Gigawork DAC vs Asus xonar essence stx

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Hi

I am looking to upgrade the sound output for my pc, currently i am just using the standard motherboard sound output but would like a dac/soundcard to improve the quality of the FLAC music i play. I have identical itunes libarys on my mac and windows 7 machine so was thinking that i could use the DAC on both via usb.

Please could you give your opinions on either a gigawork DAC or the ASUS xonar essence STX sound card. I have read a lot on here about the gigaworks dac and it seems to get a good rep. The one i was looking at is THIS ONE on ebay.

Thanks for your help.
 
Mods

If you can diy the direct out mod, the sound of the Gigaworks Big Dac Board can be world class although I haven't tried the usb yet. They can be unreliable though so again, some diy may be needed to get the source selector working. Ask here.
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http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/digital-line-level/137976-experience-diy-dac.html#post1735158
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Hi

I am looking to upgrade the sound output for my pc, currently i am just using the standard motherboard sound output but would like a dac/soundcard to improve the quality of the FLAC music i play. I have identical itunes libarys on my mac and windows 7 machine so was thinking that i could use the DAC on both via usb.

Please could you give your opinions on either a gigawork DAC or the ASUS xonar essence STX sound card. I have read a lot on here about the gigaworks dac and it seems to get a good rep. The one i was looking at is THIS ONE on ebay.

Thanks for your help.
 
I bought the Gigawork "BIG" DAC with the intention of using the USB, but found out it couldn't pass higher than 48k. So, I also got the Musiland 01 USD (coax out) for USB interface - which goes to 192k (if that matters to you).

I gotta say, the Gigawork + Musiland sounds real good to me (even in its stock form). Now, this is my first DAC and I have nothing else to compare it to. The upsampling on the Gigawork is an added bonus.
 
Yes. Wire up the primaries and secondaries on the transformer and you're good to go. Set the input jumpers (coax, toslink, USB) per the instructions on the 3" CD - or, on this forum.

I have mine setup on a piece plywood right now :) A case to follow shortly.

You might want to confirm this, but I think there was a problem with the 192k upsampling on the DIR-9001. Can someone confirm?
 
I like my gigwork DAC but it is a bit tricky (ie PITA) to make a back panel to fit the jacks properly - something to keep in mind.
And, if you continue to use the 'bare' board without a case you have to be VERY careful plugging/unplugging as the jacks are not designed to be strong enough without fastening to a support.
There are a lot of units in the same price range (a bit more or less) which are worth considering:
ZeroDAC
Grant Audio
Maverick TubeMagic
All of these are ready-to-go in a case and have phone jacks as well.

All the USB units have some bitrate limitations AFAIK- whether you'll be able to hear the difference is hard to tell.

Those Xonar soundcards have very good specs as well.

John
 
If i could afford one i would order one right away!!

Need to save some pennies first!! Also im not sure how well i would be able to review one once i had got it!

Sounds pretty interesting though.

I know this is a bit of a stupid question, but can you noticeably hear the difference when using a DAC?
 
I know this is a bit of a stupid question, but can you noticeably hear the difference when using a DAC?

Not stupid at all, but probably controversial!

It depends on what you mean.....any time you are listening to music from a digital source (CD, digital download, MP3, etc) you are using a DAC- and a bunch of other electronics working with the DAC chip- including amplification. Whether it is built-in or a separate unit is the issue??

I can certainly hear the difference between the sound from a crappy laptop soundcard from a 2000-era computer and a DAC like we are discusssing here, paired with a decent amp. Whether I could hear a lot of difference between two present-day DACs (say the DAC in a Xonar and the Gigawork, both driving a good amp), I can't say...all my DACs sound pretty good to me, and they all show up the differences in quality between recordings.

You need to get some 'golden ears' to chime in here, I think.

John
 
Thanks,

Well i have a really old amp, a setton as 3300.

Still sounds pretty decent though, might be tempted to build a new amp though.

So the difference between a xonar stx and an external dac is marginal. Is that a fair conclusion?

If so i may be tempted by the soundcard, then at least it has a warranty!
 
Thanks,

Well i have a really old amp, a setton as 3300.

Still sounds pretty decent though, might be tempted to build a new amp though.

So the difference between a xonar stx and an external dac is marginal. Is that a fair conclusion?

If so i may be tempted by the soundcard, then at least it has a warranty!

The DAC of the Realtek 889a on my motherboard is awful, especially in comparison to that of my Asus Xonar Essence STX. The HDMI output of my AMD 6850, which is also handled by a Realtek chip, is very good though.
 
Just noticed this on the gigaworks ebay site, have they just added some lt-1361's do you think this will make a noticeable difference?

Hi, here is the reason:DECWARE

Decware use this DAC board, swap the OP-AMP to LT1361 and sell USD875, I provide this information to the original designer of this DAC in Guangzhou, he began to sell this DAC with LT1361 and put this information as advertisement in China domestic market on last NOV, the business is blooming, because the Chinese consumer think: WOW, LT1361 make the DAC from RMB to USD.

But, only if you are using Tube Amp or Krell power-amp, LT1361 can make a perfect sound, if you are using other amp, LT1361 won't satisfy you.
 
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