I'm not sure if it's been suggested, but these days I listen to all my digital music through a 24bit £9 DAC.
Sometimes I give it a special analog PSU, spliced into the USB lead, based on a 7805, but in general it's very simple and cheap.
It's the Apple USB-C headphone adapter, reviewed here:
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...pple-vs-google-usb-c-headphone-adapters.5541/
It's very good.
Very, very good.
Sometimes I give it a special analog PSU, spliced into the USB lead, based on a 7805, but in general it's very simple and cheap.
It's the Apple USB-C headphone adapter, reviewed here:
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...pple-vs-google-usb-c-headphone-adapters.5541/
It's very good.
Very, very good.
Regarding the question of what is diy, for a dac I would say its to do about the same as Topping does. Buy components that are readily available, make what you must, say, maybe a nice case (if you want), and turn it all into more or less the equivalent of a unique finished product.
Obviously, nobody goes out and mines ore, smelts it, rolls metal into sheets, etc., in order to make a diy capacitor. Not even commercial capacitor manufacturers do all that. Thus, arguments to the effect that true diy must start with raw materials are silly.
Obviously, nobody goes out and mines ore, smelts it, rolls metal into sheets, etc., in order to make a diy capacitor. Not even commercial capacitor manufacturers do all that. Thus, arguments to the effect that true diy must start with raw materials are silly.
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I've always believed that the affinity for vinyl/analog is because it adds something to the sound of the recording whereas digital modifies that sound on the way to your ears much less.
You could run digital through a tube preamp, play it through a pair of Klipsch Cornwalls, and maybe get what you're looking for?
You could run digital through a tube preamp, play it through a pair of Klipsch Cornwalls, and maybe get what you're looking for?
Vinyl also has the benefit of jumping up every 15-20 minutes to change the record, I consider that a good health benefit 😀
https://www.izotope.com/en/products/vinyl.html
If the recordings are on the computer, then you don’t need to buy a tube preamplifier, you can use a specialized vinyl and tube software plug-in, the link above is just an example, similar plug-ins can be found for any taste.
The "true" was accompanying the "few". Not the "members"
And I was showing towards members who present designs and open builds. The doers, not the talkers.
Your Subbu DAC. I trust you still extract joy from it
George
Have one but just for memory. One would expect a similar project in 2024 but alas.
The point I wanted to make is maybe that I think sharing and cooperation to have a nice device for members to reproduce is a worthwhile goal. It also endorses action and DIY with a guaranteed and tested outcome. DIY as in Do-It-Yourself and not Design-It-Yourself. Those that can design could take away that hurdle for those that can’t.
Otherwise it is like laymen listening to boring discussion of professional sports men that are too aware they are better than the average person (that in their opinion should also train 8 hours every day and eat buckets of protein).
The point I wanted to make is maybe that I think sharing and cooperation to have a nice device for members to reproduce is a worthwhile goal. It also endorses action and DIY with a guaranteed and tested outcome. DIY as in Do-It-Yourself and not Design-It-Yourself. Those that can design could take away that hurdle for those that can’t.
Otherwise it is like laymen listening to boring discussion of professional sports men that are too aware they are better than the average person (that in their opinion should also train 8 hours every day and eat buckets of protein).
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Not really. Those plugins are not that good. I wouldn't ruin a good recording with such gimmicks. Good digital requires a very good dac, very clean electronics, and very good speakers in a well-treated room. Most people have never heard anything very close to what is possible from a CD (albeit at some expense, for now at least).
Had two visitors here recently. One from overseas. A long time audiophile and amp builder, one said, "Now we know what we are going for." IOW, he had no idea of the potential SQ of a CD. He had never heard a CD that sounded so close to like really being there in the room where the live acoustic recording was made. The instruments sound real, the recording room acoustics sounds real, etc. The point is, up until that moment he only knew the best CD reproduction he had ever heard before. Its an eye-opener to find out how much more is really on a well recorded CD.
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In general, I agree with you.
I will note that in order to hear the positive influence of plugins, you need to have as neutral a sound reproduction system as possible. If the listener has some kind of speaker system that is closer to neutral, then the listener may not hear the distortions he is used to, the distortions he is used to and considers important. So, if the listener decides to use a specialized preamplifier that will add the necessary distortions, then with the same success you can use a specialized program that can do exactly the same thing, but with greater variations.
I do not want to say that a good recording will sound better through a plugin, I want to say that if the listener lacks some vinyl coloring in the recording, then this coloring can be added at will without spending a penny on it. And whether the plugin will improve the recording or worsen it, let the listener decide for himself. Using plugins allows the listener to find some answers without spending money on it.
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...topping-d10s-usb-dac-and-bridge-review.14859/
I'm not sure how to directly search this thread yet but I figured it wouldn't hurt to post this just in case. The D10S is a fantastic solution on a budget of around $100. I have several of them that I MOSTLY use just to convert USB to Digital Coax (to input into hypex Fusion plate amps), but they are also a very high quality DAC. Cheers 🙂
I'm not sure how to directly search this thread yet but I figured it wouldn't hurt to post this just in case. The D10S is a fantastic solution on a budget of around $100. I have several of them that I MOSTLY use just to convert USB to Digital Coax (to input into hypex Fusion plate amps), but they are also a very high quality DAC. Cheers 🙂
uriy-ch,
It would be fake vinyl coloration. Same with transformer coloration. They can be modeled approximately, but they are too complex to model with very high accuracy. The computational cost is too expensive.
It would be fake vinyl coloration. Same with transformer coloration. They can be modeled approximately, but they are too complex to model with very high accuracy. The computational cost is too expensive.
How do the noise skirts look? Oh, that's right, its a test they fail to do over at ASR. ...And, its USB powered. The AP they test it with probably has pretty clean USB power? How about your computer, clean USB power? And, no ground loop through your amps, right?
To me at least, it seems unfortunate that the unwary may believe reports of a fantastic dac for only $100! Maybe a bargain priced dac, but unlikely great or fantastic in an overall sense.
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There are different schools of thought. I have never believed in spoon-feeding. IMO assembling something according to instructions is not the way to learn and does not give much joy. Nobody learns how to make furniture by putting together IKEA stuff.
I'm using my ears and listening on an incredibly revealing pair of Nearfield Desktop ESL's, as well as a full size 70" pair that I have built from scratch. Sounds pretty good to me for $100.
I've been hesitant to jump on DIYAUDIO for the last 22 years because of the attitudes of people on the forums. It's hard to want to chat when you get attacked for making a suggestion for someone literally asking for suggestions. Apologies for my misguided contribution.
What we hear from a stereo acoustic system is mostly an illusion.
I will express a radical thought - music is essentially a fake, a fake that deceives the brain and makes it enjoy a properly selected acoustic stimulus. If you do not rush and think this thought over well, then in the future I think it will be easier for you to understand my position in terms of using plugins. A plugin is just another tool that allows you to adjust the sound in the direction we want.
No, at this stage of computer development they already have enough resources to process sound to such a degree that it will be quite enough to deceive the brain.