Hi,
I am interested in the poppulse superpro 707 usb DAC, but I am a little bit confused on the specifications found on the Poppulse WEB site.
I read that the DAC chip is 24bit/192Khz, but I also read analog output 24bit/48Khz(44.1), what does it mean? Can I use this DAC to listen to High resolution music (24bit/96khz FLAC)?
Thank you
Renato
I am interested in the poppulse superpro 707 usb DAC, but I am a little bit confused on the specifications found on the Poppulse WEB site.
I read that the DAC chip is 24bit/192Khz, but I also read analog output 24bit/48Khz(44.1), what does it mean? Can I use this DAC to listen to High resolution music (24bit/96khz FLAC)?
Thank you
Renato
Hi Renato!
Sorry, I can't answer that :-(
I don't have any high res music stored, and I also find the given specs a bit unprecise.
Perhaps anyone else?
Sorry, I can't answer that :-(
I don't have any high res music stored, and I also find the given specs a bit unprecise.
Perhaps anyone else?
Btw, a quick update about the opamps. After a few more days of listening I definitely switched back to the OP275! From those I have at hands the 275 gives by far the best overall results and it matches the CS4398 VERY well! The 4398 and the 275 together sound like one single unit, very nice!
But anyway, I guess I still have to get hold of the 627's on a browndog or similar. But these are sooo expensive... :-(
Also I would like to give the good old 5532 a try, and I certainly will do that during next week!
Happy building!
But anyway, I guess I still have to get hold of the 627's on a browndog or similar. But these are sooo expensive... :-(
Also I would like to give the good old 5532 a try, and I certainly will do that during next week!
Happy building!
It's mostly the way the CS4398 and the OP275 blend together sonically. It's almost like listening to one single chip rather than to a DAC-OPAMP combination! Also I find the 275 to sound less opamp-like than the 2604, which also has a bit of that overblown bass the 2134 has. This could either mean that I don't like something about the BurrBrown-sound in general, or it doesn't match well with the rest of my system.
That's the reason why I hesitate to spend that huge amount of money on the 627's. Perhaps these do also have the same sort of a "BurrBrown-sound"...
Maybe I should instead try to get hold of some samples of the AD8599 and stuff like that.
Coincidentally I just did some comparing with 627s in a phono preamp I was working on for somebody. What I noticed above all was how much clout it had. Perhaps because it has a fairly high-current output. Certainly much more clout than the 604 (the single version of 2604). And lots and lots of detail top to bottom.
The original op-amp in this Super Pro also has high output current.
I like the AD826 for clout, as well. (Another with high output current.) I guess if you want to keep experimenting, you could try it. These are not pricey, and you only need one. Or you could just live happily the the 275.
Ecaroh.
SPDIF output?
Hello to all first sorry for my ENG.
I read all the comments in this forum and what I could to find
for Super Pro 707 and through a friend and I ordered, today has come
I want to use it for USB converter for my desktop since I have an Audio Note-DAC-Zero DAC with valve output stage with SPDIF input
how can I do this kind of connection?
where should I solder SPDIF
Please help
Thanks
Hello to all first sorry for my ENG.
I read all the comments in this forum and what I could to find
for Super Pro 707 and through a friend and I ordered, today has come
I want to use it for USB converter for my desktop since I have an Audio Note-DAC-Zero DAC with valve output stage with SPDIF input
how can I do this kind of connection?
where should I solder SPDIF
Please help
Thanks
Hi!
I'm not quite sure if the super pro is intended for this purpose, and I've never tried it myself. But since there is "SPDIF I/O" stated at the SPDIF connector and there are no switches I would guess that if you just connect your pc to the usb input of the dac it should output the converted SPDIF signal from the SPDIF output automatically. Give it a try!
If it doesn't work I really would suggest to buy a simple USBtoSPDIF converter like the HagUSB:
Hagerman Technology LLC: HagUsb USB to SPDIF Audiophile Converter
I had one and it really works great!
I consider the super pro much more as a complete stand alone dac with multiple input options, rather than a USBtoSPDIF converter.
I'm not quite sure if the super pro is intended for this purpose, and I've never tried it myself. But since there is "SPDIF I/O" stated at the SPDIF connector and there are no switches I would guess that if you just connect your pc to the usb input of the dac it should output the converted SPDIF signal from the SPDIF output automatically. Give it a try!
If it doesn't work I really would suggest to buy a simple USBtoSPDIF converter like the HagUSB:
Hagerman Technology LLC: HagUsb USB to SPDIF Audiophile Converter
I had one and it really works great!
I consider the super pro much more as a complete stand alone dac with multiple input options, rather than a USBtoSPDIF converter.
