Hi Russ
I had got the impression that BIII in stereo configuration sounded a little better than BII, because of even better layout etc. Am I wrong to think this?
Thanks
Paul
I had got the impression that BIII in stereo configuration sounded a little better than BII, because of even better layout etc. Am I wrong to think this?
Thanks
Paul
It is a better layout, but whether that is good enough reason change is something somewhat intangible. 🙂 Would I upgrade? Yes. But mostly because I know exactly how each works. 🙂 Some people are not going to need to delve that deep.
Hi Russ
I will eventually buy BIII, because I will eventually have to try a dual mono stereo setup with a suitably modified Legato. But does a BIII in stereo mode sound "better"- in your opinion- than a BII, and in what circumstances? You're famously loathe to give an opinion on relative sound qualities, so I'll even settle for "different", when fed high quality 44KHz/16 bit (i.e. red book) material 🙂
Might more option to adjust parameters in the digital domain help with the issues I describe here?
S/PDIF dropout- odd behaviour - Buffalo DAC - Twisted Pear Audio Support
Paul
I will eventually buy BIII, because I will eventually have to try a dual mono stereo setup with a suitably modified Legato. But does a BIII in stereo mode sound "better"- in your opinion- than a BII, and in what circumstances? You're famously loathe to give an opinion on relative sound qualities, so I'll even settle for "different", when fed high quality 44KHz/16 bit (i.e. red book) material 🙂
Might more option to adjust parameters in the digital domain help with the issues I describe here?
S/PDIF dropout- odd behaviour - Buffalo DAC - Twisted Pear Audio Support
Paul
Speaking as someone who missed out on B2 and is now trying to get a B3, I'd ask B2 owners who are thinking of upgrading to hold off a bit and let us poor souls who don't have any kind of Buffalo to have a chance..
It might, as Russ seems keen to add options that can make BIII work in situations where a BII would not (at least not without yet another firmware). But on the other hand your problem isn't exactly clear, so who knows?
+1
I have the legato, regulators, transformers, cables, except the buffalo.
I have ads placed by someone selling theirs. Continually review the trading section. I tried unsuccessfully to buy the BIII ...
It seems that a ghost chase.
Will keep trying
Is there any downside to the 'built in volume control' on the Buffalo III? In other words, do we lose bits at lower volume levels? Is the firmware standard on the Buffalo III kit or is it a separate purchase?
Anand.
Anand.
No, you don't "lose bits." You do lose the noise and channel-imbalance of an analog volume control.
It is standard. The kit comes with a pot, 3-pin header, connector and pins. To bypass volume control, you use the included shunt jumper on the pin header.
This is all in the manual, which should be out tomorrow. Actually, one manual for the DAC board and one for the firmware.
Brian and Russ,
For 2 channel stereo for sound quality alone are there any advantages going from a Buffalo32 to a BuffaloIII?
Cheers
John
For 2 channel stereo for sound quality alone are there any advantages going from a Buffalo32 to a BuffaloIII?
Cheers
John
TPA on the website there are two options for the BIII. If I buy the "not tridents" (299$), do I need anything else apart from a combo tridents? need an AVCC?
I wonder to be prepared if the time of purchase I have no other BIII opccion (379$)
Br
AL
I wonder to be prepared if the time of purchase I have no other BIII opccion (379$)
Br
AL
I am very interested in purchasing a Buffalo III to go with a DIY tube headphone amp I am currently building. I want to confirm exactly what I would need to purchase in order to feed stereo sound to my amp coming from a high quality computer sound card with SPDIF outputs.
1. Buffalo-III DAC with Tridents + AVCC regulators
2. 4-Channel S/PDIF Input and Switch Module Kit
3. (1) Placid HD to power Tridents and AVCC
4. (1) Ivy-III I/V stage (ES9018 has better THD in current output mode right?)
5. (1) Placid HD Bipolar to power Ivy-III
6. (1) 9 + 9 transformer to power Placid HD
7. (1) 15 + 15 transformer to power Placid HD Bipolar
Let me know if I am missing something here, and/or if you guys recommend using the Legato instead of the Ivy-III or the LCBPS instead of the Placid HD BP. I am eagerly awaiting the release of the manuals so I can perhaps answer my own questions.
Thanks!
1. Buffalo-III DAC with Tridents + AVCC regulators
2. 4-Channel S/PDIF Input and Switch Module Kit
3. (1) Placid HD to power Tridents and AVCC
4. (1) Ivy-III I/V stage (ES9018 has better THD in current output mode right?)
5. (1) Placid HD Bipolar to power Ivy-III
6. (1) 9 + 9 transformer to power Placid HD
7. (1) 15 + 15 transformer to power Placid HD Bipolar
Let me know if I am missing something here, and/or if you guys recommend using the Legato instead of the Ivy-III or the LCBPS instead of the Placid HD BP. I am eagerly awaiting the release of the manuals so I can perhaps answer my own questions.
Thanks!
You may want to think about USB connections, spdif is limited to 24bit and the Buffalo can handle inputs up to 32bit. This will only really affect you if you want to play higher than CD quality (16bit) files or want to do any signal processing like equalisation, delay or volume on the computer before sending the signal to the DAC. Russ is working on a new USB input module that will do 32bit. You can have both inputs of course.
But yes, your shopping list looks complete.
Thanks for the response zkdaz! I didn't realize that SPDIF is limited to 24bits but that would explain why I couldn't find any 32 bit sound cards haha. I think I may need to get both the upcoming USB input module and the SPDIF input board so my DAC would be able to take both kinds of inputs. Now I just have to snag a DAC in 7 days.
I believe ES9018 also works in current output mode with Legato 3, right?
Is your headphone amplifier balanced or single ended?
If balanced, Legato 3 has common mode DC so you need to check if the input stage at your headphone amplifier is able to deal with it:
This is true, but even if your amp can't handle common mode DC, it as easy as adding some good quality coupling caps to make it work well. 😎
My amplifier is single-ended. Is the fact that the Legato uses discrete transistors (with the exception of the output buffers) the main difference between it and the Ivy-III? It seems like both would work for my application. I see from the Legato manual that the single-ended output DC offset can be completely nulled and no AC coupling caps are required.
I would love to hear people's opinions on their preferences between the Ivy-III and the Legato.
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