USB Isolator board.
I plan to power it from Li cells recovered from a failed laptop power supply. I was not aware that an isolator like this could power my U2 Hifimediy DAC. A beautiful simple solution.
I am presuming that the ADuM4160 board will be powering the U2 rather than the computer power supply.
Now I need to build a case for all the bits to be joined together. What was not originally a DIY project has become one.
In Google I found a board that needs an external power supply.
I just ordered a Teralink ADuM4160 USB Isolator board.
I plan to power it from Li cells recovered from a failed laptop power supply. I was not aware that an isolator like this could power my U2 Hifimediy DAC. A beautiful simple solution.
I am presuming that the ADuM4160 board will be powering the U2 rather than the computer power supply.
Now I need to build a case for all the bits to be joined together. What was not originally a DIY project has become one.
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It most certainly will. The UAE23+ is a great DAC but doesn't have enough power to optimally power your DT-990s. This is not about volume but better treble, bass, clarity, headroom for transients. The 02 is a great choice, but also look at the amps from Schiit. They are some of the best reviewed, affordable, quality products on the market. Go to HeadFi.org for reviews of all the amps and your phones.
linear PSU with isolated power and isolated enclosure.
large part is the PSU and filtering.
use a 12v AC wall wart, linear transformer and found doing the AC to DC conversion with in the DAC enclosure helps and the long wire can pick up EMI
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
large part is the PSU and filtering.
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
use a 12v AC wall wart, linear transformer and found doing the AC to DC conversion with in the DAC enclosure helps and the long wire can pick up EMI
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
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