Thanks Martin it works just like you sad and it works amazing with my tube DAC I hear to many details now from .flac collection
I know about hagusb but I can use super pro it has more inputs so there are to many options for use
Thanks again
🙂🙂🙂
I know about hagusb but I can use super pro it has more inputs so there are to many options for use
Thanks again
🙂🙂🙂
Super Pro 707 USB - Conclusions
Hi guys!
I don't know exactly if this thread is still alive, but I want to report my final conclusions about the super pro dac. Perhaps this is interesting for some of you who might consider buying one of these dacs. And: Get ready for a big surprise! ;-)
Part 1: General sound before / after modifications
I listend serveral days to the stock version and I found this dac to sound quite ok, perhaps a bit more on the bright side of neutral and a bit to much focusing on details than on a emotional and holistic presentation.
Then I decided to swap the dual-opamp and the output coupling caps and I tried many different opamps and caps.
I finally settled down to one single Black Gate N 4,7/50 (with ripped off sleves) as output caps because of their very organic, punchy and clean sound, and I occasionally switched from AD OP275 to BB OPA2604, rather unable to decide which one better suites my taste.
Concerning the power supply I tried different wall warts (linear and smps) and a rather decent supply with a 30VA toroid and a CRC-filter stage, which gave the best results.
Still, even with all these mods I find the super pro to be a rather inexpensive dac with nice, but certainly not overwhelming sound qualities. It's quite cheap, and that's how it sounds. Even if I sometimes thought things like: "Wow, this song sounds really great with this dac!", I always switched back to my old and beloved Echo Indigo DJ PCMCIA soundcard, which is not better, but also not worse than the super pro in many regards. So, all in all I wasn't satisfied with this dac, regardless of all the modifications I tried, the sound remained mediocre.
Especially with older, hand made music it was obvious that there is a lack of naturalness, emotionality and "rightness" of the presentation. Also the sound gets a bit fatiguing after some time due to it's tendency of beeing a bit thin and sometimes harsh in the midrange. Of course, all other frequencies are always affected by this kind of sonic signature. So no matter what you do, you cannot buy a dac for around 100 bucks and be happy all the time.
Or, can you?....
Part 2: Battery powerd!
I read a lot about dacs and other units powered by batteries (mostly SLA-batteries) and about the benefits of such kind of power supply. I was always curious about trying this out, but then on the other hand, buying a huge and expensive battery along with a charger and all that, well, no, simply too much action for a just-for-fun-project.
But then, one night I got an idea! (Unfortunately, this rarely happens to me... ;-) And I thought, well, I have some tools, and I also have a battery powered drill, and a nice one, Makita, with high quality 12V Ni-Cd batteries (two of them) and a quick charger. So, I simply had to try this out and took a fuse holder, some wires and put together a little "clean-dc-ps". And then I listened to this configuration for a few days.
And boy, OH BOY, you won't believe...
It is not only better sounding, it is COMPLETELY DIFFERENT sounding! Where should I start?
There is:
- black and dark background
- absolutely no noise
- a very certain calmness to the sound, in which all the microdetails have their place, with nice and funky detail resolution and great timing
- more wight, more ground, more "earth"-feeling
- better imaging, a real holographic, 3-dimensional soundstage, especially very very deep
- the sound gets totally off the speakers, it "lives" right in the room, with very stable placement of musicians and instruments
- deeep bass, VERY smooth mid and high frequency range, non-fatiguing
But what's most important, there is a certain "rightness" to the sound, it simply is very convincing to listen to this setup.
I think with this kind of power supply you can easily turn this inexpensive dac into a unit which can compete with dacs up to, say 500 bucks, even above!
I know, I know... many great words. But PLEASE, if you have this dac and a battery powered drill (or if not, just ask a friendly neighbour, tell him or her you have to drill some new holes into your ears 🙂, and try it out!
But beware, don't forget a proper fuse right after the battery. I had a 5A fuse on hands, works very well. And check the battery voltage with a multimeter after the listening session to prevent the battery from deep discharge, as this would kill the battery.
Here is a pic of the dac in it's current stage and one of the battery-setup.
Regards!
martin
Hi guys!
I don't know exactly if this thread is still alive, but I want to report my final conclusions about the super pro dac. Perhaps this is interesting for some of you who might consider buying one of these dacs. And: Get ready for a big surprise! ;-)
Part 1: General sound before / after modifications
I listend serveral days to the stock version and I found this dac to sound quite ok, perhaps a bit more on the bright side of neutral and a bit to much focusing on details than on a emotional and holistic presentation.
Then I decided to swap the dual-opamp and the output coupling caps and I tried many different opamps and caps.
I finally settled down to one single Black Gate N 4,7/50 (with ripped off sleves) as output caps because of their very organic, punchy and clean sound, and I occasionally switched from AD OP275 to BB OPA2604, rather unable to decide which one better suites my taste.
Concerning the power supply I tried different wall warts (linear and smps) and a rather decent supply with a 30VA toroid and a CRC-filter stage, which gave the best results.
Still, even with all these mods I find the super pro to be a rather inexpensive dac with nice, but certainly not overwhelming sound qualities. It's quite cheap, and that's how it sounds. Even if I sometimes thought things like: "Wow, this song sounds really great with this dac!", I always switched back to my old and beloved Echo Indigo DJ PCMCIA soundcard, which is not better, but also not worse than the super pro in many regards. So, all in all I wasn't satisfied with this dac, regardless of all the modifications I tried, the sound remained mediocre.
Especially with older, hand made music it was obvious that there is a lack of naturalness, emotionality and "rightness" of the presentation. Also the sound gets a bit fatiguing after some time due to it's tendency of beeing a bit thin and sometimes harsh in the midrange. Of course, all other frequencies are always affected by this kind of sonic signature. So no matter what you do, you cannot buy a dac for around 100 bucks and be happy all the time.
Or, can you?....
Part 2: Battery powerd!
I read a lot about dacs and other units powered by batteries (mostly SLA-batteries) and about the benefits of such kind of power supply. I was always curious about trying this out, but then on the other hand, buying a huge and expensive battery along with a charger and all that, well, no, simply too much action for a just-for-fun-project.
But then, one night I got an idea! (Unfortunately, this rarely happens to me... ;-) And I thought, well, I have some tools, and I also have a battery powered drill, and a nice one, Makita, with high quality 12V Ni-Cd batteries (two of them) and a quick charger. So, I simply had to try this out and took a fuse holder, some wires and put together a little "clean-dc-ps". And then I listened to this configuration for a few days.
And boy, OH BOY, you won't believe...
It is not only better sounding, it is COMPLETELY DIFFERENT sounding! Where should I start?
There is:
- black and dark background
- absolutely no noise
- a very certain calmness to the sound, in which all the microdetails have their place, with nice and funky detail resolution and great timing
- more wight, more ground, more "earth"-feeling
- better imaging, a real holographic, 3-dimensional soundstage, especially very very deep
- the sound gets totally off the speakers, it "lives" right in the room, with very stable placement of musicians and instruments
- deeep bass, VERY smooth mid and high frequency range, non-fatiguing
But what's most important, there is a certain "rightness" to the sound, it simply is very convincing to listen to this setup.
I think with this kind of power supply you can easily turn this inexpensive dac into a unit which can compete with dacs up to, say 500 bucks, even above!
I know, I know... many great words. But PLEASE, if you have this dac and a battery powered drill (or if not, just ask a friendly neighbour, tell him or her you have to drill some new holes into your ears 🙂, and try it out!
But beware, don't forget a proper fuse right after the battery. I had a 5A fuse on hands, works very well. And check the battery voltage with a multimeter after the listening session to prevent the battery from deep discharge, as this would kill the battery.
Here is a pic of the dac in it's current stage and one of the battery-setup.
Regards!
martin
Attachments
Where is the 12VDC in point?
Lieber Martin,
Your description of the benefits from the makita batteries makes absolute sense to me. There usually is such an amount of "dirt" in the mains that nothing short of a well implemented LC filter + hefty capacitor will do away with its nefarious effects.
However, I must ask you: how did you figure out the exact point to connect the (+) DC from the battery pack?
I am dumb in electronics, my diy experience so far is restricted to loudspeakers (ongoing project, sonically already tested and approved, now I am finishing the cabinet)
Lieber Martin,
Your description of the benefits from the makita batteries makes absolute sense to me. There usually is such an amount of "dirt" in the mains that nothing short of a well implemented LC filter + hefty capacitor will do away with its nefarious effects.
However, I must ask you: how did you figure out the exact point to connect the (+) DC from the battery pack?
I am dumb in electronics, my diy experience so far is restricted to loudspeakers (ongoing project, sonically already tested and approved, now I am finishing the cabinet)
Hi Eron!
Well, very simple. In stock configuration there is a DC input jack soldered onto the pcb. This jack has two contacts on the pcb, and then of course a centre pin and the contact for - (ground).
So, prior to desolder the jack from the pcb I checked with a multimeter which pcb hole has contakt with the centre pin of the dc input jack, and the centre pin is + (marked on the backplate of the original enclosure of the dac). So I knew which hole on the pcb is for + and which for -.
That's it!
Regards!
Well, very simple. In stock configuration there is a DC input jack soldered onto the pcb. This jack has two contacts on the pcb, and then of course a centre pin and the contact for - (ground).
So, prior to desolder the jack from the pcb I checked with a multimeter which pcb hole has contakt with the centre pin of the dc input jack, and the centre pin is + (marked on the backplate of the original enclosure of the dac). So I knew which hole on the pcb is for + and which for -.
That's it!
Regards!
I have recently had the opportunity to audition the decco and the nuforce udac, both of which have the highly regarded sabre chips in them. The decco/nova product line has actually gathered quite a few awards as well.
Well, the decco had a great midrange, one to die for. It was well polished but nothing so groundbreaking that is worth the price tag.
Next the udac, it is not as polished, thin edgy sound. But I've only had it for a while.
The super pro with output transformers was a whole class above these two. Except the decco's midrange, it was superior in every aspect by a long way.
With Martin's experience above, it may be that this is just an ordinary one in stock form. But OPTs and good power it has tremendous potential.
Well, the decco had a great midrange, one to die for. It was well polished but nothing so groundbreaking that is worth the price tag.
Next the udac, it is not as polished, thin edgy sound. But I've only had it for a while.
The super pro with output transformers was a whole class above these two. Except the decco's midrange, it was superior in every aspect by a long way.
With Martin's experience above, it may be that this is just an ordinary one in stock form. But OPTs and good power it has tremendous potential.
Well, I think the super pro has potential, and it certainly does many things right (for example the direkt usb-to-i2s conversion, without converting to s/pdif first), and the use of a very good dac and receiver chip.
But then, battery powered or not, this is still a oversampling dac with opamp-based aktiv output stage. In the opposite to that there are the nos-dacs with passive i/v conversion, which are a totally different thing. If one of these is also powered by a decent battery, it might also be great sounding.
I think I will order a scott nixon usb dac kit, which is in the same price range with the super pro, and it's also capable of usb input (I think it allows direkt usb-to-i2s conversion, too), and it also runs from a single 12V power source.
If a simple battery is able to lift the performance of a super pro to such levels, then perhaps a simple TDA1543-based dac will also benefit by a great margin.
Btw., just listened to "Not the Doctor" from Alanis Morissette's "Jagged Little Pill - Acoustic Version" through the super pro, veeery nice! Alanis has the tendency to screem and shout if the setup is not good, but this time, just clear and open, full with energy!
No, I heaven't. Reason is, I have no clue about these (means: no technical background) and further more the pcb of the super pro is so tiny and stuffed that it would be very difficult to wire them direktly to the chip.
Impedance matching
Martin, I am behaving myself as a good kid and reading this thread from the beginning, to avoid making questions that had already been answered. Needless to say, I am baffled at the courage of you guys to tamper with such small a pcb. I even wondered if the guys at Way Way Valve would sell the product "tweak ready", I mean, without the capacitors, and maybe already with the op-amp socket (what a pussy I am!😀).
However, I believe I will order one Super Pro soon, and it will be the first time I use one (I have had CD Players so far, with and without upsampling). Anyway I sold everything I had prior to moving here from Brazil (all is 220 volts here!).
I live in Israel now, and I am expecting to receive an Audiopax Model 7 preamp. Made in Brazil, it is what Stereophile called a "active-passive" implementation, in that it uses a feature they call "Timbre-Lock(tm)" which allows you to match the impedance between the components of a system (AudioPax). Do you think this could be a good omen for me to use the Super Pro "in the rough" (without resorting to tweaking it)?
My amplifier is a Hafler 9270, with diy speakers (with Morel drivers) and van den hul D352.
Too stupid a question?
Martin, I am behaving myself as a good kid and reading this thread from the beginning, to avoid making questions that had already been answered. Needless to say, I am baffled at the courage of you guys to tamper with such small a pcb. I even wondered if the guys at Way Way Valve would sell the product "tweak ready", I mean, without the capacitors, and maybe already with the op-amp socket (what a pussy I am!😀).
However, I believe I will order one Super Pro soon, and it will be the first time I use one (I have had CD Players so far, with and without upsampling). Anyway I sold everything I had prior to moving here from Brazil (all is 220 volts here!).
I live in Israel now, and I am expecting to receive an Audiopax Model 7 preamp. Made in Brazil, it is what Stereophile called a "active-passive" implementation, in that it uses a feature they call "Timbre-Lock(tm)" which allows you to match the impedance between the components of a system (AudioPax). Do you think this could be a good omen for me to use the Super Pro "in the rough" (without resorting to tweaking it)?
My amplifier is a Hafler 9270, with diy speakers (with Morel drivers) and van den hul D352.
Too stupid a question?
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